King Le Du Tong reburied in homeland

A special ceremony was held to rebury the remains of King Le Du Tong (1679-1731) in Bai Trach village, Tho Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province on Jan. 25.
The King’s stele will be placed at the imperial temple of the former Le Kings, alongside those of all 27 Le Kings of the former Le dynasty (1418-1789) in Dong Ve ward of Thanh Hoa city.
Le Du Tong was the 22nd king of the Le dynasty, ruling from 1705 to 1729. The Le dynasty, which lasted from 1428 to 1789, is famous for its founder, King Le Loi, who liberated the country from Chinese Ming invaders.
When King Le Du Tong came to the throne, he reduced and eliminated a number of taxes. At the time of his reign, the power of the Le dynasty was beginning to decline.
In 1729, the King abdicated the throne to his son Le Duy Phuong. Two years later, Le Du Tong died at the age of 52. For the last two years of his life, he was a devout Buddhist.
The king’s remains were found in February of 1958 by farmers in Bai Trach hamlet of Ban Thach Village in Tho Xuan District, in the central province of Thanh Hoa while they were digging in a field. The outer coffin was discovered first and when they broke a corner they saw a red lacquer inner coffin trimmed with gold.
After hearing the news, relevant Government officials came and used cement to mend the broken corner and then assigned local authorities to manage the tomb.
After several requests by the council of the Le royal family, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism permitted transport of the remains to the King’s homeland for reburial. The Prime Minister signed off on the approval on Oct. 29, 2009.