Bộc Pagoda

On the bustling commercial street of the former Đống Đa District, now in Kim Liên Ward, Hanoi, there is a relic that was once a fierce battlefield, burying 290,000 Qing invaders on the fifth day of Tết Kỷ Dậu (1789) during the historic Đống Đa battle of the Tây Sơn insurgent army. That is Bộc Pagoda, whose Sino-Vietnamese name is “Sùng Phúc Tự” or “Thiên Phúc Tự.” The pagoda is located at 25 Chùa Bộc Street, Quang Trung Ward, Đống Đa District, Hanoi (formerly Quang Trung Ward, Đống Đa District). The pagoda was originally built to worship Buddha, but because it lies within the Đống Đa Mound battlefield, it also worships King Quang Trung and the souls of the Qing soldiers who died in battle long ago. The name “Bộc” implies that this was the battlefield where the bodies of the Qing invaders were exposed in 1789. Currently, the pagoda is located at 25 Chùa Bộc Street, Kim Liên Ward, Hanoi.

Legend has it that the pagoda was founded very early under the name “Sùng Phúc Tự”; by the mid-17th century, it was repaired and made more spacious. This repair was recorded on the stele “Trùng tu Sùng Phúc tự” (Restoration of Sùng Phúc Pagoda), under the era name Vĩnh Trị, first year (1676). In the 7th year of Chính Hòa (1686), the pagoda again cast Buddha statues and a bronze bell. At the end of the 18th century, during the historic Đống Đa battle, the pagoda was destroyed and abandoned. In the 4th year of Quang Trung (1792), it was repaired and renamed “Thiên Phúc Tự.” The stele “Tái tạo Sùng Phúc tự, Phật tượng các tòa bi ký” erected in the first month of the Nhâm Tý year—the 4th year of Quang Trung (1792)—states that the pagoda was rebuilt and Buddha statues were remade by the abbot, Zen Master Tăng Thống Lê Đình Lượng, courtesy name Đức Trường, and the sắc mục Vũ Viết Hoa, together with the people of Khương Thượng hamlet, who contributed their efforts.

In the 19th century, the pagoda continued to be restored, with steles carved and statues made, becoming increasingly spacious and complete. Today, Bộc Pagoda has a very imposing architectural scale compared with many other pagodas in the region. From the outside, one passes through two three-gate entrances, the Elephant Bathing Lake area, and a large brick yard to the Front Hall, Upper Hall, Ancestral House, corridors, guest house, stupa garden, and Thanh Temple.

The Outer Three-Gate Entrance lies right next to the sidewalk of Chùa Bộc Street. It is a massive structure consisting of three arched gates, two stories and eight roofs covered with imitation tube tiles, with the central gate taller and wider than the two side gates. At the roof ridge is a fire sun with upward-curving corner tips soaring into the air; below hangs a horizontal plaque bearing three Chinese characters, “Thiên Phúc tự.” On both sides of the gate are two large pillars, their tops decorated with stylized chái giành motifs. From here to the Inner Three-Gate Entrance, one passes a large lake called Hồ Tắm Tượng (Elephant Bathing Lake). This lake was formerly very large and served to “gather water and gather blessings” for the relic. Legend says that after capturing Khương Thượng fort, the elephant corps of the Tây Sơn army bathed here to wash off smoke and dust. Today, the lake area has been greatly reduced, to only about 300 m²; it is lined with stone, and lotus and water lilies are planted in the lake bed to add elegance to the pagoda grounds. In the pagoda yard there are also two stupa tombs and three stele shelters; on the right side of the yard is an exhibition house on the historic Đống Đa victory.

The Inner Three-Gate Entrance has a form similar to that of Láng Pagoda’s three-gate entrance. This structure was renovated in 1982, consisting of three bays in a stacked-eave structure with two stories and four roofs. The upper story is a bell tower, with the front and rear sides left open, opening up a spacious interior. This three-gate entrance has only the philosophical meaning of Buddhism; pilgrims do not enter the pagoda through this route.

The main pagoda is built in the “Đinh” (T-shaped) plan, including the Front Hall and Upper Hall. The Front Hall is imposing in scale, with nine bays and two side bays, brick gable walls, two sloping roofs covered with fish-scale tiles, a large sun modeled in the center of the roof ridge, and Makara figures with curled tails at both gable ends facing the center of the roof. In front of the porch are two large pillars, topped with four phoenixes with tails joined together in the chái giành style; the lantern section is decorated with the four sacred creatures and four precious plants. The pillar bodies bear couplets praising the beauty of the relic, and the pillar bases are in the thắt cổ bồng style.

The frame is made of wood, with truss sets in the chồng rường structure creating traditional motifs such as lively leaf scrolls and coin patterns. The Upper Hall consists of three longitudinal bays. The building has brick gable walls and roofs covered with fish-scale tiles. The frame is in the chồng rường structure. The columns are all made in the thượng thu hạ thách style, resting on cổ bồng stone bases.

On both sides of the Upper Hall are two rows of corridors, each with three bays, built with brick gable walls and roofs covered with fish-scale tiles; the truss sets are in the giá chiêng - kẻ chuyền structure, bearing the artistic style of the 20th century. This structure was restored in 1997–1998. The pagoda’s corridors are now used as the Guest House.

The Ancestral House area behind the pagoda has a “Đinh” plan, including the Front Ceremonial Hall and the Rear Sanctuary. The Front Ceremonial Hall has nine bays and brick gable walls. The three truss sets in the central bays are in the giá chiêng - kẻ chuyền structure, while the remaining trusses are in the chồng rường structure. In the three central bays are statues of Patriarch Bodhidharma and the ancestral monks. The Rear Sanctuary has three bays and is where the pagoda’s Mother Goddesses are worshipped. The central bay worships the Three Holy Mothers and the Four Palaces Council; the right bay worships Lady Sơn Trang; the left bay worships the Trần Dynasty.

Within the pagoda grounds there is still a small shrine called Thanh Miếu—the place to worship the souls of Qing soldiers who died in the Đống Đa battle long ago; it is built in the “Đinh” plan, including a Front Ceremonial Hall and Rear Sanctuary. The pagoda also has a garden with five stupas built of brick and plastered, square in cross-section, each consisting of three tiers stacked on one another. This is the resting place of abbots who passed away. The stupas date to a later period, around the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Like many ancient Vietnamese pagodas in the northern delta that survive today, Bộc Pagoda still preserves a full set of beautifully and finely created statues with high sculptural and artistic value. Notable are the set of Three-World Buddhas made of jackfruit wood, quite exquisite; there are also a set of Shakyamuni seated in the lotus position with two Bodhisattvas, a set of Maitreya and two Arhats, statues of Cửu Long and Nam Tào – Bắc Đẩu, the set of Ten Kings of Hell, statues of Đức Ông – Holy Monk, Khuyến Thiện – Trừng Ác, Patriarch statues, Mother Goddess statues, etc., arranged in balanced composition with soft, graceful lines, reflecting the course of art history through each period. Most of these statues have an artistic date around the 19th–20th centuries.

Worthy of note is the statue of Đức Ông in the pagoda, which legend says is the statue of Emperor Quang Trung, because above the altar is a horizontal plaque bearing four characters, “uy phong lẫm liệt,” and below is a couplet:

Động lý vô trần, đại địa sơn hà lưu đống vũ

Quang Trung hóa Phật, tiểu thiên thế giới chuyển phong vân