The failure to uphold the spirit following an improper worship rituals made people forget their duty to resist foreign invaders, allowing the French to invade our country. The patriotic figures during the Nguyễn Era (1862) called the Western European invaders
‘White Hordes’ (white-skinned people) in these two lines of poetry:
‘On the full moon day of the Rooster year in the first month,
When the White Hordes (Đàn Bạch Quỷ) appear, they immediately spread havoc.’
And in twelve lines of poetry praising the anti-French spirit of the Grand General of Bình Tây (Trương Công Định), Ông Đồ Chiểu (Scholar Chieu) wrote:
‘Traces of bullets pierce the Bạch Quỷ ships,
With swords, they further highlight the grandeur of Huỳnh Môn.’
Excerpt from Chú Giải Sám Giảng (1975)
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