Cua Song Temple

Cua Song Temple belongs to Luc Canh village, Xuan Canh commune, now Xuan Canh village, Dong Anh commune, Hanoi city. The temple is also called Cua Song Dau Temple or Dau Canh Junction Temple (the junction of the Red River and Duong River) or, after the place name, Xuan Canh Temple.

Previously the temple belonged to the land of Xuan Dinh village, Xuan Canh commune, Xuan Canh canton, Dong Ngan district, Tu Son prefecture, Bac Ninh province. In the 20th century, Xuan Canh canton belonged to Dong Anh district, Phuc Yen province. After 1945 the commune was named Dai Tam and then Doc Lap. Three small villages: Van Dinh, Van Hoach, Thuong Lao merged into one large village called Xuan Canh village, Dong Anh district, Phuc Yen province. In 1950, Dong Anh district belonged to Vinh Phuc province. In mid-1956 Doc Lap commune was divided into 2 communes both in Dong Anh district: Quyet Tam and Van Thang communes. Van Thang commune consisted of 5 villages: Xuan Canh, Luc Canh, Van Loc, Van Thuong and Xuan Trach. From 1961, Dong Anh district was incorporated into Hanoi; in 1965 Van Thang commune was renamed Xuan Canh and has kept the name to this day. Previously the temple was located on a high plot of land by the river; later floods gradually eroded the riverbank, so in 1944 the villagers moved the temple to its current location.

The temple worships the mother of the Archer God Quoc Lang - the patron deity of Xuan Trach village. According to the legend, she was Truong Trinh Ngoan, title Ngoan Phi Van, a beautiful and talented woman who lived in Xuan Trach hamlet. She was made a concubine by the 17th Hung King and given the name Fourth Queen of the Hung Dynasty. She gave birth to a talented son named Minh Lang. When he grew up, Minh Lang was skilled in martial arts and especially gifted in archery, so his father the king granted him the new name Archer God Quoc Lang. At that time, many people in Xuan Trach fell ill with an epidemic; Minh Lang set up an altar and cured the people. Recognizing his kindness, the king granted Minh Lang an estate in his mother's homeland, allowed him to enjoy the revenues, and to be worshipped as a tutelary deity. When Hung Due Vuong ascended the throne, the Thuc army plotted to seize the throne. Archer God Minh Vuong and the generals of the Hung court defended the country and defeated the Thuc army. Afterwards, he returned to his estate, Xuan Trach hamlet, held a banquet to celebrate the victory, and after some time he passed away. The Archer God was conferred by successive kings as a tutelary deity and is worshipped as the village patron in local villages such as Xuan Trach, Thuong Lao, and Xuan Dinh communal houses. Cua Song Temple specifically worships his mother, who gave birth to this patron deity. The temple is located by the dike, facing south toward the junction of the Red River and Duong River. Its architecture is modest, compact, and dates later than Xuan Trach communal house. The components of the relic include: temple gate, garden courtyard, main temple architecture, guest house area and other auxiliary works. The temple gate has one opening, arranged as a single-door gate with an arched top, a false ancient roof above, connected to the wall system enclosing the courtyard in front of the temple. The ancient roof section is decorated with a rectangular panel bearing four Chinese characters “Five Blessings Enter the Door” below are four characters: “Cua Song Mother Temple”. On both sides, pillars were built as framing posts bearing couplets in Chinese characters with the following content:

Entering the season, there is auspiciousness; coming and going bring benefit and joy.

All four seasons without calamity; going out and coming in smoothly.

Roughly translated as:

At seasonal festivals, welcome good fortune; coming and going bring benefit and joy.

All four seasons without calamity; going out and coming in smoothly.

Behind the ceremonial gate is a path extending to the rear courtyard of the temple; to the left of the path is a small courtyard leading to the main structure. To the right of the main temple is a row of seven-bay tiled houses used as a guest house, and two kitchen bays.

The main worship hall faces south; in front is a large courtyard with many trees, with the Co Pavilion, Cau Pavilion and a small incense pillar on both sides. The architecture is in the shape of the character “Nhị”, consisting of two buildings: the Tien Te (front hall) and the Hau Cung (rear sanctuary).

The Tien Te is built in the closed-gable style, with two ornamental pillars topped by molded qilin figures. The front roof of the Tien Te extends into a plain veranda, forming a small corridor. Outside the veranda is a flower wall over the roof, decorated with two dragons flanking the center, and in the middle is a scroll panel. The lower part is divided into decorative panels molded with Buddhist scene motifs; on both sides are a transformed phoenix and a tiger charm, and the two bays next to the gables have bas-relief busts. From the veranda, three doors lead into the worship hall; the central door holds the altars of Saint Tran and the Two Royal Ladies, while the side doors lead into the main worship hall. The main worship hall has five bays, structured with six sets of wooden trusses, all made in a unified, simple style. The roof is covered with di tiles, the floor is paved with floral enamel tiles, and brick platforms inside hold the worship statues. The Tien Te connects to the Hau Cung through a narrow courtyard; the roof section has been made with a corrugated iron roof, and on both sides there were the Co and Cau pavilions, but these have now been moved to the front courtyard.

The rear sanctuary consists of three bays with closed gable walls and an open porch; the building has three doors, the central one large and the two side doors with smaller arches. The structure has four wooden trusses designed in the transom-truss style, the roof is covered with local tiles, and the floor is entirely paved with enamel tiles. The rear sanctuary is a solemn place, with a high brick platform holding the altar of the Holy Mother in a dignified position and a large dragon-carved shrine. Outside, on a stepped base, is a set of statues worshiping the Four Palaces Holy Ladies (also called the Four Palaces Council) and a Lady of the Sanctuary (also called the guardian of the hall).

The temple still preserves fairly intact ancient architecture. A highlight of the relic is the carving art concentrated mainly on the curtains, scrolls, shrines, and thrones. Decorative themes are mainly the four sacred creatures and four precious plants, bearing the artistic style of the 19th–20th centuries. The artistic value of the temple is shown through its system of round statues, with 25 large and small pieces. These are quite beautiful sculptural works in the statue-carving style of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Together with Cua Song Temple, Xuan Canh village has a communal house and a pagoda, but only part of their architecture and relics remain; Cua Song Temple alone preserves fairly intact architecture from the late 19th century along with ancient ritual objects such as curtains, horizontal plaques, couplets, shrines, and palanquins, contributing to the beauty of the architecture. The inscription on the bronze bell “Xuan Canh Sacred Hall” still records the date Duy Tan Ky Dau (1909); two ordination edicts kept at the temple date from Khai Dinh 2 (1917) and Khai Dinh 9 (1924), showing that the temple was built and restored at the end of the Nguyen dynasty. The system of relics such as Mother statues, wooden objects dating from the 19th century (thrones, shrines, command plaques, statues, etc.), legends, ordination edicts, and bronze bells still kept at the temple are valuable historical sources contributing to research on the history and customs of local people.

Cua Song Temple has been ranked as a City-level Historical and Architectural Artistic Relic under Decision No. 746/QĐ-UBND dated February 25, 2007.