Citadel, Hue, Vietnam/越南順化阮朝故宮
根據這本旅遊指南第130頁：
「大砲 Sung Than Cong
城堡內放著9座的大砲，那是1803年時所造的，象徵四季節令，花費了1年才完成。東側的4個象徵四季，西側的5個為意味著金、木、水、火、土的中國五行思想。砲台上還刻有其典故。」
According to the guide book above, on page 130, it reads:
"Cannon Sung Than Cong
There are 9 cannons inside the citadel. They were built in 1803, symbolizing the four seasons. It took one year to build. The four cannons at the east symbolizes the four seasons, the five at the west the Chinese five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The reference is engraved at the base."
當我逛到這裡時已是黃昏，天色漸暗。我只有時間看「四時」，來不及看「五行」。我沒看到砲台，但是我知道這九座砲的典故：「裹以四時」「制以五行」典出莊子雜篇說劍。阮皇自詡為天子，這九座砲是他的「天子之劍」。
It was dusk when I found these cannons. I only had time for the "four seaons", but not the "five elements." I did not find the base, but I recognize the reference. This is another defiant middle finger to China. Another claim to the throne of the world.
The reference is from a story from a Chinese Daoist book: Zhuang Zi (aka Chuang Tzu). Some scholars suspect that that chapter was faked by later folks. In that story, there was a war lord who appreciated the art of fencing. He had swordsmen dueling at his court days and nights. The casualty was mounting, and the country weaken. The crown prince seek councel from a Daoist philosopher: Zhuang Zi. He told the lord that he had three swords to offer. One was for the Heavenly Child (King of the World) another for war lords, and the other for peasants. He managed to convince the war lord by questioning him why he wield the peasants' sword while he had the chance to wield the Heavenly Child's. His description to the Heavenly Child's swords included "wrapped in the four seasons" and "controled by the five elements."
The Vietnamese emperor was proclaiming these nine cannons were parts of his "sword" of Heavenly Child by naming his cannons as "four seaons" and "five elements."
The weight of this cannon
Inside the barrel/砲口內
Related Article/延伸閱讀：
Bite Me!/九鼎：咬我啊！
Since May 15, 2010:
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