Vich Pagoda is located in Loc Tien village, Hai Loc commune (Hau Loc). Vich Pagoda's Chinese name is "Bich Tien Tu". In the past, Vich Pagoda was built by three communes (villages) Y Bich, Loc Duyen, Tien Xa, so it was also called Ba Xa Pagoda. During the Nguyen Dynasty, Tien Xa village merged with Loc Duyen village and was called Loc Tien village, so the pagoda was called the combined name of the two villages Y Bich and Loc Tien.
View of the national architectural and artistic relic of Vich Pagoda, Hai Loc commune (Hau Loc). Photo: The Son
Vich Pagoda was built in the early 13th century (some documents say in the 17th century), initially with bamboo and thatch, so it burned down many times. During the reign of King Tran Nghe Tong (reigned 1370-1372), Vich Pagoda was built with bricks and tiles. But it was not until the reign of King Le Thanh Tong that it was built in a spacious manner. Through the ups and downs of history, Vich Pagoda still retains its ancient and sacred appearance.
Vich Pagoda is located next to De Canal, surrounded by peaceful rice fields, salt fields, and aquaculture areas of the local people. The road leading to the pagoda has many green trees and ancient trees, making the space of the pagoda even more sacred. The impression for every local and tourist when visiting and offering incense at the pagoda is the ancient, mossy Tam Quan gate, with 3 rooms, 2 floors, tall and beautiful. The bell tower has three words "Bich Chung Tu", the two Tam Quan pillars have a pair of parallel sentences. Roughly translated as: Waves lead the boat from the waiting world across the sea of suffering/ The scene thanks to Buddha's door, the dream soul quickly crosses the river of delusion.
The main architecture is a Buddhist temple designed in the shape of the letter "Cong", with a curved roof, covered with fish-tail tiles, and lotus buds on the pillars. In the temple, there are 30 ancient statues made of terracotta and jackfruit wood, covered with vermilion lacquer. In front of the temple yard is the Thien Dai column, built in the 16th year of Le Vinh Thinh, Canh Ty year (1720), the Chinese characters carved on the column still remain. To the north of the temple yard are two stone steles: one placed on a stone pedestal, recording the names of the donors; one turtle slab 1.35m high, 0.65m wide, 0.14m thick. The stele reads "Tam Xa Hung Cong Bi Ky - Y Bich - Loc Duyen - Tien Xa", at the end of the stele is the year of construction Chinh Hoa decade - King Le Hy Tong's reign - October, auspicious day, Ky Ty year (1689). The person who made the stele was Hoang Dinh Thuat, from Xuan Dinh village, Ung Thien, Son Nam district (present-day Nam Dinh). The small stele records the merits of Admiral and General Duong Ba Lao for his great contribution to the construction of the pagoda.
During the years 1936-1938, revolutionary Dinh Chuong Duong disguised himself as a monk and entered the pagoda to work to deceive the French invaders. During the years 1940-1943, the ancestral temple was the place to open classes to teach the national language, propagate the revolution to the youth and recruit party members. Vich Pagoda was the most sacred, respectful and quiet place, so it was used by revolutionary activists as a meeting place and to propagate Marxism-Leninism. This was a safe place for revolutionary patriots such as Dinh Chuong Duong, Le Huu Lap, Le Tat Dac, Le Manh Trinh, Dinh Chuong Long, Dinh Chuong Lan, To Huu, Nguyen Chi Hien... to take refuge during their years of secret activities in Hau Loc, Thanh Hoa. Also at this pagoda, Mr. Dinh Chuong Duong successfully organized the "Mutual Aid Association" and was the place where many important meetings of the Provincial Party Committee and Hau Loc District Party Committee took place before the August Revolution in 1945.
On November 10, 1994, Vich Pagoda was recognized as a provincial-level historical revolutionary relic. On August 22, 2008, Vich Pagoda was ranked as a national architectural and artistic relic in Decision No. 70/QD-BVHTTDL. However, over time, many items have deteriorated and need to be further restored and embellished. The People's Committee of Hai Loc Commune, Hau Loc District has reported and proposed to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (VH,TT&DL), relevant departments and branches, and the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee on the necessity of investing in the project to restore and embellish Vich Pagoda. The restoration and embellishment plan of Vich Pagoda was chaired by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in coordination with relevant departments, branches, and units, for consideration, appraisal, and agreement. Based on the appraisal results, proposals and advice from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Party Committee of the Provincial People's Committee reported and asked for the opinion of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee on the investment policy and plan to restore and embellish the Vich Pagoda relic, Hai Loc commune, Hau Loc district and was approved for the investment policy in May 2024. The investment objective is to preserve, restore and embellish the relic that has been and is being degraded and damaged; gradually complete the space and technical infrastructure to meet and serve the living, religious and belief needs of local people and tourists.
Grassland
* Some information is quoted from the book "Geography of Hau Loc (Social Sciences Publishing House, 2018) and History of the architectural and artistic relic of Vich Pagoda, Hai Loc commune, Hau Loc district according to Decision No. 70/2008/QD-BVHTTDL dated August 22, 2008.
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/quan-tam-dau-tu-ton-tao-di-tich-quoc-gia-chua-vich-218719.htm
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