Duc Thanh Ca Temple, Huu Vinh Village
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Introduction
INTRODUCTION TO THE NATIONAL HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL RELIC: DUC THANH CA TEMPLE (HUU VINH VILLAGE, HOA XA COMMUNE)
Story
01Dear visitors, welcome.
Welcome, dear visitors, to Huu Vinh Village, Hoa Xa Commune - a countryside of the cultured Doai region, to the sacred temple that endures with the nation for 1.5 millennia - the only place in Hoa Xa Commune where green forests, deep mountains, rivers and plains converge to create a picturesque landscape wonder - a land of sacred energy and talented people, where all prayers are answered, where the sacred spirit protects and supports, where the holy is manifest, where every feeling is communicated and every request is granted.
Standing before Duc Thanh Ca Temple (Thien Vung Temple), you will feel the wonderful harmony between human hands and nature, feel the space of nature and the warmth of the heroic and cultured tradition of our ancestors, blended in the flow of the nation connecting past, present and future. The ancient temple stands on the bank of the Day River, winding like a soft silk ribbon, with its back leaning against the mountain range Ham Long majestic with nine undulating levels like nine dragon heads facing the sacred temple. From that sacred mountain, the source of culture flows like cool water murmuring through rocky clefts all year round, wrapping the temple in the green cloak of lush ancient trees that spread shade and shelter all lives. Even more wondrous, the alluvial ground in front of the sacred temple is shaped like a giant carp, with Tien Mountain as the carp's navel, while
the entire residential area of Huu Vinh Village appears like a dragon boat riding the waves toward the Holy Saint.
02Dear guests!
Duc Thanh Ca Temple belongs to Huu Vinh Village, Hoa Xa Commune, Hanoi City, also called Thien Vung Temple. The temple worships Duc Thanh Ca and is a Historical and Cultural Relic ranked at national level by the State.
The temple was built along the Day River; nature blends with architecture to create a very poetic scenery. Traveling by water to the relic, one can dock right at the temple gate, follow a few stone steps through the three-entrance gate and a small yard to reach Dai Bai. Dai Bai is five bays wide. The roof truss is made in the overlapping beam style with simple carvings.
In addition to the ancient cultural values handed down, Huu Vinh Temple is also a beautiful scenic spot. The temple stands on the bank of an ancient river. The temple gate faces the river. Here the river winds like a silk ribbon. Behind the temple is the Ham Long mountain range. The main mountain forms nine levels, looking like nine dragon heads facing the temple. From this mountain, water flows through rocky clefts, murmuring all year round. The temple is hidden in the green cloak of old trees and fruit trees spreading over an area of 20,807 m2. (The alluvial ground in front of the temple is shaped like a carp, with the carp's navel being Tien Mountain. The Day River flowing through the temple area winds like a soft silk ribbon. The residential area of Huu Vinh Village looks like a dragon boat on the river)
With its majestic mountains and perilous waters, this place has witnessed many heroic miracles in periods of nation-building and national defense.
Huu Vinh Village has two communal houses: Xuan Communal House for organizing the village festival and offering sacrifices to the Saints in spring. Thu Communal House organizes the festival and offers sacrifices to the Saints in autumn. Thu Communal House has been ranked by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL RELICsince 1991.
Huu Vinh Temple (Duc Thanh Ca Temple) is said to have been built about 1,500 years ago. The temple worships a general First-Rank Great King of the early Ly Nam De dynasty. According to the book Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi and the genealogy and royal edicts currently kept at the temple, compiled by Han Lin Academy scholar Nguyen Binh in the first year of Hong Phuc (1572) and copied by Nguyen Hien, manager of the Hundred Gods Temple, in the sixth year of Vinh Huu (1740), the God belonged to the lineage of Kinh Duong Vuong, descendant of King Hung. In his lifetime, the God was a general assisting Ly Bon in defeating the invading Liang army. He was originally a man talented in naval strategy and was appointed by Ly Bon as 'Grand General in Charge of Naval Military Affairs'. Together with Great General Pham Tu, he commanded soldiers, defeating the Liang general Xiao Zi in the north and the invading Champa army in the south. After the enemies were destroyed, the country was at peace. On the 6th day of the 12th lunar month, he rode a cloud chariot back to the mouth of the Hat River in Huu Vinh Hamlet, with radiance shining brightly over the area. He passed away here - the place where his mother gave birth to him. Having manifested as a saint, he was bestowed by Ly Nam De the title: 'Most Sacred and Responsive Supreme Venerable Deity of the Southern Heaven'.
The King granted five silver ingots, allocated land, and allowed Huu Vinh Hamlet to serve as 'guardian households' to repair and maintain the temple for worship, preserving the sacred traces to endure with the rivers and mountains of the country.
Since then, this temple has always been worshipped with solemnity. Local people and pilgrims regularly come to admire it.
Through all dynasties, it was granted royal edicts. At present, the temple still keeps 48 edicts, from the reign of Le Than Tong, Vinh To era (1619-1628), to the Nguyen dynasty. The edicts all record: 'From ancient times, it has helped the country and the people many times with miraculous responses, and is ranked among the most sacred deities in the Southern sky'. In 1991 the temple was ranked by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism National Historical and Cultural Relic.
Since ancient times, many heads of dynasties and national heroes have come here to admire. According to the genealogy from the 10th century, when Dinh Bo Linh suppressed the rebellion of the 12 warlords, he came to Huu Vinh Temple, saw the majestic mountain and river scenery, admired the deity, and had his soldiers set up camp and perform prayers. At midnight, the deity appeared in a dream and secretly helped him defeat the enemy. He performed a thanksgiving ceremony and selected twelve young men from the village to join his bodyguard. From then on, he won every battle and ascended the throne as King Dinh Tien Hoang.
Remembering the deity's help, the king bestowed the title 'SUPREME DEITY' together with the honorific title 'Supreme Sacred, Responsive and Compassionate Holy Virtue, Great Grace, Majestic and Illustrious, Manifestly Aiding, Loyal and Bright National Supreme Deity'. On the 11th day of the first lunar month every year, the King traveled by royal carriage to perform ceremonies. Since then, the 10th, 11th and 12th days of the first lunar month have become the great festival days of the local people.
In the Tran dynasty, in 1285, before the great defeat of the Mongol Yuan army, Hung Dao Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan led his troops to guard the forest gate of Hoai An district (the present-day Ung Hoa and My Duc areas). Hung Dao Vuong entered the temple to perform a sacrifice to the deity, then advanced to attack the enemy and won a great victory. The Tran king bestowed on the deity the title 'First-Rank Cloud and Wind, Equalizing the Enemy, Protecting the Nation, Responsive Supreme Deity'.
On May 6, the King sent generals and soldiers back to perform a ceremony of gratitude. Since then, this day has become a festival day of the local people.
In terms of architecture, the temple was built in the shape of the character “Vuong” outside the character “Quoc”. Outside there is the temple gate and a surrounding wall. Inside are two corridors, the main worship hall, the rear palace, and the tube-shaped gallery. The rear palace has nine dragons adoring. The temple still preserves the entire system of valuable horizontal plaques and parallel sentences that are lacquered red and gilded, lacquered, and inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Placed in the middle of the main worship hall are two horizontal plaques.
The outer plaque: “Eternal heroic spirit” (Forever heroic and sacred).
The inner plaque: “Supreme rank in the Southern Heaven” (A god of the highest rank in the Southern Heaven).
In the temple there are also dozens of wooden parallel sentences lacquered red and gilded, including parallel sentences by high-ranking mandarins. The parallel sentences by the patriotic scholar Nguyen Thuong Hien, a doctoral laureate of the Nham Thin examination, read:
03“- The dragon field flourishes in worship; five-colored phoenix writings descend first
- Sacred traces hand down ancient history for a thousand years; cloud chariots from sea and sky return.”
Translation:
“- Prosperity rises to flourishing; five-colored phoenixes fly as the immortals open
- Traces of soldiers hand down old history for a thousand years; cloud chariots from sky and sea still return.”
The parallel sentences by Minister Bui Bang Doan read:
04“- The nation has Huu Vinh Temple to look up to the emperor's virtue
05- The people cherish peace and blessings and look up to the imperial grace.”
Translation:
“- The country has Huu Vinh Temple, a place of imperial virtue
- The people cherish peace and look up to the grace and virtue of the Emperor”
In particular, the main gate of the temple is a symmetrical block architecture with beautiful relief-painted lines. Above the gate are four raised characters: “Lam Ha Huu Hach” (A place famous and illustrious)- The two pillars have a couplet:
“- For more than four thousand years, in the Hong Lac temple, sacred gods, beautiful waters and Ky Son mountain mark the scenic site
- For hundreds of years and ten thousand generations, the dragon-and-immortal nation receives the most sacred rain and dew.”
Translation:
“- For more than four thousand years, here there have been the sacred gods of Hong Lac; mountains and waters shine with scenic traces,
- Forever after, the dragon-and-immortal nation is grateful for the rain and dew of the sacred gods.”
Huu Vinh Temple - Vung Temple worships Xung Nang (title Quang Xung), a general of Ly Nam De. The book Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi states that He was the son of Kinh Duong Vuong. The earliest royal edict of the temple bears the Vinh To era, sixth year (1924), showing that the temple has existed for a long time.
However, the current architecture of the Temple dates to the early 20th century. The layout of the main structures of the Temple follows the shape of the character “Vuong”outside the character “Quoc”, outside is the Tam Quan gate.
Behind the Dai Bai is the Tien Te with five bays; at the front of the three middle bays, the corridor is walled with bricks; the central bay has an altar, and on both sides are two reliefs depicting six people. Local people call them civil mandarins and military mandarins.
On the ends of the beams and the eaves brackets of the Dai Bai are quite beautiful carvings of dragons and phoenixes, dragon clouds, and carp transforming into dragons.
The Tien Te connects to the Hau Cung by a tube gallery, forming an architecture in the shape of the character Cong (I). The entire interior of this structure is built with cement vaults, so there is nothing special. Here are placed the statue of the god Xung Nang and the statue of His mother. The statues date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
At Huu Vinh Temple there are many precious artifacts, such as an 18th-century ceramic incense bowl, a stone altar mirror stand carved in relief with a landscape scene, and many 17th-century ceramic nghe lions; these are precious artifacts.
The Huu Vinh Temple relic is a good example of the harmonious combination of architecture and environment. The spatial landscape environment enhances the value of the architecture. Therefore, Huu Vinh Temple has been recognized as a National-level architectural and artistic relic.
At Duc Thanh Ca Temple there is a unique Dinh Te ceremony. The 10th, 11th, and 12th days of the first lunar month every year are the festival of the local people. According to the village tradition, every year at the beginning of the second lunar month, on the first Thuong Dinh day of the month, Huu Vinh village solemnly organizes the Phuoc Te ceremony to commemorate King Dinh Tien Hoang, a king and a dynasty that had great merits, and all matters were spiritually answered with hidden support and open assistance. The Dinh Te ceremony is also meant to be handed down forever to later generations, a golden historical mark of the era when the Saint manifested and helped Van Thang Vuong (Dinh Tien Hoang) accomplish great matters. The Dinh ceremony also shows that the people remember the merit of King Dinh Tien Hoang, who quelled the enemies and saved the good people, bringing peace and prosperity. This is a Phuoc ceremony with many solemn rituals. In particular, there is the opening of the side door on the east side—a door that is opened only once a year. This door is kept tightly closed by the villagers all year round because they believe this is the place where King Dinh Tien Hoang sat and was spiritually assisted by the Saint to destroy the enemy, carrying sacred meaning; when organizing the ceremony to commemorate King Dinh Tien Hoang (the THUONG DINH ceremony), the door is opened for the ceremony, and after the ceremony it must be closed immediately. The Dinh Te ceremony also aims to preserve and promote the value of the historical and cultural relic, combined with socio-economic development, contributing to educating the village's cultural traditions and scenic landscapes; and to convey and spread the historical and cultural values of the Huu Vinh Temple relic.
The sacred rites and ceremonies at Duc Thanh Ca Temple in Huu Vinh Village help enhance the heritage promotion value, promote spiritual tourism, scenic sites, sightseeing, and worship, where every supplication is answered and every prayer fulfilled. The rituals pray for national prosperity, public peace, favorable weather, bumper harvests, healthy people, peaceful and happy families, village solidarity, and the building of an increasingly prosperous, beautiful, and civilized community.
We respectfully invite local people and visitors from all directions to visit Duc Thanh Ca Temple at least once, to immerse themselves in the wondrous natural landscape, admire the refined architecture, and offer incense to remember the predecessors and saintly virtues. Under the shade of ancient trees and the murmuring water from Ham Long Mountain, you will feel a deep connection with your roots, and come to love and take pride in a heritage-rich land that is the pride of the capital.
Duc Thanh Ca Temple in Huu Vinh Village, Hoa Xa Commune always opens its heritage doors to welcome visitors to admire and experience it!
Huu Vinh Temple is not only a scenic site but also a place that preserves thousand-year spiritual energy and the heroic pages of the nation's history. This place worships the general Xung Nang (Quang Xung) under Ly Nam De, a supreme deity in the southern sky who repeatedly manifested to help the country and its people. History still records the footsteps of King Dinh Tien Hoang when He came here to set up camp and was told in a dream by the deity of divine support to quell the rebellion of the 12 warlords and unify the land. This is also the place where Hung Dao Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan, before the great defeat of the Mongol Yuan army, also entered the temple to perform sacrifices to the deity and returned victorious. During the anti-French resistance, this rugged mountainous area was also a war zone, a stopover for senior cadres of the Party and Government, and the site of the first ammunition casting workshop of the military engineering workshop of the Northern Delta.
Stepping through the main gate with four characters “Lam Ha Huu Hach” (A place famous for its illustriousness), you will admire a unique architectural work in the style the character 'Vuong' outside the character 'Quoc'. The solemn space with the Rear Palace featuring nine dragons paying homage, together with a system of gilded and lacquered horizontal plaques and couplets, is evidence of the brilliant artistic creativity of our ancestors. Here, time seems to stand still on 48 royal edicts rare from the Le to Nguyen dynasties and ancient artifacts such as an 18th-century ceramic incense burner or a stone mirror stand carved in relief with a landscape scene.
Returning to Duc Thanh Ca Temple during festival days, especially during the Dinh Te early second lunar month, visitors will witness the ritual of opening the eastern side door - a sacred door opened only once a year to welcome the spirit of King Dinh Tien Hoang. The sound of festival drums, dragon boats gliding over the waves, and prayers for national prosperity, public peace, and favorable weather will make people's hearts lighter and help them find peace in a place where sacred energy converges.
From 1947-1948 to 1953, this was a war zone, a resistance base of the Northern Delta, a hub connecting the Hanoi - Phu Xuyen - Khu Chay Ung Hoa route with the vast rear base areas of Nho Quan, Thanh Hoa, and the former Zone IV. In the early days of the resistance, the military engineering workshop established the first ammunition casting workshop in this area.
The Inter-Zone Party Committee and the Administrative Resistance Committee of Inter-Zone Three in 1949-1950 were stationed here to command the Ha Nam Ninh campaign and the Southern Khu Chay - Ung Hoa - Phu Xuyen - Bac Binh Luc - Ha Nam campaign. The temple was also a gathering place for troops departing for many major battles and a stopover for many senior cadres of the Party and Government during the resistance.
The temple has entered the spiritual life of the people. Each year, the main commemorative days (according to the lunar calendar) are occasions for people to participate in cultural activities.
The ceremony to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year, from the 30th day of Tet to the end of the 4th day of the first lunar month, also welcomes visitors making a pilgrimage to Huong Pagoda Festival and performing rituals at Duc Thanh Ca - Huu Vinh Temple.
The Great Blessing Ceremony is held for three days, from the 10th to the 12th day of the first lunar month. The village organizes a palanquin procession by dragon boat along the river, with rowing boats and ceremonial war boats, carrying the long palanquin from the temple to Xuan Dinh to sacrifice to the deity. During the three days, there are many entertainments such as dragon dances, unicorn dances, and stick fighting...
- The ritual period for worshipping King Dinh, commemorating King Dinh - who had the merit of unifying the country, the village organizes a two-day sacrifice, choosing the first 'thuong dinh' day of the second lunar month.
- The offering festival on the 6th day of the 5th lunar month commemorates King Tran's return to thank the Deity.
- The Thu Festival ancestral period is held on the 11th and 12th days of the 8th lunar month, with boat processions, rowing, and palanquin processions on the river from the temple to Thu Dinh, and the Long Van Khanh Hoi ceremony.
The offering festival on the 6th day of the 12th lunar month is the Deity's death anniversary.
Through many wars and changes of fate, the temple has endured along with the endurance of the country, becoming a Historical - Cultural Relic, meeting the admiration of local people and visitors from all directions.
Duc Thanh Ca Temple in Huu Vinh Village, Hoa Xa Commune always opens its heritage doors to welcome visitors to admire and experience it!
Huu Vinh Temple is not only a scenic site but also a place that preserves thousand-year spiritual energy and the heroic pages of the nation's history. This place worships the general Xung Nang (Quang Xung) under Ly Nam De, a supreme deity in the southern sky who repeatedly manifested to help the country and its people. History still records the footsteps of King Dinh Tien Hoang when He came here to set up camp and was told in a dream by the deity of divine support to quell the rebellion of the 12 warlords and unify the land. This is also the place where Hung Dao Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan, before the great defeat of the Mongol Yuan army, also entered the temple to perform sacrifices to the deity and returned victorious. During the anti-French resistance, this rugged mountainous area was also a war zone, a stopover for senior cadres of the Party and Government, and the site of the first ammunition casting workshop of the military engineering workshop of the Northern Delta.
Stepping through the main gate with four characters “Lam Ha Huu Hach” (A place famous for its illustriousness), you will admire a unique architectural work in the style the character 'Vuong' outside the character 'Quoc'. The solemn space with the Rear Palace featuring nine dragons paying homage, together with a system of gilded and lacquered horizontal plaques and couplets, is evidence of the brilliant artistic creativity of our ancestors. Here, time seems to stand still on 48 royal edicts rare from the Le to Nguyen dynasties and ancient artifacts such as an 18th-century ceramic incense burner or a stone mirror stand carved in relief with a landscape scene.
We respectfully invite local people and visitors from all directions to visit Duc Thanh Ca Temple at least once, to immerse themselves in the wondrous natural landscape, admire the refined architecture, and offer incense to remember the predecessors and saintly virtues. Under the shade of ancient trees and the murmuring water from Ham Long Mountain, you will feel a deep connection with your roots, and come to love and take pride in a heritage-rich land that is the pride of the capital.
Best regards!
SOME IMAGES FROM THE NATIONAL RELIC SITE DUC THANH CA TEMPLE, HUU VINH VILLAGE, HOA XA COMMUNE, HANOI CITY
