Who is "Ba Chieu" who was given the name of the ancient market, even Saigon people may not know!

For people in Ho Chi Minh City in general, Ba Chieu market is no longer a strange place but it is closely linked to everyone's activities. However, few people know who "Ba Chieu" is?

Ba Chieu Market is a large market, located in the central area of Binh Thanh district, Ho Chi Minh City. This is one of the oldest markets of this city, established in the 19th century. Initially, this place was called Xom market, then gradually developed and became the central market of Gia Dinh province (province). was established during the reign of King Minh Mang, merged with Saigon in 1975, now corresponds to Thu Duc City and districts 7, 12, Binh Tan, Binh Thanh, Go Vap, Phu Nhuan, Tan Binh, Tan Phu, Binh Chanh, Can Gio, Hoc Mon, Nha Be).

In 1942, the market was built by Mr. Tran Van Choi (nicknamed "Tu Choi") on a total area of 8,465 m2. In 1987, the market was upgraded and repaired again.

Ba Chieu Market used to be a large wholesale market of old Saigon, specializing in providing vegetables from Hoc Mon, Cu Chi, Da Lat... Today, it is the central market of Binh Thanh district.

The name Ba Chieu market makes many people wonder: Who is Ba Chieu?

Scholar Truong Vinh Ky (1837 - 1898), a famous writer, linguist, and cultural researcher in the 19th century, said that: Ba Chieu, as well as Ba Hat, Ba Diem, Ba Queo, Ba Hom - Famous markets, familiar to the people of Saigon, are all named after the five wives of Lanh Binh Thang (Nguyen Ngoc Thang, martial general during the reign of King Tu Duc, belonging to the first generation of anti-French soldiers in Cochinchina). Mr. Lanh bridge over Ben Nghe canal, connecting District 1 and District 4, is said to have been built by him and named after him).

According to scholar Truong Vinh Ky, Mr. Lanh Binh Thang established 5 markets in different areas, assigning each wife to manage one market. This is a solution that has two effects, one is to develop the economy, the other is to keep women busy doing business without colliding with each other. The fact that the 5 markets are located in 5 areas is also to avoid confrontation. among the ladies. Accordingly, Ba Chieu is the name of one of the five wives of Lanh Binh Thang.

However, writer Son Nam (1926 - 2008), a famous researcher of Southern culture, has a different explanation. According to him, Ba Chieu is the name of the land that appeared during the reign of King Tu Duc (second half of the 19th century), and this is not the name of a specific person in history but the name of a goddess.

According to Son Nam's explanation, Chieu means natural pond; Ba Chieu is "the goddess worshiped by the natural pond".

In the book From Ben Nghe to Saigon, author Tran Nhat Vy said that in the past, Ba Chieu market used to face a small canal from Nhieu Loc canal back in, meaning there was a natural water area.

Scholar Vuong Hong Sen (1902 - 1996), a cultural researcher who is considered to have extensive knowledge of the South, also disagrees with the explanation, "Mrs. Chieu is one of the wives of the Warlords." Thang". In the book Saigon in the past, he thought it was prudent to consider Mr. Lanh and Ms. Chieu, Ms. Diem, Ms. Hom, Ms. Hat, and Ms. Queo as husband and wife.

According to this scholar, Ba Hat, Ba Diem, and Ba Chieu may be the names of the first people to trade at these markets, and were named after the markets by the people. He took the example of Ba Hoa market in Tan Binh district, Ho Chi Minh City, built by a woman named Hoa who donated land and was also the first person to trade here.

Thus, like many other ancient places of folk nature, the origin of the name Ba Chieu market cannot be determined accurately and clearly. Scholars also only state their hypotheses so that people and researchers can refer to them.

In addition to Ba Chieu market, Ho Chi Minh City also has a few markets named starting with the word "Ba".

Ba Hom Market

The market was newly built after 2012, located in Tan Tao ward (Binh Tan district, Ho Chi Minh City). Before being newly built, Ba Hom market was a spontaneous market in Ho Van Long, mainly serving workers of industrial parks here.

Like other markets named "Ba", Ba Hom is not said to be the wife of General Lanh Binh Thang like scholar Truong Vinh Ky. According to old books about Saigon, Ba Hom was probably named after Bau Hom (bau soak hom). tre) is incorrect, because Bau Beo, Bau Hoi, Bau Mon are also incorrectly said to be Ba Beo, Ba Hoi, Ba Mon. In 1986, there was a pond here but it was later filled in.

Later, there was a spontaneous market in this area as well as a newly built market also named Ba Hom after this area.

Ba Diem Market

Ba Diem Market belongs to Ba Diem commune (Hoc Mon district, Ho Chi Minh City). According to documents, this area used to have many wild forests and ferocious tigers. On the third and fourth watch, people carrying agricultural products to Ben Nghe to sell had to go in groups and light torches to fight tigers. Besides, this is also an area where many betel and areca trees are grown, with all 18 villages growing this plant.

Ba Diem was a wholesale market for betel and areca nut for Luc province from the 19th century until the late 1980s. In the mid-1990s, there was still a horse-drawn carriage station. Dr. Le Trung Hoa - Linguist researcher, said that Mrs. Diem was the owner of the first tea shop in this area, so from then on it was called Ba Diem area. Later, after the commune was established, it was also named Ba Diem and the largest market located in the commune was also named this name.

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