Ca Pagoda
Introduction
Ca Pagoda belongs to Vân Lũng Village, An Khánh Commune, Hà Nội City. The ancient Ca Pagoda worships Saint Pháp Vân, one of the deities in the Four Dharma system: Pháp Vân – Goddess of Clouds; Pháp Vũ – Goddess of Rain; Pháp Lôi – God of Thunder; Pháp Điện – God of Lightning. These are natural deities in the indigenous beliefs of the Vietnamese people and play a role in supporting wet-rice agricultural production. Clouds, rain, thunder, and lightning bring water, helping plants and all living things grow and develop. Therefore, the ancient Vietnamese revered these deities as benevolent gods.
Besides worshipping Saint Pháp Vân, Ca Pagoda also worships Buddha. The pagoda also preserves many documents and artifacts related to the worship of the Four Dharma, such as a bronze bell, bronze gong, steles, genealogical records, royal edicts, and pairs of Han-character couplets praising the pagoda’s beautiful scenery and recording the legends of the Four Dharma saints.
According to the story recorded in the dossier, about two thousand years ago, at Linh Quang Pagoda, now Phật Tích Pagoda in Tiên Sơn, monk Khâu Đà La came and established a hermitage to spread the teachings. Across the Đuống River, in Mãn Xá Village near the Dâu River, lived Mr. and Mrs. Tu Định, a kind and virtuous couple. They had a daughter named Man Nương. When Man Nương was 12, her parents sent her to study with monk Khâu Đà La.
One day, after returning from performing rituals, Khâu Đà La saw Man Nương sleeping in front of his room. Not wanting to wake her, the monk stepped over her body to enter the room. Later, Man Nương became pregnant. The monk explained that this was the result of “the union of human and heaven,” not an ordinary worldly affair.
Man Nương was pregnant for 14 months. On the 8th day of the fourth lunar month, she gave birth to a daughter. Fearing public ridicule, Man Nương’s parents asked her to take the child to Khâu Đà La. Khâu Đà La took the child to an ancient dung tree, knocked on the trunk, and recited a verse. The trunk suddenly split in two. The monk placed the child inside; the tree closed again and blossomed. Before parting, Khâu Đà La gave Man Nương a staff, telling her that in times of drought she only needed to plant the staff in the ground and pray, and water would come. According to the legend, when Man Nương did as instructed, a stream of sweet water indeed flowed from the ground.
In the year of Giáp Tý, the ancient dung tree was knocked down by a storm, drifted with the current toward the Dâu River, and stopped. The villagers mobilized young men to drag the tree ashore but could not. When Man Nương came to the river, the tree suddenly floated. She tied the strap of her bodice to the tree and pulled; the tree followed the waves to shore. After retrieving the tree, the villagers sawed the trunk into four pieces and carved four statues. When they held the ceremony to ask for the statues’ titles, natural phenomena appeared one after another:
The first statue was accompanied by five-colored clouds and was named Pháp Vân; it is worshipped at Thiền Định – Diên Ứng Pagoda, also known as Dâu Pagoda.
The second statue was accompanied by rain and was named Pháp Vũ; it is worshipped at Thành Đạo Pagoda, also known as Đậu Pagoda.
The third statue was accompanied by thunder and was named Pháp Lôi; it is worshipped at Phi Tướng Pagoda, also known as Tướng Pagoda.
The last statue was accompanied by lightning and was named Pháp Điện; it is worshipped at Phương Quan Pagoda, also known as Dàn Pagoda.
Since then, every year on the 8th day of the fourth lunar month, pagodas in the Dâu and Kinh Bắc region hold a festival. Folk tradition still preserves the saying:
“No matter what trade you pursue,
Remember the eighth day and return to the Dâu festival.”
The inner area includes the Upper Hall and the square house, i.e., the front hall, arranged in the style of the character Nhị. The outer area has the Tam Bảo hall built in the style of the character Đinh; the front part is the great hall, and the rear part worships Buddha. In addition to the main structures, the pagoda grounds also include the Patriarch’s house, the nuns’ house, and some auxiliary structures. Surrounding them are gardens of perennial trees, ornamental plants, and ponds holding water.
The Upper Hall is the most ancient architectural structure still preserved at Ca Pagoda. Its plan is square. Three sides are walled: the rear and the two gable ends. The front is left open without a blocking door, convenient for entering the rear hall to worship the Saints. The Upper Hall roof is covered with ridge tiles. On the roof, several ancient thick ridge-end tiles remain, about 30 cm long, 20 cm wide, and about 5 cm thick at the nose. After many repairs, part of the old Lê-era tiles was broken and replaced with thinner, smaller tiles. The roof has two curved corners, creating a soft shape. On the roof corners are kìm and dragon heads made of lime mortar mixed with dó paper and honey. The moss layer on the roof contributes to the structure’s ancient appearance. The Upper Hall frame consists of three main rows of columns, four columns per row, about 55 cm in diameter. The two middle rows are called by villagers the four pillars. The rows of columns are connected by horizontal and longitudinal beams and roof trusses. Column bases rest on green stone and sandstone blocks carved into squares, octagons, or circles. The Upper Hall is an artistic architectural work of the Lê Trung Hưng period, 17th century. Some researchers initially suggest the structure was made in the Hoằng Định year, 1613.
The architectural components are carved with many images and patterns such as dragons, clouds, flowers and leaves, human figures, warriors fighting tigers, and fairies riding dragons. The dragon heads have features such as wide-open mouths holding pearls, manes pointed backward, and round protruding eyes. The dossier assessment: These are typical features of Lê-era carving art.
One work is described as a muscular warrior fighting a tiger. Another work shows a fairy riding a dragon flying above layers of clouds. The dossier states that these works reflect the aesthetic level and refined carving technique of the ancients.
In the rear hall there is a shrine housing the statue of Pháp Vân Bodhisattva. The shrine is square. The front has a curtain door carved with motifs such as a tiger-face emblem, dragons, horses, and seal characters. Above the curtain door is a bright full moon, flanked by dragons facing it. The Pháp Vân Bodhisattva statue is placed in the center of the shrine. The statue is seated, with legs crossed in a circle forming the yin-yang twofold position. The statue’s face is plump and kind; large ears, gentle eyes, and a tall neck with three rings. The right hand is raised with five fingers pointing straight up, which the dossier explains symbolizes calling wind, clouds, and rain to bring water to plants and cool all beings. Based on the statue’s shape, face, and carving technique, the dossier assesses that the statue bears characteristics of Nguyễn-era round sculpture art.
In the rear hall there are also an altar table, incense bowls, candlesticks, a bronze crane, boxes and trays holding royal edicts and saint legends. The dossier identifies these worship objects as mainly made in the Nguyễn period.
The square house stands in front of the Upper Hall and is where ritual ceremonies are prepared. The structure has three bays. The middle bay is left empty; the two side bays are used to hang a bronze bell and a bronze gong. The two gable ends of the square house are built with brick walls. The front and rear are left open. The roof has two sloping sides; the ridge and gable walls are built straight. The square house’s trusses are made in the chồng rường con nhị style. The column system is the main load-bearing part. The four main columns in the two middle trusses are about 35 cm in diameter and about 320 cm high. The column bases rest on stone blocks carved in the shape of a bronze drum with a tapered neck. Around them are 12 square-built columns, about 35 cm × 35 cm. On the columns of the main bays are pairs of Han-character couplets praising the Saints’ merits and the beauty of the worship area.
The outer pagoda area is arranged in the “front Nhất, rear Đinh” style. In front are five bays of the front hall; behind are three bays worshiping Buddha. According to the accounts of elderly villagers recorded in the dossier, the pagoda was founded around 1450. This is oral tradition recorded in the dossier, not a date determined by extant documents in the provided images. Over a long period, the structure deteriorated. In the Tây Sơn period, the pagoda was renovated in the seventh Cảnh Thịnh year, i.e., 1799. At the end of the Nguyễn period, the pagoda continued to undergo major repairs and took on the appearance remaining at the time the dossier was compiled.
The pagoda is enclosed by brick walls, with gable ends closed. The roof is covered with ridge tiles; the ridge and gable walls are built straight. In front are two square pillars decorated with lantern shapes, nghê figures, and pairs of Han-character couplets. The pagoda’s truss system includes four main trusses, made in the chồng rường con nhị style. The wooden components are decorated with cloud, flower, leaf, lotus-petal, seal-character, and dragon patterns. The dossier assesses that the structure has artistic characteristics of the Tây Sơn and late Lê periods, while some parts were repaired and added in the Nguyễn period. The date of the seventh Cảnh Thịnh year, 1799, is recorded on the first beam and is considered a determining date for one renovation.
The square house of Ca Pagoda still preserves a valuable ancient bronze bell and bronze gong. The bell was cast in 1613, under the Hoằng Định era name. The bell is about 73 cm in diameter, 129 cm high, and about 4 cm thick. It has a rounded shape, with clear ridges and patterns. The bell handle is cast in the form of a dragon with a round scaly body and a wide-open mouth holding a pearl. The bell body is divided into four panels, each divided into two decorative tiers. The upper part of the bell body is engraved with inscriptions stating the reason for casting the bell, the pagoda’s name, and the year of casting. The content on the bell indicates that the pagoda was formerly named Phúc Lâm Viên and later changed to Đại Bi Tự.
The bronze gong was cast in the sixth Cảnh Hưng year, i.e., 1745. The gong bears the Han-character line: “Phúc Lâm Viên tự linh bảo khánh”. The gong is about 89 cm high and about 137 cm long. Both faces are embossed with the Four Sacred Creatures: dragon, qilin, turtle, and phoenix. The dossier assesses it as a unique ancient gong in Hà Tây. The thickness figure recorded in the document is 0.02 cm. This number was copied exactly as seen in the image, but may need to be checked against the original.
Ca Pagoda also preserves many ancient statues from the 17th and 18th centuries. The statues are assessed as having high artistic value, forming a “miniature fine arts museum”. The provided image pages mention the statue of Bodhisattva Guanyin with a Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes, but the specific description of the statue is on pages not included in the image set, so it cannot be fully reproduced. Besides worship statues, the pagoda also has many worship objects such as a platform bed, altar table, incense bowls, incense tubes, bronze censers, candlesticks, and other small worship items.
Ca Pagoda is a structure of historical, religious, architectural, and artistic value. The Lê-era statues, architectural carvings, bronze bell, bronze gong, royal edicts, saint legends, steles, and worship objects form a rich heritage system. Each statue is regarded as a sculpture with its own technique and style. The dossier also assesses that there are rare works seldom found at other relics.
Ca Pagoda was ranked as a national-level Historical and Cultural Relic under Decision No. 460/QĐ/BT dated March 18, 1996, of the Ministry of Culture and Information.
