Thượng Đình Temple, Thượng Đình Village, Thường Tín Commune

Thượng Đình Temple currently worships Bạch Thiên Tinh Hộ Quốc Phương Dung Công Chúa, and according to the genealogy still preserved locally, we would like to excerpt the following:

People have long handed down that the deity is a manifestly sacred heavenly god. In ancient lore, during the reign of Emperor Yizong of Tang, in the sixth year of the Xiantong era, the emperor ordered Gao Pian to serve as Protector-General of Annam. Gao Pian was highly skilled in astronomy and geomancy and built La Thành west of the Lô Giang River to reside in. Whenever a small river followed the Lô Giang, Gao Pian would find a way to make it flow around La Thành and not into the large river. Gao Pian often traveled by boat on small rivers to examine the terrain. One afternoon, when he reached the territory of Thượng Phúc District, he saw from afar a patch of vapor descending on the south bank of the Chiểu Giang River, resembling a strip of white silk. Gao Pian's eyes suddenly brightened; after a while the white vapor suddenly disappeared. He considered this strange and ordered a stop and rest there.

At night, he dreamed that a goddess came and said: I am originally a person from heaven; I obey the Supreme Lord's command to oversee farming matters and keep the Da Kiều region peaceful. Today the illustrious lord has come here; I am moved and appear to meet you. When he awoke, the king knew that this region had a sacred heavenly deity who could secretly help the people and protect the country, so he established a temple for worship and ordered Ngọc Ôi to serve as the deity's attendant, with the title Bạch Thiên Tinh Công Chúa. In later generations, every time prayers were offered, they were efficacious. Around the Trùng Hưng era of the Trần dynasty, the deity helped establish merit and was conferred the two characters Hộ Quốc. In the 21st year of the Hưng Long era, the two characters Phương Dung were conferred. This was taken as the deity's title:

Bạch Thiên Tinh Hộ Quốc Phương Dung Công Chúa. Later she was bestowed as the deity of a region and received care and offerings from the people. To this day, by command, the deity has been posthumously conferred the title Trinh Ý Minh Khiết Phương Anh Phu Nhân.

Under the Law on Cultural Heritage, through surveys and research based on outstanding values, Thượng Đình Temple is classified as a historical-cultural relic.

Not far from the village communal house is the temple, hidden behind clusters of ancient trees. Village elders say no one knows when the banyan and mango trees first existed. The banyan is often associated in folk belief with the 'banyan tree spirit,' and the mango is also a sacred tree often planted in relics. When our working group approached the relic, we all felt that this was a quiet, secluded space where an ancient culture lay sedimented, almost like the primitive beliefs of our people. The temple worships the Holy Mother, a heavenly deity who rendered great service to the people and the country, and above all it affirms the enormous role of Vietnamese women in the history of nation-building and defense of the entire nation. Tracing history down to the present, our country remains a purely agricultural country. Therefore, in lifestyle, thinking, and mentality there are still many elements related and identical to the element of water, identical to the yin element, and also to women.

In addition, many other elements are attached to the feminine nature, bearing fertility, creativity, etc. The current temple is not massive in scale; its structure follows the 'ding' character plan, with the great hall in front and the rear palace behind connected into a pestle-handle shape.

Legend has it that the ancient temple was originally located beside the current temple, but because it was too sacred, local people had to move it to the present new location. Outside the relic, an ancient stone gate still exists, but because the traffic road was moved, it has been covered with the color of time and still bears traces recording the deep crimes of the French colonialists when they raided the village and destroyed the relic.

Returning to the Great Hall, which the ancients built close to the ancient Tô Lịch River, the roof ridge of the Great Hall features a relief of two dragons flanking the moon, and the roof edge has stepped tiers. From the two gable ends, connected through a low wall, are square-sectioned pillars; the tops of the pillars are decorated with stylized four phoenixes facing floral branches. The phoenix here is a sacred creature symbolizing the power of the universe and of sages. Below is a lantern panel with four sides bearing raised lines, and inside each panel the character 'longevity' is carved in relief. The pillar bodies bear pairs of parallel sentences in Chinese characters with the original text:

Ten directions' merits revere the heroic spirit

One district's restoration comes to worship and pay respects

Translation of meaning:

Revering the heroic spirit, merits in ten directions;

For the act of worship, one district restores [the temple].

The Great Hall is divided into five bays; in the porch section of the central bay there is an altar for worship, and above, close to the roof, is a horizontal plaque painted directly onto the wall by the people with the content 'Heavenly Deity Descends from Above.' All the trusses, whose structure bears the entire weight of the relic's roof, are made in the 'quá giang' tie-beam style, an architectural type inclined toward creating openness for the relic. In the central bay above hangs a wooden horizontal plaque lacquered red and gilded with three Chinese characters, 'Thượng đẳng từ'; below hangs a perforated-carving curtain with grape clusters and floral vines. In the two gable-end bays, ancient stories are painted on the walls with the four seasons, dragon rolling water, and two inscriptions.

Regarding the content of the inscription on the right:

Graceful and lovely, the pipa tree in the upper palace

The king's call is seen and manifested with spiritual power

The people of the land receive and respectfully worship

Respectfully report to the imperial court and request a conferment title

And the inscription on the left:

Fragrant flowers for ten thousand years, accumulated since ancient times

Through vicissitudes, once all forms are seen as emptiness

Great indeed is the salvation of all living beings' lives

Naturally joyful, auspicious clouds gather at the end.

In the rear palace, also called the forbidden palace, there is a very finely double-carved altar shrine, inside which are the Holy Mother and the attendants of the saintly household. The shrine in the relic is placed in the most solemn position, further enhancing its solemn meaning. The system of columns and walls mainly uses the shrine's friezes and roof. The front of the shrine is pierced with doors; above are shrine friezes carved in various types, such as the first frieze above showing two dragons flanking the moon, the two side friezes showing phoenixes holding letters, and the inner friezes are all decorated with chrysanthemum vines, large chrysanthemums, bamboo, etc. The sides and back of the shrine are closed with boards. Overall, the decoration on the shrine is quite refined, and the carving art of this shrine adds to the solemnity, because this place is truly the sacred world within the sacred.

On both sides of the shrine are two small altars where the deities of the current year are worshipped, and the walls in the rear palace are painted with cloud patterns and sacred creatures.

Overall, the relic is modest in scale but contains countless legends about a belief—Mother worship—because there have been many works, scientific research topics, and articles by many scholars, yet in general there remain many unknowns that we cannot yet decode.

We would like to give only a small example of the system of paintings and fine arts in Mother Goddess temples, especially Thượng Đình Temple, with the talented painting strokes of the artist who brought strong folk character to each painting, motif, and color. Therefore, this is an unknown that researchers need to study and decode.