Am Linh Quang Từ

Linh Quang Từ is a separate temple at the front with the tomb area at the back within a fairly large compound, called Am Đại Vương. Linh Quang Từ, or the temple together with Nguyễn Công Triều Tomb, is located in Đông Lao Village, Đông La Commune, Hoài Đức District, Hanoi. The tomb was built in 1677 and worships the famous general of the Lê Trung Hưng dynasty, Đô đốc Thái bảo Thượng tướng quân Kiêm Quận công Nguyễn Công Triều (1614–1690).

Nguyễn Công Triều was born on September 30, 1614 (Giáp Dần) and died on May 29, 1690 (Canh Ngọ) in Trấn Sơn Tây Prefecture. He was born into a poor peasant family in Kẻ Sau Village (now part of Đông Lao Village, Đông La Commune, Hoài Đức District, Hanoi). As a child, he spent some time in religious life; as he grew older, he went to Thăng Long to fulfill his ambition as a man. From a soldier who trained war elephants, he gradually became a skilled strategist in the “elephant corps.” From then on, he repeatedly achieved many merits.

He helped the country suppress separatist rebellions in the northern border region and defeated the rebel forces disguised as lords of the Bầu family, led by Vũ Công Tuấn, in Hưng Hóa – Tuyên Quang. He made two trips to Yunnan Province and used cunning to capture alive Mạc Kính Khoan, the last remnant of the Mạc Dynasty, who deliberately colluded with the Manchu Qing to carry out the scheme of “carrying snakes to bite the chickens at home” and invade our country. He was appointed Trấn thủ Sơn Tây, one of the four garrisons protecting the ancient capital of Thăng Long.
He was also entrusted by the Lê court with the important task of demarcating and re-erecting border markers on our country’s northern border. With such numerous merits, he was conferred the title of Đô đốc by the king during the Later Lê dynasty.

Having absorbed Nguyễn Trãi’s thought of taking the people as the foundation, Nguyễn Công Triều devoted his life to caring for the people’s livelihood, especially in his homeland, using it as a good model to apply in other localities. During his time as an official at court, he not only cared about socio-economic development and improving the people’s living standards but also paid much attention to activities building good customs, culture, and practices, using them as a basis for community management and long-term social stability.

In the final period of his life, when he was over 60, he asked the court for permission to return to his homeland to settle, directly using his wisdom and salary to guide villagers in reclaiming fields, digging drainage channels from Trai Field to the Nhuệ River, building Đông Lao Communal House, Đại Bi Pagoda, and Hưng Phúc Pagoda, opening Chợ Mới, digging wells, and building roads… He also set out key ideas for building the village convention, established village rules banning “wine and women” and requiring only “one bottle to be offered” (offering one bottle of wine on festival occasions) to combat drunkenness and addiction, and introduced specific regulations to build strong families based on loving, close emotional relationships, prevent illicit relations between men and women in society, and educate youth to have a good cultural lifestyle.

Linh Quang Từ (Nguyễn Công Triều Tomb) was ranked as a national-level relic under Decision No. 1460-QĐ/VH dated June 28, 1996, of the Ministry of Culture and Information.