Hà Pagoda

Chùa Hà Village (Thánh Đức Tự) belongs to Bối Hà hamlet, Cầu Giấy Ward, Hanoi City (formerly Dịch Vọng Ward, Cầu Giấy District). The pagoda is commonly called Hà Pagoda after the place name of Bối Hà hamlet, and its literary name is Thánh Đức Pagoda. Hà Pagoda is one of the famous religious sites of Hanoi capital because every visitor who comes here to visit and worship feels its efficacy and has their prayers fulfilled. The pagoda was founded in the Later Lê period in a cultured countryside of the old Đoài region west of Thăng Long capital. Like many ancient pagodas in the area such as Thánh Chúa Pagoda and Láng Pagoda, Hà Pagoda was built very early to worship Buddha and Mother Goddesses according to folk belief. With a favorable location, Hà Pagoda was also a revolutionary base and a safe zone of the Bắc Kỳ Provincial Party Committee in 1941 and 1945; from 1941 to 1945 the pagoda was a liaison and meeting place of the Central safe zone and the Provisional Revolutionary Committee of Hanoi.

Dịch Vọng is an ancient land with a long history of establishment and development. From the 6th century, Dịch Vọng was an operating area of Lý Phật Tử, who contributed to helping the country defeat foreign invaders. In the Lê period, Lam Sơn insurgents gathered forces here to launch a surprise attack on Đông Quan. In the year Kỷ Dậu (1789), Quang Trung - Nguyễn Huệ secretly concentrated troops in Dịch Vọng to attack the enemy's main army at Đống Đa mound. At the end of the 19th century, when the French colonialists captured Hanoi citadel, Hoàng Kế Viêm gathered troops in Dịch Vọng to fight directly in the two battles of Cầu Giấy in 1873 and 1883.

A brief look at the history of the Dịch Vọng area shows that this is a land with favorable terrain in all respects, whose people have a tradition of patriotism, diligence in labor, and early revolutionary awareness. In the upper sanctuary of the pagoda, a bronze incense burner engraved with three Chinese characters “Thánh Đức tự” is still preserved; according to the village elders, the name Thánh Đức Pagoda dates from the reign of Lê Thánh Tông (1460–1497). Legend has it that Crown Prince Nghi Dân, who had committed offenses against the court and was not allowed to succeed to the throne, formed a faction and at night placed ladders against the walls of Thăng Long citadel, burned the palace, and the young King Lê Thánh Tông fled to Hậu Village Pagoda - Thánh Chúa Pagoda (1,000 meters from Thánh Đức Pagoda) to take refuge. At that time, King Lê Thánh Tông also visited Thánh Đức Pagoda. Later the two pagodas were given the literary names Thánh Chúa Pagoda and Thánh Đức Pagoda. Based on folk legend and the physical architectural complex along with the collection of cultural relics still kept at the pagoda, such as bronze bells, horizontal lacquered boards, parallel sentences, and stone steles, it can be inferred that the pagoda was founded in the late Lê period. Currently, before the pagoda gate there is still a pair of parallel sentences inscribed “Lê triều Chính Hòa sáng tạo,” meaning the pagoda was built in the Chính Hòa era under King Lê Hy Tông. Through a long period of existence and the ups and downs of history, Hà Pagoda still preserves many relics of artistic value, such as the set of Three Ages Buddhas, the Amitabha statue, the statue of Đức Chúa Ông, and the Holy Monk, which are 19th-century artistic sculptures. The bronze bell with the Cảnh Thịnh 7 (1799) reign title still kept at the pagoda is a valuable source of material for determining the pagoda's history. Hà Pagoda has undergone many restorations and repairs; its current appearance is the product of restorations and repairs in the late Nguyễn period and in recent years.

In addition to functioning as a religious relic worshipping Buddha, the pagoda is also a revolutionary resistance relic. From 1936–1939, Dịch Vọng village was one of the localities with strong Party organizations and mass organizations. With a location favorable for transportation, Dịch Vọng was one of the localities chosen by the Party Central Committee as a central safe zone. In this area, the Provincial Party Committee established many secret facilities, such as Mrs. Hai Nhã's house in Bối Hà hamlet, which was chosen as the residence and workplace of Provincial Party Committee comrades; Hà Pagoda was a place for safe meetings and liaison, because the pagoda was a religious establishment where many people often gathered, making it easy to disguise activities as religious practice and thus to deceive the enemy and avoid the suspicion of secret agents; this form of disguise ensured the safety of the Party organization.

Because of Hanoi's special position, the Provincial Party Committee decided to establish the Hanoi Revolutionary Military Committee to directly prepare and lead the general uprising in the capital. On the evening of August 15, the Hanoi City Party Committee convened an extraordinary meeting; cadres and team leaders of the volunteer worker teams and volunteer youth teams at Hà Pagoda reviewed their forces and discussed urgent tasks in preparation for the uprising. On the morning of August 16, 1945, the Hanoi Revolutionary Military Committee held an emergency meeting to assess the situation of the revolutionary movement in Hanoi and discuss the uprising plan; the Committee decided on a number of policies to prepare for the uprising to seize power.

At this conference, comrade Nguyễn Khang, a member of the Bắc Kỳ Provincial Party Committee, was appointed Chairman of the Hanoi Revolutionary Military Committee and organized an expanded meeting with delegates from national salvation organizations, propaganda volunteer groups, and combat self-defense forces throughout the city to discuss the uprising plan. The conference clearly decided that the main operational force would be the masses in the inner and outer city, with combat self-defense forces as the core, and set the uprising time for the morning of August 19, 1945. This conference was moved to meet at the Tam Quan bell tower of Hà Pagoda to prepare the general uprising directive.

Also on the evening of August 1, 1945, the city's worker propaganda volunteer team directed the Dịch Vọng Viet Minh group to hold a mass rally, declare the abolition of the enemy administration and establish a provisional revolutionary People's Committee; in the yard of the communal house and Hà Pagoda, the Viet Minh declared the establishment of a revolutionary government and then marched around the commune to demonstrate strength. On the morning of August 19, 1945, revolutionary forces from the villages gathered in the pagoda yard, then followed Road 11A through Thụy Khuê to attend the rally at the Hanoi Opera House and participated in seizing the enemy's Resident Superior's Palace.

Hà Pagoda has terrain and scenery favorable for the secret activities of revolutionary cadres. The pagoda is on the edge of the village and has many shady green trees. The pagoda's architectural works include: the Tam Quan gate; the main pagoda with a layout in the shape of the Chinese character đinh; a five-bay front hall and a five-bay upper sanctuary, with roofs covered in traditional tiles. The five-bay Mother Goddess Temple is behind the upper sanctuary. Particularly notable is the Tam Quan gate with a bell tower, where extraordinary meetings of the Hanoi City Party Committee took place to prepare the plan for the uprising to seize revolutionary power in August 1945. The bell tower is built in two tiers with a staircase leading up. The upper tier has overlapping eaves, with a flaming sun image in the middle of the roof, a tiger talisman on the surface, and at the two roof ridges dragons with curled tails, their mouths holding the roof ridge; the roof is covered with imitation tubular tiles. The lower tier has three bays built on 12 pillars rising from the wall to form three archways, with the central doorway wider than the two side ones. On the surface connecting the two doorways, the exterior is decorated in relief with dragon and tiger images according to the positions “East Azure Dragon – West White Tiger.” Inside the yard are a garden area and a semicircular pond; this is the main architectural area of the pagoda. Through a long period of historical existence, the Tam Quan gate of Hà Pagoda remains preserved in its original state, a historical witness where many revolutionary historical events took place, contributing actively to the brilliant success of the general uprising on August 19, 1945 in Hanoi. The pagoda also preserves a collection of precious relics of high artistic value, such as a set of more than 26 statues, 18 stone steles from the Nguyễn period, many parallel sentences and horizontal lacquered boards praising the beauty of the pagoda and the sacredness of Buddhist dharma, and the bell with the Cảnh Thịnh 7 (1799) reign title, a Tây Sơn artifact preserved intact including the line recording the year the bell was cast. The bell inscription states: “The pagoda went through a military upheaval and the old bell was lost and has now been recast... it is often heard that among the five sounds of Buddhist dharma, the bell sound is considered foremost among the countless paths of cultivation; moral character must be cultivated first... now the Bối Hà guild, Trung village, Dịch Vọng commune - Từ Liêm district - Quốc Oai prefecture - Sơn Tây circuit - Đại Việt country, worships Thánh Đức, a place of ancient relics, famous landscapes, and renowned scenic beauty. In the past, this place was solemn Buddha land, but then it suddenly met with military upheaval and the pagoda fell silent... until a good day in the eleventh month of the year Kỷ Mùi, Cảnh Thịnh 7 (1799), officials, village elders, and the four guilds contributed money and property to handle the casting of the bell.”

In 1986, the Department of Culture and Information organized the installation of a commemorative plaque for revolutionary events at Hà Pagoda. Hà Pagoda is both a religious relic worshipping Buddha and a revolutionary resistance relic. The relic has always been respected, preserved, and carefully maintained by local authorities and people. The pagoda's architectural works have been restored and embellished, becoming increasingly spacious. In 2004, the Department of Culture and Information coordinated with Cầu Giấy District and the People's Committee of Dịch Vọng Ward to revise the revolutionary relic plaque. Hà Pagoda was ranked as a historical and cultural relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information in 1996.

With historical and cultural values hidden within its simple yet solemn architecture, Hà Pagoda is not only a famous cultural and religious address of Hanoi but also a revolutionary relic and an attractive cultural destination on the capital's western tourist route.