Lai Da village, the peaceful hometown of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, still preserves intact the cultural space of the ancient architectural and artistic relic cluster.
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| Lai Da village is one of the villages that still preserves many ancient and familiar features of a Northern village with banyan trees, wells, and communal house yard. In the photo: Lai Da village gate was restored in 2010. (Source: Tien Phong) |
Located on the Duong River, Lai Da village (Dong Hoi commune, Dong Anh town, Hanoi) is the hometown of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who devoted his entire life to the country and people.
According to legend, Lai Da village appeared at the same time as Co Loa citadel. Up to now, despite the ups and downs of time, the village still retains many ancient features with constructions bearing the characteristics of the Northern Delta region.
Lai Da village still preserves intact the cultural space including the communal house worshiping Nguyen Hien, the first laureate under the Tran Dynasty (1247), the temple worshiping the holy mother Tien Dung, who assisted Nguyen Hien, and the pagoda named Canh Phuc.
On September 5, 1989, the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) ranked the Lai Da architectural and artistic relic cluster as a National Monument.
Let's explore the relics in Lai Da ancient village - the hometown of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.
Lai Da Temple
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| Lai Da Temple. (Source: Vietnam Buddhist Sangha) |
Lai Da Communal House worships Nguyen Hien (1235-1256). Nguyen Hien was born on July 12, 1235, in Vuong Mien village, Thuong Hien district (later changed to Thuong Nguyen, Thien Truong prefecture, Son Nam road), now Duong A village, Nam Thang commune, Nam Truc district, Nam Dinh province. Nguyen Hien was famous for being intelligent since childhood.
Passed the Royal Examination in the year of Dinh Mui, the 16th year of Thien Ung Chinh Binh (1247), under the reign of Tran Thai Tong, at the age of 13. Nguyen Hien was the youngest Royal Examination winner in the Vietnamese Royal Examination.
Nguyen Hien was an official with the title of "Minister of Public Works". During his years as an official in the court, he had many good strategies to help the king and the country. In the year At Hoi, our country was invaded by the Champa invaders. The king was very worried and assigned the first-ranking scholar Nguyen Hien to fight the invaders and defend the country. Shortly after, the invaders were defeated. The scholar Hien gathered his troops back to Vu Minh Son, held a feast to reward the troops and reported to the king. The king was extremely happy and granted the scholar the title of "First-ranking noble mandarin". In agriculture, he built a dike across the Red River, developed production, and had a successful harvest. In military affairs, he opened a martial arts school to train soldiers.
On August 14, 1256, Nguyen Hien, the first-ranking scholar, fell seriously ill and passed away. The king mourned and posthumously conferred on him the title of “Great King Thanh Hoang” and made him a god in 32 places, including Lai Da communal house in Dong Hoi commune, Dong Anh district, Hanoi.
According to the genealogy, Lai Da communal house was built after 1276, at first called a temple, at the end of the 18th century it was converted into a communal house. The current communal house was built in 1853. This is an ancient and majestic structure, built in a continuous style, on a beautiful piece of land, the land of a tiger's crouching. In front of the communal house are two round ponds called 2 lakes, in the middle is a tiger's tongue rock, behind the communal house is a tiger's body and then a tiger's tail. The communal house door faces south, in front is a field, further away is the Duong River. Lai Da communal house has been renovated many times. The renovation in 2002 - 2003 was the largest, with a budget of 1.5 billion VND invested by the State.
Lai Da Communal House is built with large pillars connected to the surrounding wall running parallel, on both sides connecting to the temple gate and the temple door. The main hall consists of 5 compartments, the wooden rafters are carved in the Later Le style (18th century). In the rear palace, there is a wooden throne with red lacquer and gilding, a pair of 17th century style unicorns and a statue of Nguyen Hien placed in the middle.
Lai Da Communal House still preserves 20 royal decrees, the earliest of which was issued during the reign of Khanh Duc (Le Thanh Tong) on March 19, 1652 and the last of which was issued during the reign of King Khai Dinh on July 25, 1924.
Lai Da Pagoda
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| Lai Da Pagoda. (Source: Vietnam Buddhist Sangha) |
Lai Da Pagoda is located close to the East of the Communal House, the pagoda's Chinese name is Canh Phuc Tu. Lai Da village pagoda was built long ago and has undergone many renovations. Based on the traces and some remaining relics, it can be guessed that the pagoda was built in the Later Le Dynasty; before that, there was a pagoda in the Tran Dynasty.
The pagoda is planned into two rows: the front row is the Tam Bao house, the back row is the rear worship house (also called Tu Hau Duong). The Tam Quan gate is located close to the entrance to the communal house, built in the 8th year of Canh Thinh dynasty (1800). The Tam Bao house has been degraded due to its long existence.
With the approval of the local government, the villagers and the pagoda led by the abbot Dam Nguyen rebuilt the Ancestor's house in 2003 and rebuilt the Tam Bao in 2004 using socialized funding (donations from villagers and sponsors).
Lai Da Temple
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| Lai Da Temple. (Source: Vietnam Buddhist Sangha) |
Lai Da Temple, also known as the temple, is located in the West and right next to the village communal house. The temple worships the Holy Mother Tien Dung - according to legend, she was the one who helped the first-ranking scholar Nguyen Hien defeat the invading army of the Champa, and was appointed as the Goddess of Fortune by the Tran Dynasty.
The temple was built around 1276, after Nguyen Hien died. The old temple was small and narrow, but in the 10th year of Khai Dinh (1925), the temple was expanded. The temple's architecture is arranged in the shape of the letter "nhi", the back house is where the pedestal is located, with a shrine to the Holy Mother. Every year on the 11th day of the third lunar month, a team of female mandarins dressed in ceremonial costumes perform a ceremony at the temple.
The Lai Da communal house-pagoda-temple relic complex is located in a large area, with heritage architecture blending into the landscape of green trees and a charming feng shui lake. In the yard of the relic site is a 300-year-old Bodhi tree providing shade, making visitors feel very relaxed and comfortable.
Lai Da communal house, pagoda and temple were ranked as historical and architectural relics by the Ministry of Culture and Information in 1989.
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