Đặng Giang Temple
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01INTRODUCTION TO THƯỢNG TEMPLE OF ĐẶNG GIANG VILLAGE
The Đặng Giang Communal House and Temple in Đặng Giang Village, Hòa Xá Commune, Hà Nội City, were ranked as a national-level architectural and artistic relic under Decision No. 3211/QĐ/BT dated December 12, 1994, of the Ministry of Culture and Information.
Đặng Giang Communal House is also called Thị Communal House, and the temple is also called Thượng Temple; it worships the patron deities of Đặng Giang Village.
The temple and communal house relics are not far from each other. The communal house is located at the beginning of the village, adjacent to National Highway 21B, convenient for water and road traffic, while Thượng Temple is located in the center of the village, where the deities honored by Đặng Giang Village as patron deities reside. The relics are closely related: one is a place for worship and rituals, the other is the dwelling place of the patron deities. Therefore, they are regarded as relics sharing the same history and culture.
Directions: The Đặng Giang Communal House and Temple relic site is easily accessible by road. From Hanoi, go to Hà Đông along National Highway 6 to the Ba La Bông Đỏ junction, turn left onto Road 21B, pass through Kim Bài and Vân Đình, and arrive at Đặng Giang Village. The communal house is beside Road 21B; go about a few dozen meters down the village's main road to reach Thượng Temple. Every year in spring, visitors from all over the country traveling to Hương Pagoda Festival pass by Thị Communal House before reaching the Hương Sơn scenic site. Thus, Thị Communal House, an ancient cultural work, is also a stopover for many pilgrims to worship.
021. History of the worshipped deities
The ancient communal house of Đặng Giang Village dates from a very early period and still preserves 81 edicts issued by Vietnamese feudal dynasties conferring titles on the patron deities. The earliest edict dates from the reign of King Lê Thần Tông, the third Dương Hòa era (1637). Compared with other relics, the number of edicts here is very large, but this is only a part that the people have preserved over generations; there are also many Han-character documents, including steles, couplets, and village conventions. The most valuable document is the thần phả book recording Legend of the Three Patron Deities worshipped at the communal house and temple of Đặng Giang Village. This legend was compiled in the first year of Hồng Phúc (1572) by Nguyễn Bính, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy's Eastern Pavilion, and later, in 1851, in the fourth year of King Tự Đức of the Nguyễn dynasty, the village's notables and officials respectfully copied it.
Thanks to this body of Han-character documents, we know clearly the origins and merits of the deities worshipped as follows:
The land of Hà Trung in Hoan Châu was formerly the birthplace of three saints: Bao La Đại Vương, Quy Chân Đại Vương, and Bát Nhã Đại Vương.
The saintly legend says: In ancient times, in Hà Trung there was Nguyễn Công Hoàn, a man of heroic family background, who married Trần Thị Hành. The two families were well matched. The couple lived affluently, but they were late in having children. They diligently did righteous deeds, did not begrudge their wealth in helping the poor, and accumulated merit.
At last, thanks to many virtuous deeds, she became pregnant and on the seventh day of the first lunar month gave birth to a son of handsome appearance, resembling the image of a child Buddha.
The following year, Trần Thị Hành gave birth again, this time to two sons. Everyone in the region praised them, saying that a family that accumulates goodness will surely have great blessings.
The three brothers grew quickly, were intelligent, and had strength and talent beyond others; the villagers secretly praised them as extraordinary and virtuous people who would help the country and the people.
Unfortunately, their father died when the eldest was only nine years old. After three years of mourning, their parents' property was completely exhausted, so the three brothers bowed at the graves, bade farewell to the village, and went to seek a livelihood. Arriving in Sơn Nam, in Đặng Xá, they saw from afar lush rice fields and honest villagers; the three brothers asked the villagers and the abbot of the pagoda for permission to take refuge at the Buddhist gate.
While at the pagoda, the three brothers studied Buddhist scriptures and martial arts. Being intelligent and strong, they learned quickly and mastered both letters and martial arts. The pagoda named the eldest Bao La, the second Quy Chân, and the third Bát Nhã.
At that time, they heard that the Tản Viên mountain region was a most sacred place with Đức Sơn Thánh, a man of great talent and learning with many miraculous powers. The three brothers sought him out to study. Đức Sơn Thánh Tản Viên saw that the three brothers were exceptionally proficient and honest, so he accepted them as disciples. They happily trained together and discussed state affairs at the foot of Tản Mountain.
Having been taught miraculous powers by Tản Viên, the three brothers completed their studies. On a journey, when they reached the old land of Sơn Nam, Tản Viên let the three brothers stay in their homeland of Đặng Xá. There, the three advised the villagers to cultivate, grow mulberries and raise silkworms, taught rites and righteousness, and established fine customs, so everyone respected and loved them.
The legend also states: Tản Viên Sơn Thánh was so talented that King Hùng chose him as his son-in-law. He had the merit of defeating many invasions against the Văn Lang kingdom. With a superior strategy, he submitted to Hùng Duệ Vương: 'Thục Phán is of the Hùng lineage and now sends a letter seeking peace; this shows he knows when to advance and retreat, and is called a virtuous man. I venture to think it would be better for Your Majesty to abdicate to Thục Vương. From then on, the descendants of Hồng Bàng have continued to this day.'
In the battles to protect Văn Lang, the three men Bao La, Quy Chân, and Bát Nhã contributed their merits to help Tản Viên. King Hùng recognized the merits of the three and granted them titles and fiefs in Đặng Xá Commune. From then on, they regularly cared for and encouraged the people in the region toward righteousness, mutual respect, sharing everyone's joys and hardships.
When An Dương Vương ascended the throne, he built a temple to worship King Hùng and also granted beautiful titles to the meritorious officials of Hùng Vương to be transmitted for later generations to worship:
1- Dực Vân Cương Nghi Trung Hậu Đại Vượng
2- Tuyên Khánh Phổ Huệ Bảo Dân Đại Vương
3- Tề Thế An Dân Đoan Chính Đại Vương
Later, the local villagers built shrines and temples to worship the above figures, who had merit with the country and affection for the people. Then they built a communal house and elevated them to patron deities as beautiful symbols for later generations to follow. The merits of the three were recognized by the people of Đặng Xá, who set up memorial tablets for worship, all recording:
1. Royal decree: Dực Vân Cương Nghi, through successive dynasties conferred abundant and illustrious titles. Linh Phiên Chúa Linh Phủ. Hiền Lương Dực Bảo Trung Hưng Linh Trạc, middle-rank deity Châu Thị Bao La Đại Vương.
2. Tế Thế An Dân; successive dynasties conferred titles; Túc Cũng Đôn Vua, Đốc Thực Linh Phủ Hiền Lương, Dực Bảo Trung Hưng Súy, middle-rank deity Quy Chân Đại Vương.
3. Tuyên Khánh Phủ Huệ; successive dynasties conferred titles; Tập Phúc Nghinh Tưởng, Hách Trực Linh Phù Hiền Lương. Dực Bảo Trung Hưng, upper-rank deity Bát Nhã Đại Vương.
In the Nguyễn era, Confucian scholars skilled in literature and calligraphy came to the temple and communal house to worship. Out of reverence for the predecessors, they inscribed literary works and poems praising their merits.
For example, a minh inscription written in Han characters in the book says:
Transliteration:
Lâu các si nga chúc thu hoàng
Chương cung di lý đại thê loan
Three thousand years of antiquity, the divine spirits manifest
Eight hundred households find the old customs tiresome
Singing traces return to the west, in robes to worship the water
From Mi Hall southward, swords are carried through the mountains
Travelers lightly ask the road amid plum blossoms
Dense pines and wondrous traces surely stir the courage
Respectfully inscribed by Phan Văn Tâm
The eighth year of Thành Thái - 1906
The Đặng Giang Communal House and Temple preserve the story of three generals from the reign of the 18th Hùng Vương, who fought alongside Tản Viên Sơn Thánh (the first meritorious minister of the Hùng dynasty) to defeat invaders and protect the country of Văn Lang. The three deities Bao La, Quy Chân, and Bát Nhã were also credited by Đặng Giang village with gathering the people to reclaim wasteland, grow rice, plant mulberries, raise silkworms, and weave cloth, bringing a life of warmth and plenty. For these great merits, the people of Đặng Giang have for generations built a temple; later, behind the communal-house courtyard, they honored these men as beneficent spirits and village tutelary gods who protect the villagers.
032. Description of the ĐÌNH THỊ relic
The Đình Thị communal house from the Lê dynasty is extremely precious and lies right beside National Highway 21B. Every year, during the spring festival, tens of thousands of visitors making the pilgrimage to Hương Pagoda pass by and are amazed by this ancient cultural work.
In the past, before Đình Thị existed, the Đáy River dike was not tall, massive, or blocking. The alluvial strip stretched from the village terrace down to the riverbank with a small dike. Few people walked to Hương Pagoda; they usually traveled by along-river boat from Phương Đình Pier - Bến Đục to Yến Stream.
In the 17th century, the people of Đặng Giang built the communal house. At that time, in front of the communal house were vast fields of sugarcane and mulberry, and far away was the Hương Tích mountain range with green trees stretching to the horizon. Hoài An was beautiful; the poet Ngô Thì Sỹ passed through many times and wrote a nostalgic lyrical poem:
04Transliteration
Passing Hoài An just as the clear bell sounds
Then from the earth's veins I see the people's customs
Beyond the vast fields of red waves
The village lies amid blue-green peaks and waters
Hương Tích is said to have long transmitted sacred traces
The banana garden still recalls the merit of supporting the Lê dynasty
05Translation
When the bright bell sounded, I had just passed through the Hoài An district
Looking at the earth's veins, one learns the customs of the local people
Beyond the large waves are the fields stretching for ten thousand plots
Among the blue-green rocky mountains is where the villagers live
Hương Tích Pagoda has long been handed down with sacred traces
At the banana garden, people still remember the merit of helping the Lê dynasty in former times.
Đình Thị is an ancient cultural work set in a poetic landscape, with a three-entrance gate, two stories and eight roofs, surrounding walls, trees and grass in the courtyard, and the communal house with 18th-century sculptural art—truly like a poetic painting.
At present, the communal house remains in its original foundation. In the Nguyễn period, a raised dike blocked the communal-house gate. The flood-control dike is also an interprovincial highway linking the commune with the Hương Pagoda scenic area, so many travelers pass by, which has also contributed to cultural exchange at the relic. Thus many people know of Đình Thị Đặng Giang.
Đình Thị is built in the shape of the character Đinh (J) It has two buildings: Đại bái and Hậu cung. The Đại bái is 20 m long and 8 m wide, divided into five bays. In the past, the central bay held the incense table, offerings, and a set of eight weapons, halberds, and spears. The two bays on each side were open and airy, reserved for officials attending festivals. The Hậu cung joins the central bay of the Đại bái in a Đinh-shaped plan and is 10 m long and 6 m wide, divided into three small bays. The former floor plan arranged an altar cabinet, a platform, and an incense table with a throne and memorial tablet for the tutelary god.
The communal house has a low profile: from the floor to the main beam is 2 m, and to the roof ridge only 4 m. The sloping roof is covered with fish-scale tiles. The curved corners are decorated with bodhi-leaf motifs, and kìm and dragons are molded in mortar on the roof peaks. Walls are built around it. The front and two gable ends have wide openings for cool air.
The wooden frame of the communal house has six rows of columns, four columns per row, 24 columns in total. The four central columns, called the four main pillars, are up to 60 cm in diameter. This is a rare communal house with an exceptionally large column frame. The stone bases supporting the columns are square at the bottom (80x80 cm) and rounded above with a diameter of 65 cm. The outer column rows are also large, 45–50 cm in diameter. The column rows are tied together by longitudinal and transverse beams. On top of the columns are square blocks with tapered bases to support the truss system.
The wooden trusses in Đình Thị have two architectural layers. The earlier Lê-period layer consists of kẻ chuyền and bánh song. The Nguyễn-period repair layer is the chồng rường giá chiêng truss. In the Lê architectural truss, decorative motifs are on the bodies of the kè segments. Themes of waves, dragons, lotus flowers, chrysanthemums, and so on are carved in relief on wood in large, neat, smooth masses, so each detail is a beautiful sculpture. In the Nguyễn architectural truss, the gaps between the bed segments supporting the giá chiêng have cốn panels. Both sides of the cốn panels have relief carvings of the four sacred creatures: dragon, ly, turtle, and phoenix. The communal house was repaired in the early Nguyễn period, so its art remains very close to and inherits the Lê style. The appearance of decorative layers with tiger-face motifs, seal-script characters, and still-soft relief lines. During Nguyễn repairs, columns and cốn panels were painted vermilion, making the communal house radiant. With the huge column system of the communal-house frame and the splendid decoration described above, entering Đình Thị one feels its ancient solemnity and recognizes the talent, intelligence, and wisdom of the people of Đặng Xá in former times.
+ Regarding the architecture of Đình Thị, it is a work built in the Lê period—17th century—as another inscription on a communal-house column records that an official, Thương tướng surnamed Nguyễn Thế, donated funds to build the communal house in the first year of Phúc Thái, the reign of Lê Chân Tông (1643). In the early Nguyễn period it was extensively repaired. This is reflected in the inscription on the outer column: Tân Hợi year, Nguyễn Danh, later generation Nguyễn Thị Dề, respectfully offered in spring, or on the first beam of one truss, which records the repair year: Year of Nhâm Thìn (...) repaired in midwinter.
+ The art of wood carving on the truss system and frame beams of Đình Thị has two distinct layers:
The Lê-period carving art layer: concentrated on the large beam and kè segments, decorated with works such as the lone dragon and dragon playing with water. The dragon of the Lê Trung Hưng period has a straight beard, a tail sweeping like a brush tip, a wide-open mouth, a round nose, and looks gentle. The works are not densely detailed; the lines are soft. On the square blocks and neck-constricted blocks are decorative bands of lotus-petal patterns, chrysanthemums, and waves. On the bed segments are carved large rolling clouds like sea waves, or hazy like evening cloud clusters, stylized as rare ancient lingzhi.
The wood-carving layer of the Nguyễn period soon became dominant in decoration. These are the cốn panels on the trusses; the đầu dư and đầu bẩy of the eaves. Absorbing the essence of Lê-period carving art, the Nguyễn-period layer is more elaborate, with denser themes of the four sacred creatures—dragon, phoenix, turtle, and ly—indeed a whole community of animals in one work, including a lotus pond, sky clouds, and vast water. Behind the cốn panels, there are relief carvings of pine, bamboo, apricot, and plum, and ordinary animals such as rats and deer, carrying a rustic spirit. In this period, artisans applied vermilion paint and gold leaf to the carvings, making them bright and majestic in the place of worship.
Regarding the carving art on the worship objects in the communal house, attention should be paid to the set of thrones and memorial tablets, the incense table, the scroll, and so on.
The sets of worship thrones and memorial tablets for the tutelary god were made in the Lê period. The decorative features of the thrones are unusual; their form is low. The throne arms are short, with Lê dragons with manes. The tablets are placed inside rounded enclosures. The tops of the memorial tablets are rounded, the bodies slightly bulging, decorated with borders of clouds and gilded dragons. The interior of the tablets records the august titles of the deities as recorded above.
The incense table made in the Nguyễn period is an elaborate carving, clearly divided into three parts: top, body, and legs. The body is decorated with many panels, layers, and tiers of motifs, including lotus petals, geometric patterns, tiger faces, long mã, and kneeling nghê. Note the small vertical panels with climbing dragons, their round bodies twisting in sine waves, mouths raised upward as if reaching into space, emerging into a long band of lotus flowers. The incense table is elaborately and skillfully decorated on its front, also expressing the respect of former people for the village tutelary god. This is a beautiful artistic work of the Nguyễn period.
Thi Communal House has many beautiful sculptures, such as a pair of wooden votive horses and an eight-seat palanquin, but its two scroll-shaped panels are also attractive and spark visitors' curiosity. The scroll panel is decorated with Nguyễn-era fine art and was made in the first year of Minh Mạng. The openwork carving depicts dragons, phoenixes, and floral motifs on the ceiling and frieze. In the center of the scroll is an inscription praising the beautiful, poetic scenery and the awe-inspiring power of the tutelary god of Thi Communal House in Giang Xá (Đặng Giang) village:
06As follows
'Glorious above all, where pain and illness fade
Precious press of rich incense, autumn waters fine
A tower risen from the earth, this golden dwelling
Touching heaven, rain and wind, ancient river tides'
Or the inscription on a scroll made in the eighth year of Thành Thái ()
'Lofty tower and towering ridge, trees yellow
Long dike and winding bank, great dyke bends
Three thousand years of ancient gods, peaceful and prosperous
A hundred households less toil, at ease'
It can be affirmed that Thi Communal House in Đặng Giang village is an ancient communal house with 17th-century architecture; its contemporary carving art has high aesthetic value and is rare and precious. In later architectural and artistic layers, all elements blend harmoniously into a unified whole, complementing and enhancing one another, so the relic site has been preserved to this day with technical durability and beautiful carved art.
073. Artifacts in the relic site
During the inventory to compile the scientific dossier, the following basic artifacts were recorded.
08+ Paper artifacts
- Genealogy scroll on the legends of the three saints of Đặng Xá village
- 81 royal edicts from dynasties conferring titles on the three deities worshipped at the communal house and temple of Đặng Giang village. The earliest edict dates from the reign of King Lê Thần Tông, the third year of Dương Hòa (1937).
- One ceremonial gate panel.
09+ Wood and fabric artifacts
- 3 incense altars
- 8 worship thrones
- 2 votive cranes
- 2 offering trays
- 2 offering containers
- 1 ritual washing vessel
- 2 scroll-shaped panels
- 1 painting of the tutelary god.
10+ Metal artifacts
- 1 bronze bell
- 2 incense bowls
- 1 set of censers
11+ Stone - ceramic - pottery artifacts
- 2 stone steles
- 6 ceramic incense jars
- 2 pairs of flower vases
Many small artifacts are worship objects in the relic site.
124. Historical, scientific, artistic, and cultural values
The Đặng Giang communal house and temple complex has from ancient times to the present been said to worship three figures: Bạo La, Quy Chân, and Bát Nhã, who together with Tản Viên Sơn Thánh helped King Hùng fight invaders and maintain independence for the state of Văn Lang. The three saints also bear Buddhist names because, according to their legends, they cultivated virtue and accumulated merit. These unofficial historical materials help us understand more about the Hùng Vương era—the early period of nation-building and national defense—in the southern region of Văn Lang. Researching this traditional cultural relic site offers an opportunity to understand more deeply the thousand-year literate land of Đặng Xá, where every generation has produced learned and talented people. In the pre-revolutionary period, Comrade Hồng Quang, a son of a scholarly family, became revolutionary early, sought out the Party, fought bravely, and heroically sacrificed himself for the independence and freedom of the nation. This is an occasion for the people of Đặng Giang to recall their heroic tradition and further promote that revolutionary consciousness in the cause of renewal and building an increasingly prosperous homeland with revolutionary steadfastness.
Regarding architectural art: Thi Communal House is a rare Lê-era architectural and artistic work in Hà Tây province. This work records the fruits of the diligent and creative labor of the ancestors and people of Đặng Giang at that time. Through it, we understand more about the cultural and aesthetic level and the economic and social life of the period. Our generation acknowledges and admires the talents of the past, and must absorb the essence of culture and creatively apply it to life in the new society.
For hundreds of years the relic site has remained fairly intact, which is a welcome thing. Of course, due to the materials and the harsh weather of our country's climate, the relic has also seriously deteriorated. According to research documents, Thi Communal House was built in the 17th century, and for several hundred years the local people have been aware of repairing it. Especially in the Nguyen era, many parts were rebuilt. Therefore, Thi Communal House is very large and spacious.
Since peace (1954) to now, the communal house has been managed, cared for, and given minor repairs by the authorities. It has been used for communal purposes such as a school, cultural center, and warehouse. To date, the authorities have assigned it to the veterans' association and elderly people who formerly carried guns to protect the fatherland and have now returned to build their homeland; they deeply understand the value of life because they understand the high price in blood of their comrades shed to protect independence and freedom and preserve the nation's culture. Using historical-cultural relics for cultural purposes is inevitable under the general regulations of our state. In this spirit, the preservation and repair of Thi communal house and temple relics must be taken seriously because it is an invaluable asset of all the people and the cultural center of a village. After being ranked, Thi communal house and temple has been preserved and repaired to be more beautiful, as desired by thousands of people of Dang Giang village.
