Tan So: The Capital Of Resistance And The Immortal Call To Royal Restoration

Tân Sở: Resistance Capital and the Immortal Call for Kingship

Cam Lộ (Quảng Trị) is not only a fertile red basalt land but also a "red address" of national history. This is one of the rare places chosen twice as the capital of resistance. If the 20th century marked the headquarters of the Provisional Revolutionary Government, then at the end of the 19th century, Thành Tân Sở was the resistance capital – where King Hàm Nghi issued the Call for Kingship, igniting the flame of patriotism across the S-shaped land.

1. Tân Sở Base: Fortress of Spirit

• Recognizing the threat from French colonizers, Minister of War Tôn Thất Thuyết – the leader of the pro-war faction – secretly ordered the construction of the Tân Sở base from 1883.
• Location: Mai Đàn village, Cam Chính commune, Cam Lộ district.
• Scale: A solid military defense system covering nearly 23 hectares, surrounded by 4 dense layers of bamboo, deep moats, and sturdy earthen walls.
• Structure: Inside are complete warehouses, barracks, elephant and horse training grounds, and a working palace for the king. Tân Sở was not only a refuge but also a true military center to prepare for a long-term war.

Tân Sở National Monument

2. 13/7/1885: The Call for Kingship and the Aspiration for Independence

• After the capital Huế fell on the night of 4/7/1885, the pro-war faction brought King Hàm Nghi to Tân Sở. It was on this land that, on 13/7/1885, the Call for Kingship was proclaimed.
• Significance: The call of the young king touched the hearts of scholars, intellectuals, and the people across the country. From here, a strong wave of uprisings spread from North to South, with names that went down in history like Phan Đình Phùng, Nguyễn Thiện Thuật, Đinh Công Tráng...
• Royal footprints: Although later forced to move to Laos and then to Quảng Bình to seek refuge and continue fighting, Tân Sở will forever be remembered as the starting point of a self-reliant and self-strengthening national movement.

Thành Tân Sở

3. Memorial Temple of King Hàm Nghi: Connecting the Past and Present

• To pay tribute to the patriotic king and the soldiers of the Call for Kingship, Quảng Trị province built the Memorial Temple of King Hàm Nghi right on the old ground of the Tân Sở monument.
• Architecture: The temple bears the style of the Nguyễn dynasty's royal architecture, solemn and ancient amidst the rolling hills.
• Spirituality: In 2020, the royal throne of King Hàm Nghi was brought from Thế Miếu (Huế) to be enshrined here, fulfilling the wish to welcome the heroic king back to the place where he once ignited the flame of resistance.

Main Hall of the Temple of King Hàm Nghi

4. Journey to the Source

• To visit the monument, tourists start from Đông Hà city, follow National Route 9 to Cam Lộ town, and turn towards the Cùa region about 7km.
• In the peaceful red basalt land, the temple appears as a symbol of loyalty and patriotism. Here, you not only visit a national monument but also feel the breath of history, to be proud of a generation of ancestors who preferred death to slavery.

Offering Ceremony at the Memorial Temple of King Hàm Nghi

Tân Sở is not just bricks and bamboo; it holds the blood and bones of soldiers and the spirit of a young king. War may destroy fortifications, but it can never erase the Call for Kingship in the hearts of the people.

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Source: ipa.quangtri.gov.vn