Cơ Xá Temple

Old histories record: “Ly Thuong Kiet was from An Xa village (later renamed Co Xa); his real name was Ngo Tuan, courtesy name Thuong Kiet. He was born in the Ky Mao year (1019). At the age of 23, Ngo Tuan volunteered for the royal guard serving Ly Thanh Tong and was trusted and favored by the king, who assigned him to oversee all affairs in the court. In 1054, he was appointed ‘Hieu Uy Thai Bao’ and granted the national surname Ly. Ly Thuong Kiet was a national hero, an outstanding military strategist whose tactical brilliance was combined with excellent political and diplomatic skills. He was credited with ‘defeating the Song and pacifying Champa,’ expanding and securing the borders, and is also regarded as the author of the immortal poem ‘Nam quoc son ha,’ considered the first declaration of independence in the nation’s history.”
On the 2nd day of the 6th month of the At Suu year (1105), he died in the capital Thang Long at the age of 86. The villagers honored him as the founding ancestor and established a temple to worship him from then on. The temple was built on a large scale with a five-bay front hall and a three-bay rear sanctuary, but it was destroyed in the early days of the nationwide resistance war against the French colonialists (1946). In 1947–1948, the rear sanctuary was rebuilt. In 2005, Co Xa Temple underwent major restoration, including: the ceremonial gate, two rows of left and right wings, the main temple, auxiliary items, and worship objects.
Currently, the Institute of Han-Nom Studies and Bac Bien communal house (Ngoc Thuy Ward, Long Bien District, Hanoi) preserve a number of artifacts from the temple, including: a large horizontal plaque bearing the inscription “Uy đức quang minh”; 3 ancient couplets praising the life and career of Ly Thuong Kiet; and 7 royal edicts from the Le and Nguyen dynasties. In addition, the temple also preserves a number of valuable worship artifacts such as a bronze bell, a worship cabinet, and a system of Buddha statues dating from the 19th century,…
In 1984, the Hanoi Department of Culture and Information conducted a general inventory and collection of documents on Co Xa Temple and included it in the city’s list of protected relics. In 1999, the Hanoi People’s Committee issued a decision recognizing Co Xa Temple as a historical and cultural relic of the capital. On January 26, 2006, Co Xa Temple was ranked as a City-level Historical and Cultural Relic.
Today, Co Xa Temple has become a place for cultural and spiritual activities of the local community and a destination for visitors to admire and visit the memorial site dedicated to the national hero Ly Thuong Kiet.