Trịnh Clan Temple

The Trịnh Clan Temple is the place of worship of a branch of the Trịnh clan that established the lordly career. The relic is currently in Thái Bình hamlet (formerly called Thái Đường), Mai Lâm commune. The names Cối Giang estate, Cói village, and Thái Đường were formed during this period. The Trịnh clan has settled on Thái Đường land for more than 500 years to date. According to the clan genealogy, the earliest of which is the stele “Đông Hoa Trịnh Tiến sĩ - Trịnh Tiến sĩ Genealogical Stele Inscription” compiled in the Bính Tý year of the Chính Hòa era (1696), the first ancestor of the Trịnh clan to come and establish a livelihood on this land was Mr. Trịnh Phúc Tâm and his wife, titled Từ Duyên, originating from Sáo Sơn, Thanh Hóa. From the 17th century onward, the clan had many people who studied well, passed high examinations, and rendered service to the country. Under the feudal regime, the Trịnh clan had 3 people pass the Tiến sĩ examination, 2 pass Sĩ vọng, 34 pass Tứ trường, and 70 pass Tam trường.

The first was Mr. Trịnh Biển in the 6th generation, who took first place in the provincial examination in 1645 and later passed the tam trường examination twice. In the 7th generation was Mr. Trịnh Đức Nhuận, born in the Quý Tỵ year (1653); at 17 he passed Giải nguyên, at 20 he took first place in the Sĩ vọng examination, at 23 he passed Tiến sĩ in the Bính Thìn examination of the Vĩnh Trị era (1676) when he was 24. Initially, he was appointed Giám sát Ngự sử of Hải Dương, then Đốc đồng of the regions: Sơn Tây - Hưng Hóa - Tuyên Quang. Because of his merit in suppressing local chieftain rebellions, he was summoned to the capital and promoted to Thừa chính sứ. In the Mậu Thìn year (1688), Trịnh Đức Nhuận was sent to Tuyên Quang to suppress the Khoan bandits who were causing disturbance. The bandits' stronghold at Ngưu Dương was destroyed, and thousands of people held there were freed by Trịnh Đức Nhuận and his soldiers. The life of the border people returned to peace. Trịnh Đức Nhuận was promoted to Thái thường Tự khanh, then successively held many positions: Thiêm đô Ngự sử, Hàn lâm viện Thị độc, Quang Tiến thận lộc đại phu, Công bộ Hữu Thị lang, Lễ bộ Hữu Thị lang, Bồi tụng, Triều liệt đại phu, with the title Thư Lâm nam. When he died, he was posthumously conferred Hộ bộ Tả Thị lang and the title tử. Trịnh Xuân Thụ, son of Mr. Trịnh Đức Nhuận, at the age of 45 passed the Đệ nhị giáp Tiến sĩ xuất thân (Hoàng giáp) in the Mậu Thìn examination of the Cảnh Hưng era, under King Lê Hiển Tông (1748), and served as Đông các Đại học sĩ with the title bá. When he died, he was posthumously conferred the rank of Thị độc. In the Canh Thìn year of the same era (1760), he was appointed Deputy Envoy to the Qing court to pay tribute. Trịnh Xuân Thụ also left the work Sứ hoa học bộ Poetry Collection. Trịnh Xuân Thưởng, courtesy name Đôn Mậu, was a descendant of Tiến sĩ Trịnh Đức Nhuận. He passed the cử nhân examination in the Quý Mão examination (1843); at 32 he passed the Đệ tam giáp đồng Tiến sĩ xuất thân in the Đinh Mùi examination of the Thiệu Trị era (1847), and served as Hàn lâm viện Biên tu, with the rank of Thị giảng, and was assigned as Sử quán Biên tu. In the Nhâm Tý year (1872), he was appointed Đốc học of Quảng Nam, then Tư vụ of the Ministry of Justice, later Viên ngoại lang of Tôn Nhân phủ, and Lang trung. Trịnh Xuân Thưởng was straightforward and somewhat rigid, “stubborn” so “19 years mired in lower official ranks” and was once praised by King Tự Đức: “Thưởng had a dignified appearance, truly worthy of my expectations”.

According to “Stele inscription recording the rebuilding of the temple” attached to the rear wall of the tiền tế house, it can be clearly seen that the Trịnh Clan Temple, since its founding, has been restored, repaired, and rebuilt many times. The stele records: “Our district ancestor (Mr. Trịnh Đức Nhuận), meeting a time of peace and thriving family fortunes, transported wood and stone from Thanh Hóa to build the temple”. Thus, the first construction of the Trịnh Clan Temple dates from 1696, the same year the pillar stele recording the clan genealogy was erected. After the event in which the people of Thái Đường village joined the Cai Vàng uprising, Cói village was destroyed and the temple was burned. In 1867, Mr. Trịnh Tư Thận took charge and rebuilt the temple. The third major repair was after 1891, when the state moved the dike inward to the north of the village; the village became alluvial land, and the temple was flooded every year. Mrs. Lương Phúc, wife of the district magistrate, taboo name Thị Nhung, took charge of the matter. In 1936, due to a change in the course of the Đuống River, erosion reached close to the temple, and the whole clan decided to move the temple inside the dike and rebuild it. The current architectural complex is the result of this construction. The person who organized and presided over the fourth relocation and rebuilding of the temple was Mr. Trịnh Xuân Nghĩa.

The Trịnh Clan Temple relic today is located in a densely populated area, amid the cool green trees and quiet scenery of the Thái Bình countryside. This architectural complex includes: the gate, the stele house, and the worship area consisting of tiền tế and cấm cung. The temple gate is simply built, with an arched entrance; above is a rectangular panel bearing four Chinese characters “Trịnh từ đường môn” (Trịnh Clan Temple Gate). The new stele shelter was built in 1993, in the style of two tiers and eight roofs; on the top is a gourd shape, and at the roof corners are dragon heads curving upward toward the roof ridge. In the middle of the house is a four-sided pillar stele placed on an elegant black stone base. The main worship area consists of tiền tế and cấm cung, arranged parallel in the shape of the character “nhị”, facing southeast and separated from the stele house by a brick courtyard.

The tiền tế was built with gable walls closed at the ends, a roof of đấu nắm cơm tiles, straight ridge borders, and stepped construction at the porch. The front of the tiền tế opens with three plank doors. The interior consists of three bays and two side wings; the roof-supporting frame is of the giá chiêng type, simply made with smooth planing and close fitting, without decoration. Currently, the tiền tế is only a place for receiving guests and clan meetings; near the roof above hang two horizontal plaques, and on the left gable wall is mounted a stone stele about the relocation and rebuilding of this ancestral hall. The cấm cung lies parallel and is separated from the tiền tế by a small courtyard. Overall, the architecture of the cấm cung is close to that of the tiền tế; it is also built with closed gable walls and has a fairly wide porch. The porch brackets are supported by the side walls and four square brick columns; the front is carved with couplets, and the bracket bodies are carved with quite beautiful scroll patterns. The front of the cấm cung opens with three large doors, and a horizontal plaque hangs above the middle door. This is the main place of worship and the most solemn and sacred place of the temple, so the architecture here also received more attention. The building frame is supported by four sets of trusses made uniformly in the chồng rường giá chiêng con nhị style; the architectural parts are carefully made, carved with leaf and cloud patterns in a soft manner, clearly showing the art of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Inside the cấm cung, in all three bays, there are three brick worship platforms. The largest central platform holds a wooden shrine containing four memorial tablets worshipping the two Mr. Phúc Tâm and the two Mr. Phúc Mẫn, the first- and second-generation ancestors of the clan. The right worship platform holds a wooden throne for worshipping Mr. Trịnh Đức Nhuận, the first person to pass the tiến sĩ examination, together with his son Trịnh Công Thiếp, who began the academic examination tradition of the Trịnh clan. The left worship platform holds two wooden thrones worshipping Mr. Trịnh Trí Thạch and Mr. Trịnh Đức Duệ. The Trịnh Clan Temple still preserves the latest genealogy compiled in 1990. Among the antiquities, the most prominent and valuable is the genealogical stele. This is one of the earliest genealogical steles in Đông Anh district. The stele is four-sided and pillar-shaped, 1.5 m high (including the top) and 54 cm wide on one face. The roof is decorated on three sides with the theme “Long vân tòng hộior “Long vân khánh hội” meaning ruler and subject meeting; this is a decorative motif on steles of tiến sĩ from the Lê dynasty. Dragons and clouds are shown in stylized leaf-shaped panels with very delicate, sharp, and soft carved lines; the volumes are raised clearly, the dragon's winding body appears and disappears among twisted arch-shaped cloud masses, and around the leaf-shaped panel are arches of clouds and leaves carved extremely exquisitely. Another roof is carved with a phoenix and clouds, also within a leaf-shaped panel. The shapes of the phoenix's tail and wings are clearly carved, highlighting the flying, graceful posture of the phoenix amid twisted cloud clusters. It can be said that the stele roof is four stone carvings with the finest art, clearly demonstrating the talent, creativity, and sculptural art of the 17th century (Lê period). In addition to the roof, the stele border is also meticulously carved with double seal-script patterns, chrysanthemum vines, and lotus petals; the characters on the stele face are also deeply and clearly engraved. This stele not only has great artistic value but is also the first genealogy recording the Trịnh clan in Cói village, Thái Đường, with the ancestor Mr. Trịnh Phúc Tâm, as well as the background and career of Tiến sĩ Trịnh Đức Nhuận. This is a rare and precious relic with high historical and artistic value of the Trịnh Clan Temple.

Every year at the beginning of spring (the 15th of the second lunar month), the clan holds the Spring Ceremony, reporting to the ancestors the achievements attained by descendants during the year. The clan's tradition of study and success in examinations is increasingly promoted, worthy of being one of the 12 “Prominent scholarly clans” of the former Kinh Bắc region, as recorded in the book “Phong thổ Hà Bắc thời Lê.” The Trịnh Clan Temple was ranked as a National Historical and Artistic Relic under Decision No. 423 QĐ/VH/1997 dated 20/02/1997.