Ancient temple with frangipani tree and big bell over 200 years old by Bo river
Báo Dân trí•27/06/2024
(Dan Tri) - The ancient Giac Luong pagoda in Hien Luong blacksmith village, on the banks of the Bo River, is a typical work of Buddhist architecture, recognized as a national cultural relic in 1992.
Giac Luong Pagoda is currently located in Phuoc Tu hamlet, right at the gate of Hien Luong village (Phong Hien commune, Phong Dien district, Thua Thien Hue province), about 21km northwest of Hue city center. According to historical documents, this ancient pagoda was built by Mrs. Hoang Thi Phieu and the patriarchs of the clans in Hien Luong village during the Le Trung Hung period in Con Be, then moved to its current location. Giac Luong Pagoda has made a great contribution to the research of the history of the formation of Hue pagoda architecture in particular, the history of the formation of Vietnamese Buddhism in general and was ranked as a national architectural and artistic relic in 1992. The pagoda was built facing south, rectangular, with wooden roofs and tiled roofs, consisting of 2 rooms and 4 wings. Next to the pagoda is a monk's house. The pagoda grounds are surrounded by a rectangular wall, with pillars built in front. The Tam Quan gate is massive, with a floor above and three entrances below, much larger in scale than many national pagodas in Hue. According to researcher Tran Dinh Son, Giac Luong ancient pagoda underwent many renovations during the Nguyen Dynasty. In particular, during the two resistance wars against the French and the Americans, Hien Luong village was severely devastated, all houses, communal houses and temples were burned down and destroyed, but Giac Luong pagoda still exists. In Giac Luong pagoda, there are 7 Buddha statues, worshiping the saints Quan Cong, Quan Binh, Chau Xuong and the ancestors of the clans in the village; on the balcony in the middle of the pagoda hangs a horizontal lacquered board with the words "Giac Luong Tu"; on both sides hang parallel sentences made in the winter of the year Ky Mao - Gia Long, 1819. In front of the temple yard on the right side there is a frangipani tree over 200 years old, with a very strange shape, worthy of being a heritage tree, in great need of protection. On the left side of the main hall of Giac Luong Pagoda, there is a wooden stand hanging a large bell (dai hong chung), weighing nearly 500kg, cast in October of the year Ky Mao (1819) of the Gia Long Dynasty. On the body of the bell is engraved the names of 20 village officials who donated the bell.
Research documents show that Giac Luong Pagoda has a unique architecture, marking a brilliant period of cultural and social development of the Dai Viet people in Dang Trong. From the frame to the three-link system, the temple's entrance door is decorated with embossed images of the eight treasures, the four sacred animals, the four seasons and sophisticated patterns. The decorative panels made of ceramic pieces are very vivid. According to Mr. Hoang Ngoc Trung, Vice Chairman of Phong Hien Commune People's Committee, Phong Dien District, Giac Luong Pagoda is an important religious establishment associated with the formation and development of Hien Luong Village, one of the 59 ancient villages of Dan Dien District, Trieu Phong Prefecture, Thuan Hoa Region, established in 1445 under the reign of King Le Nhan Tong. There is currently no monk living in the pagoda. Phong Hien Commune has established a communal relic management board to work with the people to protect, care for, and restore cultural relics in the area, including Giac Luong Pagoda. Phong Dien District People's Council has also issued a resolution on allocating funds to localities in the district to maintain and preserve relics. In addition, there are socialized sources and contributions from children in Hien Luong Village. According to Mr. Trung, every year at Giac Luong Pagoda, two important events of Hien Luong Village people will take place on the banks of the Bo River, which are the Spring Festival and the Autumn Festival. In addition to the ancient Giac Luong pagoda, which has been recognized as a national relic, Hien Luong village also has the tomb and temple of Tran Dinh Ba, a provincial historical relic, where many valuable Han Nom documents are preserved, reflecting a countryside with a rich cultural tradition. Or the Hien Luong village tile-roofed bridge with the architecture of the upper house and lower bridge, modeled after two famous bridges, Thanh Toan tile-roofed bridge (Thuy Thanh commune, Huong Thuy town, Thua Thien Hue province) and Cau pagoda (Hoi An city, Quang Nam) also received much attention. The bridge was built in 2011, inaugurated and put into use in 2015, with a total cost of about 1 billion VND, most of which was contributed by the people of Hien Luong village and supported by the Phong Hien commune government. In particular, Hien Luong village was previously famous for its blacksmithing, specializing in forging products for agricultural production and daily life. Mr. Truong Van Them (76 years old, from Hien Luong village) has been involved in the blacksmithing profession for 55 years. During its heyday, his family's blacksmithing furnace was always red hot and had a lot of orders. However, in recent years, Hien Luong blacksmithing has been lost, and only Mr. Them remains in the village to regularly maintain his blacksmithing furnace. Mr. Hoang Ngoc Trung, Vice Chairman of Phong Hien Commune People's Committee, said that the commune wants to preserve and restore the traditional blacksmithing profession, combined with historical works to develop sightseeing and experiential tourism, thereby creating more jobs and income for the people.
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