Copper columns of Ma Yuan

Copper columns of Ma Yuan (Vietnamese: Cột đồng Mã Viện) were a pair of copper columns erected by General Ma Yuan of Han China after his suppression of the Trung sisters' rebellion in 43 AD. The columns stood at southern frontier of Tượng Lâm (Xianglin) to mark the boundary of Chinese territory against the barbarians.[1] Ma prayed to the heaven: "if the columns break, Jiaozhi will be destroyed." (銅柱折交趾滅) Vietnamese collected many big rocks and put beside them in order to prevent them from broken, later, they became two hills and disappeared from history records.[2]

In 1272, Kublai sent his emissary to Vietnam to search for the columns. Trần Thánh Tông replied they were disappeared for a long time and hard to find. The emissary had to give up.[3]

References
  1. American Anthropologist, pp. 310
  2. Trần Trọng Kim, Việt Nam sử lược, Quyển 1, Phần 2, Chương 3
  3. Trần Trọng Kim, Việt Nam sử lược, Quyển 1, Phần 3, Chương 4

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