In the struggle to defend Vietnam from Chinese invasion, Ly Thuong Kiet, one of Vietnam's greatest generals composed a poem that would be considered one of Vietnam's first declarations of independence. The poem is a quatrain entitled "Vietnam's Mountains and Rivers."  In 1076, at the Nhu Nguyet River, during the battle with the Sung, Ly Thuong Kiet composed this poem and had it recited during the night to his soldiers, making them believe that the river god was speaking. Their morale was higher than ever; Ly's army managed to repel the attackers.

Nam quốc sơn hà  

Nam quốc sơn hà Nam đế cư,

Tiệt nhiên định phận tại thiên thư.

Như hà nghịch lỗ lai xâm phạm,

Nhữ đẳng hành khan thủ bại hư.

Translation in other languages:

By Nguyen Trai (14th Century)

 "… A short time ago, because of the over-vexatious Ho's administration, our feelings were filled up with discontent. Throngs of mad dogs that are the Ming watched over us and profited from the situation to do harm to our people. Bands of rebels and traitors also took advantage of the occasion to sell our country. Our people were burnt alive in cruel furnaces; inhabitants were unjustly shoved into deep wells. They thwarted Heaven and bore down the population; they schemed demoniacal tricks under ten thousand forms. Then, they incurred warfare and, for almost twenty years, calamities succeeded calamities. They had lost all human sentiment - even Heaven and Earth aspired to a respite; Taxes were heavy and collections frequent, mountains and rivers had nothing left to yield. In order to exploit gold mines, one had to confront pestilential vapors of high regions, and to cut through mountains and screen sands. To find brilliant pearls, one had to rout marine monsters, gird up one's loins and plunge into deep sea. They molested our people by urging it to dig ditches to catch black roebucks; they annihilated- the beasts in setting traps and nets to catch kingfishers. Even insects and plants do not have the satisfaction of lawns in peace. Widowers and widows, wretched and badly off people could not find a peaceful home. They bleeded the people living body white to fatten their tyrannical mouths. They pushed to the extreme, wood and earth works to embellish their public buildings and their private houses. In hamlets, fatigue tasks were overwhelming and toilsome; in villages, people forsook the weaving-loom. Should one drain the Oriental Sea water, one still could not wash traces of their ignominy; should one take all bamboo of Meridional Mountains, one still could not transcribe all their crimes. Geniuses themselves grew angry, Heaven and Earth could not show themselves lenient…"

Full Document in Vietnamese and Chinese:

Hịch Tướng Sĩ is one of the most famous literary masterpieces by one of Vietnam's greatest generals, Tran Hung Dao. The text calls attention to the impending threat of China.