The Legend of Sword Lake

During the time when the Ming invaders occupied our land, they treated our people with disdain and committed numerous brutal acts. At that time, the Lam Sơn insurgent army rose up to resist the invaders, but due to their weak forces, they were repeatedly defeated. Witnessing this, Lạc Long Quân decided to lend the insurgents a divine sword to help them fight the enemy.

At that time, King Lê Lợi and a man from Mục Sơn village named Lê Thận were close friends. One night, Thận went fishing and noticed a bright light shining from the bottom of the water, as if a torch was illuminating it. He cast his net and pulled up only a piece of metal, over a foot long. Finding it strange, he brought it home and stored it in a corner of his house. One day, when Thận was hosting a memorial feast, the king visited his house and saw the metal piece glowing. The king asked, 'What is this piece of metal?' Thận replied, 'I caught it when casting my net the other night.' The king then asked if he could have it, and Thận immediately agreed. The king took it back, cleaned off the rust, and polished it until it gleamed. He then saw the words 'Thuận Thiên' (in accordance with Heaven) along with the word 'Lợi' (his name). Later, while the king was outside his house, he found a sword hilt that had been carved into shape. The king prayed to the heavens, saying, 'If this is truly Heaven’s sword, may the blade and the hilt fit perfectly together!' He then inserted the metal piece into the hilt, and it became a complete sword.

With the divine sword in hand, Lê Lợi swept through the battlefields, winning every fight. His victories struck fear into the hearts of the enemy, and in the end, he drove the Ming invaders completely out of the country.
After driving out the Ming invaders, King Lê Lợi took a dragon boat to tour Lake Tả Vọng. On that occasion, the Lạc Long Quân sent the Golden Turtle to retrieve the divine sword. As the dragon boat approached the center of the lake, a large turtle appeared, and the king ordered the boat to slow down. The Golden Turtle swam towards the king and said, 'Your Majesty, please return the sword to the Lạc Long Quân.' The divine sword at the king’s side suddenly began to move. The king raised the sword towards the turtle, and the turtle immediately opened its mouth, took the sword, and disappeared into the water.
From that day on, Lake Tả Vọng was renamed Sword Lake (Hồ Gươm), or Hoàn Kiếm Lake.