Vandalism of the stele in Hoi An: Strangers came to the temple, hammer sounds echoed in the middle of the night

The words on the stele were intentionally erased - Photo: BD

"Initial information collected from local residents shows that at around 6am on March 31, when someone stopped by to burn incense at the monument, they discovered that the stone stele had been vandalized.

At 1-2am the same day, someone saw a motorbike parked on the sidewalk of Phan Chau Trinh Street, next to the banyan tree. A moment later, the sound of a hammer was heard" - the report of the Hoi An Center for Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation mentioned.

Ancient relic stele in Hoi An was destroyed

According to the Hoi An Cultural Heritage Management and Conservation Center, on the morning of April 1, this unit and local authorities went to the address at 98A Phan Chau Trinh (Cam Pho) to conduct a survey.

Here, the delegation recorded that the stele monument had been vandalized.

The current state of the letters and carvings on the stone stele has been chiseled and almost completely damaged. After the survey, the management units informed the Cam Pho Ward Police.

This unit sent forces to the scene to grasp the situation and collect information. The Hoi An Center for Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation is coordinating to provide information related to the relic for the police to investigate.

The stone slab with engraved letters is placed under the banyan tree, next to the stone stele - Photo: BD

How valuable is the water-saving stele in Hoi An?

Regarding information about the stele, the Hoi An Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation Center said that the stele is located in the protection area I of the special national relic - the world cultural heritage of Hoi An ancient town. The relic is classified as type I conservation value, state ownership.

The stone stele is placed inside a small brick shrine, located at the base of an ancient banyan tree - this banyan tree has also been listed as a protected ancient tree by Hoi An city since 2014.

The stele faces north. On the stele are engraved Han Nom characters and images of talismans, specifically:

From top to bottom, near the forehead of the stele, three circles are engraved, the middle circle is smaller than the two on the sides, distributed quite evenly.

In the middle there are three parts, below the central circle there is a row of deeply engraved Chinese characters: (The Northern Emperor decrees to establish a pole to control the wind and suppress the water path).

Below the right circle of the stele (from the outside looking in) is engraved the North Star vertically along the body of the stele consisting of seven circles connected by straight lines.

On each circle are engraved the names of the stars from top to bottom in Nom characters: Phieu, Phu, Tat, Hanh, Quyen, Thuoc, Dau. Below the left circle are engraved two circles connected by a straight line. Continuing down along the body of the stele is the line of words: (An ma ni bat me hong).

The bottom part is engraved with 3 talismans, the middle one is square, 19cm x 20cm, the two sides are smaller, rectangular, 10cm x 20cm in size. The talisman on the left (from the outside looking in) has blurred Chinese characters. The talisman on the right has the characters

Chinese: (Fire, Wood, Earth). At the bottom of the stele are 3 words: (Thai Nhac Son) spanning the entire width of the stele.

Many researchers believe that this stele was used to control water and is related to the worship of the Northern Emperor Tran Vu at the Chua Cau relic.

The tree roots cover the stele, people often come to burn incense and take care of it - Photo: BD

As reported by Tuoi Tre Online , at noon on April 1, at the scene of the crime at the banyan tree on Phan Chu Trinh Street (near Hoi An Ancient Town), there were many neighborhood security guards guarding the scene.

The police came to collect initial information and determined that the water-control stele located under the ancient banyan tree had been vandalized by strangers, who erased the words on the stele.

Read more Back to Topics

Thai Ba Dung

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vu-pha-hoai-bia-yem-o-hoi-an-co-nguoi-la-den-mieu-xuat-hien-tieng-bua-vong-giua-dem-20250401191244409.htm