Báo Đáp Temple

Báo Đáp Temple belongs to Báo Đáp Village, Kiêu Kỵ Commune, Gia Lâm District. It is now Hoàng Chu Báo Village, Gia Lâm Commune, Hà Nội City. The temple is located on a large, spacious, and airy plot facing west toward the Bắc Hưng Hải River, surrounded by many ancient trees that are green in all four seasons and provide shade for the relic.

According to the genealogy book compiled by Hàn Lâm Lễ bộ Đông Các Đại Học sĩ Nguyễn Bính in the first year of Hồng Phúc (1572) and copied in the sixth year of Vĩnh Hựu (1740), the history of the deities is as follows:

During the time of An Dương Vương, in Kinh Bắc circuit, Gia Lâm district, at Hạ Tốn page and Báo Đáp camp, the local people had long worshipped the blessing deity Ô Bản Cảnh Hậu Thổ Linh Phù Chi Thần. At that time, the weather was unfavorable, and the people suffered illness and unrest. The local god manifested, entered a medium, and told the elders and people: Heaven and earth are not at peace, and your camp's people and animals are not at peace; quickly invite great renowned men to come to your aid. The elders heard that in Vạn Kỳ page, Gia Lâm district of the prefecture, there was a monk named Huyền Quang at Đại Bi Pagoda who followed the traditional true Dharma of Buddhism, was wondrous in the Dharma and greatly talented, and came to protect the village, make talismans and spells, expel evil, and kill demons. From then on the people became peaceful and safe. On the 7th day of the 3rd month of the Giáp Tuất year, suddenly the people saw two divine generals descend into a person at Quán Thánh Temple; one called himself Trương Thiên Sư, and the second called himself Trấn Thiên Chân Võ: We are heavenly gods sent down to govern the human realm; now we see that your camp has a beautiful plot of land, with turtle and snake guarding its form, five peaks in front, the head of a turtle with mountains and rivers behind, and dragons and tigers coiling around; we two consider it a land of auspicious gathering and wish to stay and be worshipped for ten thousand generations. The elders of the camp prepared offerings and built a temple for worship. After speaking, the two lords flew into the air and disappeared. From then on, the temple and shrine were very efficacious, and people and animals were peaceful and healthy.

When An Dương Vương built Cổ Loa Citadel, the walls kept collapsing after being built, and the king was very worried. He heard that in Báo Đáp camp there was a very sacred temple worshipping two heavenly gods where prayers were answered, so he went there. Upon arrival, the king rested at the temple and prayed to the gods to secretly help him expel evil and kill demons, and promised that when the citadel was completed he would confer the title of thượng đẳng. At the end of the third watch, as the king was dozing off, he suddenly saw two tall old men in neat robes and hats descend from the sky into the courtyard and ask the king: What matter has brought Your Majesty here? The king replied: I am now building a citadel there, but demonic spirits are causing mischief and making it collapse; do you two lords have a plan to help me expel them? Later I will confer upon you the title of thượng đẳng thần in gratitude. The two old men said: Your Majesty should go back, kill a white chicken, cut into the mountain to take out the ancient musical instrument, then burn the chicken's bones to suppress and expel the evil spirits; it will be wondrous. After speaking, the two old men flew up into the sky and disappeared; that was the 8th day of the 3rd month. A moment later the king woke and knew that the gods had sent a dream to help him. He returned and ordered the soldiers and people of the villages to continue building the citadel. The king killed the white chicken, took the musical instrument, and burned the chicken bones into charcoal for suppression; from then on the citadel was built without collapsing, and the capital remained firm for a long time. The king then sent an envoy to confer on the two deities the title of Thượng đẳng thần phúc thần and permitted Hạ Tốn Village and Báo Đáp Camp to repair the temple for worship.

When peace came in the Song dynasty, the Song brought 200,000 troops and divided them into routes to invade our country. At that time, King Lê Đại Hành personally led 100,000 elite soldiers as commander to resist. He advanced to Kinh Bắc circuit, Thuận An prefecture, Gia Lâm district, then to the Báo Đáp area. The king stayed one night at the temple and prayed to the gods to secretly help him defeat the enemy, promising that after the enemy was quelled he would confer beautiful titles. The next day the king led his troops into battle, and the enemy was heavily defeated; the generals Hầu Nhân Bảo and Khâm Tộ were both killed, and the great general Biện Phụng Huấn was captured alive. The king returned in triumph, rewarded the generals and soldiers, and then conferred additional titles on the hundred deities:

Trương Thiên Đại Thánh was conferred the title Hiển Thánh Phù Quốc Linh Quang Đại Vương.

Trấn Thiên Chân Võ Đại Vương was conferred the title Hộ Quốc An Dân Hiển Ứng Linh Thông Thượng Đẳng Thần.

Conferred: Bản Cảnh Thành Hoàng Hậu Thể Linh Phù, Thượng Đẳng Phúc Thần Ngưng Hưu Đại Vương.

Hạ Tốn Village and Báo Đáp area were permitted to worship. From then on, the deities were often efficacious and received beautiful titles from many generations.

In the reign of Trần Thái Tông, the Yuan invaders again invaded our country, and the capital was besieged. At that time, Trần Quốc Tuấn received orders and prayed to the hundred deities; the three great kings also manifested and secretly helped, so Ô Mã Nhi was defeated. The king conferred beautiful titles on the three great kings: Linh Ứng Anh Triết Hiển Hựu Trị Thuận. In the reign of Lê Thái Tổ, after defeating the Liễu Thăng invaders and recovering the country, he again conferred beautiful titles on the hundred deities who had spiritually helped, granting the title: Phổ Tế Cương Nghị Anh Linh, and issued an edict requiring the Báo Đáp area to restore the temple and halls for long-term worship. In the reign of King Cảnh Hưng (1740-1786), he again conferred beautiful titles on the three deities: Diên Hi Tứ Khách Đại Vương.

Báo Đáp Temple has a Dinh-character architectural structure consisting of a front hall and a rear sanctuary.

The front hall is a five-bay building with gable-end walls, closed gables, and ngai-style arms; in the center of the roof ridge is a two-dragons-flanking-the-moon motif, the ridge is decorated in the dinh style, and the roof is covered with mũi hài tiles. In front is a porch about 1 m² wide. On both sides are two monumental pillars; on top of the pillars are two nghê in facing positions, below is a lantern shape with reliefs of the four sacred animals, and the pillar body has a frame bearing a couplet. The folding-door system opens in the three central bays, and on the door leaves are reliefs of the four seasons. The two side bays have solid walls, with floral windows in the middle to provide light for the relic. The roof-supporting frame consists of six trusses: the four trusses in the central bays are of the 'thượng giá chiêng, hạ kẻ' type, and the two side trusses are of the 'kèo cầu quá giang, trụ trốn' type, resting directly on the gable walls; the roof is divided as 'thượng tứ hạ tam'. Four rows of columns support the roof in the 'thượng thu hạ thách' style. The column bases are blue stone, round above and square below, and the floor is paved with Bát Tràng bricks. The decoration on the front hall architecture is concentrated mainly on the architectural components with floral and plant motifs.

The rear sanctuary is a two-bay building connected to the central bay of the front hall to form the Dinh character. In front it is divided into three doors; in the middle is a folding-door system with a low wall, the doors are decorated with the longevity character, and on both sides are side doors used as entrances fitted with wooden leaves. The central bay of the rear sanctuary has a high platform built inside as an altar, above which is the throne of the village tutelary deity along with other ritual objects.

Through the many vicissitudes of history, Báo Đáp Temple has preserved written materials such as the deity genealogy, sacrificial oration, and royal edicts conferring titles on the village tutelary deity, as well as artifacts such as the worship throne, incense table, ceremonial curtain, and horizontal lacquered boards carved with traditional decorative motifs and lacquered red and gilded. These are precious assets that need to be preserved, protected, and promoted for the relic's value in the cultural heritage treasury of Gia Lâm Commune.