Bui Clan Temple

Bui Clan Temple was ranked at the City level under Decision No. 1186/QD-UBND dated April 6, 2026, of the Hanoi City People's Committee

EVENTS, HISTORICAL FIGURES, AND FEATURES OF THE RELIC
1. About the place name Ngoc Than Village
Ngoc Than was originally a settlement lying along the bank of the Ngoc River. The village name Ngoc Than began from the name of a river landing; in ancient Han script, 'Than' means bank or river landing, so the name Ngoc Than means Ngoc landing. In the distant past, upstream, the Ngoc River connected with the Hoang River of Hoang Xa Village, but it was silted up in the 19th century, leaving only a stretch of small canal flowing along the middle of the village, through Phu My Village down to Van Khe Village and downstream toward the Tich River. The Ngoc River dried up at its source because of the construction of the Thap Cuu dike (through 19 villages), 50 km long, from 1807 to the year
1810.
2. About the historical figures worshipped at Bui Clan Temple
According to the family genealogy and members of the clan, the Bui family has lived in Ngoc Than Village for 19 generations, with more than 300 male members. In ancient times, in the 15th century, members of the Bui clan recognized this as a land of spiritual power with a beautiful position, so they stayed to settle and build a livelihood, creating a stable place and passing it on to their descendants.
According to research from the clan genealogy and family records, the Bui family is a clan with both a clear and long-standing origin in Ngoc Than Village. The Bui family traces its roots to Mr. Bui Dien Khanh. Next was his father, Mr. Bui Nhu Son; the third generation was Mr.
Bui Nhu Thach. The fourth generation was Mr. Bui Nhu Sam, who had two sons, Mr. Bui Xuan Dai and Bui Nhu Sung; from here the clan split into two branches, the Giap branch being Bui Nhu Dai and the At branch being Bui Nhu Sung.
Through the early generations of the clan, many people became renowned for talent, virtue, intelligence, and upright character; many made names for themselves in various professions such as physician, teacher, and carpenter. Typically, the first-generation ancestor held the position of Phu quan, followed by Mr.
The founding ancestor with the title Tien duc van tan tri cong than, specially promoted to Pho Thuong tuong quan, Cam y ve, Ho Hung ty do chi huy su, acting guard affairs, Ninh Bac Hau, Bui tuong cong, courtesy name Nhu Son, Thuy Tien quan tien sinh, that is, Bui Nhu Son, who served as a high official for the court in the province of
Bac Ninh. Continuing the tradition of their forefathers, in almost every succeeding generation there were people who helped the king defeat invading enemies.
According to the book Ngoc Than Dang Khoa Luc, covering the period from 1540 to 1867, the whole village had 96 people from Ngoc Than Village who passed examinations at various levels, including 18 people from the Bui family.
They were Bui Nhu Sam, Bui Nhu Dai, Bui Nhu Sung, Bui Nhu Nguy, Bui Khiem Hanh...
- Bui Nhu Son, courtesy name Duc Huan, second generation, year of birth unknown, held the title Tien duc van tan tri cong than, specially promoted to Pho quoc Thuong tuong quan, Cam y ve, Ho Hung ty do chi huy su, acting guard affairs, with the title Ninh Bac Hau.
- Bui Nhu Thach, posthumous name Don Nghi, third generation, born around 1545 -
1650, held the title Tien trieu liet dai phu, specially promoted to Pho quoc Thuong tuong quan
Hung Quoc Ve Do Chi Huy Su Ti Chi Huy Kiem Su, with the title Trieu Khe Ba.
- Bui Nhu Sam, fourth generation, passed as a Confucian student in the formal examination, son of Ho Ba, direct grandson of Vu Ban Ninh Bac Hau, Trieu Khe Ba. Grandfather and grandson, father and son passed the examinations. Bui Nhu Sam was born around 1535 - 1540, a Confucian student who passed the formal examination (cu nhan)

Assessment of the figures worshipped at Bui Clan Temple
The founding ancestors worshipped at Bui Clan Temple made great contributions to establishing the Bui clan with its position in Ngoc Than Village. From the founding ancestors to the present, many people have been recorded on the golden lists in the fields of teaching and medicine and have passed high examinations... Through the dynasties, the merits of the founding ancestors of the Bui clan were granted royal edicts by successive kings, and they deserve to be preserved and worshipped forever.

- Overall layout:
The temple has a total area of 708.6 m2, on land plot No. 82; members of the clan met and agreed to leave 5 thuoc, about 120 m2, at the end of the land area (viewed from west to east), while the remaining 588.6 m2 is the area for the relic complex.
At present, the temple grounds have been enclosed; at the beginning is the temple gate, followed by the courtyard and the main temple, and the residence of the clan head. The gate and the temple face different directions. In front of the temple is a screen with many decorative motifs in relief, and to the left is the residence of the clan head. Between the temple and the screen is a miniature landscape rock. It is said that this rock was bestowed by King Le Canh Hung on Bui Dang Tu. The courtyard to the right of the temple is quite spacious and is used for activities on the clan's ancestral festival days. Various plants are grown in the grounds to create a landscape for the temple.

In the course of history, the people of the Bui clan were among the early clans to come and reclaim land in Ngoc Than Village. It was not until the third year of Khai Dinh (1922) that the temple was built as a common place of worship for the predecessors who had contributed to the clan and the country. The temple architecture was built in the traditional Vietnamese style, with a three-compartment wooden frame, facing southeast. However, due to many subjective and objective reasons, the architectural work of this period no longer exists today, but the descendants of the Bui family still preserve the design drawings for building the temple of this period. Today, only the horizontal plaques and couplets made during the reign of King Bao Dai remain in the temple. By 1973, after years of sun and rain, the structure had gradually deteriorated, and for the second time
the temple was rebuilt facing north.

About the value of the relic

Ngoc Than Village is one of the villages of Kieu Phu Commune with a high number and density of religious and belief relics in Kieu Phu Commune. In addition to the communal house and pagoda, there are many clan temples with large architecture, such as those of the Do Huu, Do Duy, Nguyen Quy, and Nguyen Van families... These religious and belief structures have been recognized by the State as valuable historical relics. Located in a land with such historical length and cultural depth, Bui Clan Temple contains representative historical and cultural values.
Bui Clan Temple, like other clans in the village, worships the founding ancestors of the clan, who contributed to the village and the country in feudal times. The worship of the founding ancestors expresses the sincere reverence of clan members. The place of worship was built during the reign of King Khai Dinh, but by now it had deteriorated and was rebuilt to meet the needs of religious activities and solidarity among clan members.
Before and during the resistance wars against the French and the Americans, the Ngoc Than communal house and pagoda also had a secret tunnel, which was a meeting place for local guerrillas. The Bui clan also contributed greatly to the revolutionary cause of the village; in the Bui clan there are 7 martyrs, and several families with contributions to the revolution were awarded certificates of honor.

Artistic and aesthetic value
Through many changes in history, Bui Clan Temple has undergone many changes. The old structure deteriorated and has now been restored, but it still retains the appearance of traditional Vietnamese architecture. In addition, the temple still preserves artifacts dating from the Le dynasty to the Nguyen dynasty and to the present, made of various materials... All of them carry certain values, helping us gain more materials for understanding traditional architecture and sculpture through the periods.
Cultural value
The worship of the founding ancestors shows that the origin of the Bui clan in Ngoc Than dates back to the 15th century. From the past to the present, Bui Clan Temple has been a sacred place where clan members reverently worship the founding ancestors and express wishes for health, prosperity, and happiness... The worship rituals, memorial ceremonies for the founding ancestors and people who contributed to the country, and many other cultural activities here all carry beautiful meanings.
The existence of the Bui clan together with other clans in the village has contributed to the history of the formation of Ngoc Than Village. Research on the Bui clan and the formation of the temple needs to be studied more deeply, and measures should be taken to preserve and promote its values.