The Legend of Banh Chung and Banh Day

Long ago, during the reign of the sixth Hung Vuong king, the realm of Van Lang prospered under wise and benevolent rule. The king had twenty-two sons, each accomplished in their own way, and as he grew older, he faced the difficult decision of choosing which prince would inherit the throne and continue the dynasty’s legacy.

Unlike many rulers who simply named their eldest son as heir, King Hung Vuong VI was a thoughtful monarch who believed that the next king should be chosen based on merit, wisdom, and genuine love for the people rather than merely the accident of birth order. He wanted to find the son who truly understood the heart of their kingdom and the needs of their subjects.

After much contemplation, the king announced a unique contest to determine his successor. He called all his sons together and proclaimed: “My beloved sons, the time has come for me to choose the next ruler of our kingdom. I will not simply pass the crown to the eldest, but rather to the one who can demonstrate the greatest wisdom, creativity, and understanding of our people’s needs.”

The challenge he set before them was both simple and profound: “You must each create a dish that represents the essence of our land and our people. The prince who presents the most meaningful and appropriate offering will become the next king. You have one month to prepare, and then you will present your creations at the New Year celebration.”

The announcement sparked great excitement and intense competition among the princes. Most of the king’s sons immediately began planning elaborate dishes using the rarest and most expensive ingredients they could find. They dispatched servants to distant lands to procure exotic spices, precious delicacies, and ingredients that would demonstrate their wealth and access to luxury goods.

Prince Dang, the third son, commissioned a magnificent feast featuring birds’ nest soup, shark fin delicacies, and precious herbs from the highest mountains. Prince Duc, the seventh son, prepared dishes made with rare seafood transported from distant oceans, seasoned with spices worth more than a common family’s yearly income.

Other princes created elaborate presentations with gold leaf decorations, plates made from precious metals, and ingredients so rare that only royalty had ever tasted them. Each tried to outdo the others in magnificence and expense, believing that the most costly and impressive dish would surely win their father’s approval.

However, Prince Lang Lieu, the eighteenth son, approached the challenge differently. Unlike his brothers, he did not have vast wealth at his disposal, nor did he have powerful allies who could help him acquire rare ingredients. He was known throughout the court for his simple lifestyle, his deep love for his father, and his genuine concern for the common people of the kingdom.

Lang Lieu spent days walking through the villages and countryside, observing how ordinary people lived and what foods sustained them through both good times and hardships. He visited rice paddies where farmers worked from dawn to dusk, and he sat with elderly villagers who shared stories of the kingdom’s history and traditions.

As he reflected on his father’s challenge, Lang Lieu realized that the most meaningful dish would not be one that showcased wealth or rarity, but one that represented the true heart of their land and people. Vietnam was fundamentally an agricultural society, and rice was the staple that fed everyone from the poorest farmer to the royal family itself.

The idea came to him one evening as he sat by a village fire, watching families share simple meals together. He would create dishes using rice – the humble grain that was the foundation of their civilization – but he would prepare them in a way that carried deep symbolic meaning.

Working with his own hands, Prince Lang Lieu began experimenting with different ways to prepare rice. He ground rice into flour, mixed it with water from pure mountain springs, and shaped it into various forms. Through trial and error, he developed two distinct types of rice cakes.

The first was banh chung – square-shaped cakes made from glutinous rice, mung bean paste, and pork, all wrapped carefully in dong leaves (lá dong) and tied with bamboo strips. The square shape, he explained, represented the Earth with its four directions – north, south, east, and west. The green color of the dong leaves symbolized the vitality and growth of nature, while the ingredients inside represented the harmony between plant and animal life that sustained his people.

The second creation was banh day – round, white rice cakes made from pure glutinous rice flour, shaped like perfect circles. These represented Heaven in its complete, eternal form. The pure white color symbolized purity, truth, and the divine order that governed the universe.

But Lang Lieu’s cakes were meaningful beyond their symbolism. They were practical foods that could be made by any family, using ingredients that were available throughout the kingdom. They could be stored for long periods, making them valuable during times of scarcity or long journeys. Most importantly, they were prepared with love and care, each one requiring patience and skill to create properly.

As the New Year celebration approached, all the princes prepared to present their dishes to the king and the assembled court. The palace was filled with the aromas of exotic spices and rare delicacies as each prince arranged elaborate displays of their culinary creations.

When Lang Lieu’s turn came, he stepped forward carrying only a simple bamboo tray with his humble rice cakes. The court murmured with surprise and some with barely concealed amusement. After witnessing presentations of golden dishes and rare delicacies, the prince’s simple offering seemed almost comically modest.

But King Hung Vuong VI was intrigued rather than disappointed. He invited Lang Lieu to explain his creation, and the young prince spoke with quiet passion about his cakes and their meaning.

“Honored father,” Lang Lieu began, “I present to you banh chung and banh day. These humble cakes are made from rice, the grain that feeds our people and sustains our kingdom. The square banh chung represents our Earth, with its four seasons and four directions, showing our connection to the land that gives us life. The round banh day represents Heaven, eternal and perfect, reminding us of the divine order that guides our kingdom.”

He continued, “These cakes can be made by any family in our realm, using ingredients that grow in our own fields. They represent not luxury or rarity, but the fundamental values of our people – hard work, resourcefulness, and the love that transforms simple ingredients into nourishment for both body and soul.”

As Lang Lieu spoke, the king tasted both types of cakes. The flavors were subtle but deeply satisfying – the earthy richness of the mung beans, the savory depth of the pork, and the clean, pure taste of properly prepared rice. These were not foods that overwhelmed with exotic spices or impressed with rarity, but rather foods that nourished and comforted, foods that could be eaten every day without losing their appeal.

King Hung Vuong VI was deeply moved by his son’s presentation and the thought behind his creation. He recognized that while his other sons had focused on impressing others with wealth and extravagance, Lang Lieu had understood the deeper meaning of the challenge. The prince had created something that truly represented the kingdom’s values and the daily lives of its people.

After careful deliberation, the king announced his decision: “Prince Lang Lieu has demonstrated the wisdom and understanding that I seek in the next ruler of our kingdom. His humble rice cakes represent not just our land and heaven, but the true spirit of our people. He will be my successor.”

The court was initially surprised by this choice, but as the king explained his reasoning, many came to understand the profound wisdom in Lang Lieu’s approach. A ruler who understood and valued the common people’s daily struggles and needs would be better equipped to govern fairly and compassionately than one who focused only on luxury and display.

Prince Lang Lieu was crowned as the seventh Hung Vuong, and his reign was marked by prosperity, justice, and deep care for all his subjects, regardless of their social status. He never forgot the lessons learned during the contest – that true leadership comes from understanding and serving others, not from displaying one’s own wealth or power.

To honor his victory and preserve the wisdom it represented, King Hung Vuong VII decreed that banh chung and banh day should be prepared and eaten during every Tet (New Year) celebration. These rice cakes became central to Vietnamese New Year traditions, served alongside other foods as families gathered to welcome the coming year.

The tradition continues to this day, more than two thousand years later. Every Tet season, Vietnamese families gather to prepare banh chung and banh day together, often spending entire nights cooking and sharing stories. The process of making these cakes – from selecting the ingredients to wrapping them in leaves to tending the fires that cook them – has become a time for families to bond and for older generations to pass down traditions to younger ones.

The legend of Lang Lieu and his rice cakes teaches important lessons about values, leadership, and the meaning of true wealth. It reminds us that the most profound gifts are often the simplest ones, and that understanding and caring for others is more valuable than impressing them with displays of luxury or power.

When Vietnamese families sit down to enjoy banh chung and banh day during Tet celebrations, they remember Prince Lang Lieu’s wisdom and the love that transforms humble ingredients into meaningful traditions. The square and round cakes continue to represent Earth and Heaven, but they also represent the enduring values of family, tradition, and the deep connections between people and the land that sustains them.

This beautiful legend explains not only the origin of beloved Vietnamese foods but also the principles that have guided Vietnamese culture for millennia – the importance of humility, the value of understanding one’s people, and the truth that the greatest achievements often come from the simplest and most heartfelt efforts.