At the workshop, delegates had a heated discussion about whether or not there should be a Temple of Saint Tran at this historical site, and at the same time gave their heartfelt opinions on how to restore the spiritual work that has many cultural and historical meanings for the land of Dien Bien. The discussions around this issue have opened up many new directions for the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage values in the locality.
Where is the Tran Temple?
Among many contents at the Workshop, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism reported and presented a number of documents and materials collecting information related to the Temple of Saint Tran at the A1 hill relic. Accordingly, the Department collected 6 photos, learned some information related to the characters, events in the photos and some documents related to the Temple of Saint Tran.
Specifically, the photo of the Tran Temple on A1 Hill, inside is an image of French soldiers standing under a large tree, next to a built house. Outside the gate decorated with traditional Vietnamese architecture is written: "1-1922", which may be the time the Temple was built. On both sides of the gate are two parallel sentences in Han Nom with the content: Vu Mon Phi Bich Lang/Hai Noi Thiep Kinh Ba. In the photo, the man wearing a hat is Major Muracciole - the weapons commander of the Dien Bien Phu outpost, a combat engineer of the French expeditionary force. After the French occupied Dien Bien Phu, they used this place as a military post and added a line of words in French above: "Poste Militarine de Dien-Bien-Phu" which roughly translates to Dien Bien Phu Military Post.
Former Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Van Binh - who was born and raised in Dien Bien - attended the Workshop. He was a witness who had directly seen a construction with the appearance of a Northern-style temple at the former A1 hill relic. Mr. Hoang Van Binh recalled: “That day, I was herding buffaloes and it was raining so I had to find shelter. Looking back and forth at the foot of A1 hill, that is, Tay hill, I saw a house and ran to take shelter in the kitchen. When I entered, the house was very dark, I couldn't see anything. When the rain stopped, I turned around and saw 2 large pillars, with Chinese characters. But I didn't know if it was a temple or what. I don't know who built it, but I can confirm that I saw it and took shelter from the rain there, right at the foot of A1 hill and next to it was a banyan tree. Only when attending today's Workshop was I given information that it was a Temple of Saint Tran".
Explaining why few people know about the sacred temple worshiping Saint Tran on Tay hill, Mr. Hoang Van Binh shared: So, there is a real temple at the A1 hill relic, but I did not know who it was worshiping at that time. Dien Bien has Hoang Cong Chat temple in Dien Bien district, Lai Chau with Le Loi stele. Up here, around 1952 - 1953, the French occupied Dien Bien Phu, leveling all the houses on the hill. Later, the French destroyed the temple to take materials to build their fighting bunkers and according to the elders, the French army destroyed the temple and the banyan tree to build a bunker, people called it the Banyan Tree Bunker.
According to Mr. Vo Quoc Tuan, a research expert on Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, determining the location of the Temple of Saint Tran on the A1 hill relic is a very difficult problem. “There is very little information about this temple. The only information we found is from author Tran Le Van in his memoir “Dien Bien Rivers and Mountains”. However, little information does not mean lack of credibility. We have compared a number of image documents, detailed interpretations of the images and documents collected up to the present time and given our opinions on the structures that once existed on A1 hill. Accordingly, the Temple of Saint Tran in the past is likely to be located on the right side of the road leading to the A1 hill relic today” - Mr. Vo Quoc Tuan said.
More historical information needed
After listening to the presentations and comments of experts, scientists and researchers, the delegates all agreed and highly agreed that there was once a Temple of Saint Tran on the A1 hill relic. However, the delegates still believed that more historical data was needed to increase the persuasiveness of the above statement. Major General Nguyen Xuan Nang, former Director of the Military History Museum, spoke at the workshop: “Currently, according to the documents we have, the restoration is very difficult. I think that according to the report of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, only 6 photos were collected, expert Vo Quoc Tuan presented some content and some literary documents, the rest is almost nothing. So we still need more historical documents to confirm and convince the authorities and sectors that there was a Temple of Saint Tran on A1 hill”.
“People who have lived here for a long time say that there is a temple, so we cannot just report to our superiors that the people there said so. Of course, that is also the basis for us to convince, but there must also be other bases, more importantly, documents, ancient books. For example, the documents provided by the Institute of Han-Nom Studies show that almost all ancient temples have a genealogy book of the temple, called a divine record, a divine genealogy. The Institute of Han-Nom Studies is both a research institute and a place to store ancient documents. But in the agencies asking for opinions here, this agency has not been mentioned. I think the address we need to go to is the Institute of Han-Nom Studies, experts in ancient documents to see if there is a temple in Dien Bien, then apply it to practical bases, people's opinions to say that at the foot of hill A1 there is a temple to worship Saint Tran. Next, we must have a suitable roadmap. After researching and confirming that there is a Temple of Saint Tran on Hill A1, we will then prepare a report to consult with state agencies and then request guidance on the next steps," said Major General Nguyen Xuan Nang.
At the workshop, many delegates expressed their opinions that the restoration of the Tran Temple at the A1 Hill relic is very difficult. Because there is very little documentary evidence about the Tran Temple; due to the long time, the witnesses who know about this temple are also very limited, causing many difficulties in determining the materials and architecture used to restore the Temple. Not only that, if it is true as the experts determined, the foundation of the Tran Temple is currently located in the premises of the protection area I of the Dien Bien Phu Battlefield National Special Relic, which was recognized and ranked for the first time in 2009 - the place where the fiercest battle between the Vietnam People's Army and the French colonialists took place. Therefore, to restore this spiritual work, it is necessary to comply with the provisions of the Law on Cultural Heritage and the consensus of the people. This also leads to opinions surrounding whether to restore the Temple at the A1 Hill relic or choose another location that is suitable for the current situation...
The contributions at the Workshop are not only valuable perspectives but also a solid foundation for Dien Bien province in researching and proposing the restoration of the sacred temple worshiping Saint Tran. Although this is only the first step, the road ahead is still full of challenges. Dien Bien province is eager to continue receiving contributions of opinions and valuable historical documents from experts, researchers and the community, to ensure that this spiritual work will be restored in a solemn and meaningful manner, contributing to preserving the culture and history of the heroic land.
Source: https://baodienbienphu.com.vn/tin-tuc/van-hoa/218311/nhieu-y-kien-xoa-quanh-viec-phuc-dung-den-tho-duc-thanh-tran
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