Miếu Trắng Temple Relic

Miếu Trắng Temple (also known as Thien Tien Tu) is the popular name of a temple located in Alley 194, Doi Can Street (Doi Can Ward, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi). The temple worships Holy Mother Lieu Hanh and was built around the 13th century.

Miếu Trắng Temple is situated in a spacious compound, opposite Van Phuc Communal House. The temple faces south and includes the following structures: the gate, a semicircular pond, a garden courtyard, and the main architectural area of the temple.

The temple gate is built in the style of a two-tier, eight-roof ceremonial gate with imitation tubular-tile paving. The roof corners form stylized dragon shapes pointing toward the ridge, which is decorated with flame blades and a sun. The rectangular frieze section is decorated with a rectangular panel bearing three Chinese characters: “Thien Tien Tu”. In front of the main gate are two bronze pillars with bulbous bases. Atop the pillars are four phoenixes with joined tails, their heads facing four directions. Below is a lantern panel decorated with the four sacred creatures. The two side gates are smaller and built in a two-tier, eight-roof overlapping-eave style. The roof corners form curved stylized dragon heads. The bodies of the ornamental pillars have frames bearing Chinese couplets. On both sides at the junction between the main gate and the side gates, two reliefs are embossed with dragon and tiger images according to the concept: “Green dragon on the left, white tiger on the right”. Below are two unicorns flanking a brick block.

Behind the ceremonial gate is a large courtyard paved with Bat Trang bricks. In the courtyard is a semicircular pond; on both sides are the Lady Shrine and the Young Lord Shrine; in front are the Luc Shrine (Bac Le), the Upper Heaven Mother Shrine, the Co Bo Shrine, and others. In the center is the front hall, consisting of three bays and two side wings, with roofs covered in nose-tile roofing. The ridge is built in the nail-ridge style; in the center of the roof ridge is a relief of two dragons facing the sun, and the roof corners are curved. The main temple has a chuoi vo architectural layout, with a large five-bay great hall, four curved roofs, a dragon-facing-moon motif on the ridge, and finally the rear sanctuary.

The outstanding value of Miếu Trắng Temple is its architectural decoration, which strongly reflects traditional folk art style. The carved panels are concentrated mainly on the door curtains, corner brackets, beam ends, eave brackets, and tie beams, with familiar motifs such as phoenixes and unicorns. The unique value of the relic is also shown through 30 round statues in the artistic style of the 19th–20th centuries.

Miếu Trắng Temple currently preserves a rich system of relics, including: a bronze statue, a porcelain incense burner from the Qing dynasty, a stone stele dated to the 35th year of Tu Duc (1882), a set of eight treasures; two sets of ceremonial weapons; a dragon palanquin together with a palanquin and canopy set for Holy Mother Thien Tien and three palanquin and canopy sets for the Three Palaces; an incense table and nine altars. In addition, there are stone steles, a bell inscription, horizontal plaques, couplets, and other items. In 2006, Miếu Trắng Temple was ranked as a city-level historical-cultural relic.