About the verse “Dinh Market sells boy’s clothes...”.

Abstract

Dinh Market in Huế has a long history, since 1709 it has been recorded in history books, but according to the author, it may have appeared since 1665 to serve the Ao Palace. According to the author’s research results, the verse “Dinh Market sells boy’s clothes” appeared in the time of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Khoát, when the Lord forced the whole people to change new clothes.
In the study, the author suggests that current Dinh Market at the end of Chi Lăng street, Dinh Ông Market at the junction of Chi Lăng-Nguyễn Du streets, Dinh Market at the foot of Đông Ba Bridge (at the beginning of Nguyễn Chí Thanh street today, according to the description of Michel Đức Chaigneau) and even Đông Ba Market, Được Market, Cồn-Phú Cát Market... are just the versions of the Nguyễn Dynasty’s Dinh Market, as a result of the fact that Đông Ba River was dug in 1805 under the order of Emperor Gia Long, which is transformed like a tree with many branches.
This important area was called “Dinh Market Island” by the French, with many palaces of royal princes and princesses, so it takes a lot of effort to find out.