Duong Clan Temple in Duong Danh Village

          The Duong Clan Temple is located in Duong Danh Village, formerly Duong Xa Commune, now in Gia Lam Commune, Hanoi City. The structure was built very early to worship the ancestors of the Duong clan and the clan's scholarly and examination-honored sages, including Mr. Duong Hao, who passed the doctoral examination in 1620; Mr. Duong Don, who passed the doctoral examination in the Mau Thin examination under the Le dynasty (1628); Mr. Duong Le, who passed the doctoral examination in 1712; and the two gentlemen Duong Su and Duong Trong Te, who both passed the doctoral examination in 1754. All are recorded on the steles at the Temple of Literature (Quoc Tu Giam).

Mr. Duong Don served as an official at court and was bestowed many titles, such as Left Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Minister of Justice of the Nho Lam Temple, and Grand Guardian. He died at the age of 81. His grave is currently buried in the Ma Ca area, Duong Xa Commune, about 300 m from the Temple of Lady Nguyen Phi Y Lan. Mr. Duong Don and the Duong clan were credited with founding Duong Danh Village. Therefore, from ancient times to the present, on the 16th day of the first lunar month every year, the Duong clan holds a spring ceremony at the temple, and villagers and clans in the village all come to perform rituals at the temple.

Remembering the great merit of Mr. Duong Don and his descendants, the people of Duong Danh Village at that time had a shrine built called the Duong Clan Shrine on a 200 m2 plot within the village communal house grounds. The shrine faced southeast, looking toward the village communal house yard. The shrine had a stone stele placed on the back of a stone turtle. Over time, the shrine no longer exists; only the stone turtle remains, kept intact at the site of the old shrine.

The Duong Clan Temple is located on a plot of more than one northern sao, about more than 100 m northwest of the village communal house. The temple was built in the 17th century, facing southwest, and consists of five bays. The entrance gate was built at the same time as the temple and bears a pair of parallel couplets reading:

“The distant road to Luoyang once had carriages and horses.

With more people and a secure village, the plan is truly remarkable.”

In front of the temple door is a relief inscription reading:

“One top laureate of the era, eight doctoral laureates. Three dukes, marquises, and earls; six ministers.”.

The temple still preserves artifacts such as a worship throne, an ancient bronze musical stone, parallel couplets, and reliefs.

The Duong Clan Temple is located in a quiet, secluded place, so during the anti-French period, revolutionary cadres used it as a hiding place for revolutionary activities.

This is the only remaining clan temple in Duong Xa Commune and is a valuable historical and cultural relic in the nation's cultural heritage that needs protection, preservation, and promotion of its value.