1. Where is Con Son Pagoda?
Con Son Pagoda is now located in Con Son hamlet, Son Tien commune, Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province . Before the August Revolution in 1945, this site belonged to Bach Son, Le Dinh, Tuan Le communes, Yen Ap canton, Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province.
The relic is located at the foot of Thien Nhan mountain, far from Hoang Tam mountain – the main site of Luc Nien citadel (the relic of Lam Son uprising). This place belongs to the system of monuments and ramparts of the Do Gia base of the Lam Son uprising, on present-day Huong Son land. The pagoda was built in the 15th century. According to legend, the pagoda was named Con Son by Nguyen Trai to commemorate his hometown.
2. Legend of Con Son Pagoda
After many years of insurrection, Lam Son insurgent army could only control the mountainous areas of Thanh Hoa. Faced with that situation, General Nguyen Chich proposed to change the strategic direction to Nghe An (present day Nghe An and Ha Tinh), where the land is large, the people have a tradition of fighting foreign invaders to make the land a firm foothold for counterattack liberated the rest of the country. The land of Do Gia was selected as a base area with many garrisons and ramparts surrounding the posts blocking important waterways and land transport vessels. At first, when he first entered Do Gia district, Le Loi took Tien Hoa cave, located deep in the base area, as the place where the headquarters and headquarters of the insurgent army were located.
In the following years, due to the force growing stronger in all aspects and having won many attacks by the Ming army from Nghe An citadel, the headquarters decided to move the headquarters and headquarters to Luc Nien citadel. – the first place of Do Gia base, located on Hoang Tam mountain, with Lam river, La river and Ngan Pho river blocking on three sides.
From the top of this mountain is also the highest point of Luc Nien citadel, in the past, the insurgent army could see Nghe An city with the naked eye and now when the weather is clear, there is no cloud, we can clearly see Vinh city (Nghe An). An). This shows that the insurgents chose this site to build the citadel on purpose; There was a marked change in the initiative to counterattack Nghe An citadel. Supporting the Luc Nien citadel is a system of fortifications, warehouses, yards, and satellite roads. Currently, only the initial field survey within a radius of 1km of the citadel has discovered many such relics as the foundation of the city. architecture, including Con Son pagoda relic.
According to field documents , the site of Con Son pagoda was formerly a place to hide food, wealth and fighting weapons of Lam Son insurgents . After the country returned to peace , Nguyen Trai built the Con Son pagoda here as a reward for the people who had supported and supported the insurgents during their struggle against the enemy in this land. .
3. About Con Son Pagoda
Con Son Pagoda worships Buddha and commemorates Nguyen Trai’s merits
Con Son Pagoda was formerly worshiped Buddha. To commemorate Nguyen Trai’s gratitude to the people and the country, after his death, he and his wife were worshiped by the people in the temple next to the Buddha. Every year on the day of the year, on New Year’s Day, Buddha’s birthday, people and pilgrims come to Con Son Pagoda to burn incense to pray for the nation’s peace, peace, and prosperity.
The spacious Con Son pagoda campus
Con Son Pagoda is located in an area of 6548m2, surrounded by many trees and tea gardens. Behind are gentle hills creating a quiet and solemn landscape at the Buddha’s door. The pagoda has the shape of the letter Cong (工), the architecture of the house is divided into 3 compartments. The four pillars are connected to each other through longitudinal beams to create a bearing frame for the temple. On the left and right side, there is a military column with porch swings reaching out to support the roof, increasing the space for the building. The roof is roofed with roof tiles, surrounded by a wall.
The pagoda is 3.70m high, 32.50m2 surface, has 18 round pillars standing on the stone supporting the base of the pillars, perpendicular to the floor, of which there are 2 square pillars, 8 military columns (2.20m high), 6 female columns (2.80m high) and 2 hiding columns. On the decisive column, write a couple of parallel sentences in Chinese characters praising the compassion of the Buddha:
Spelling:
The Buddha’s best name is non-karma
Compassionate self-save save life
Translate:
Coming to the Buddha realm, all karma will disappear
With two words of compassion to save sentient beings
Architecture of Con Son pagoda
In terms of architecture, it is worth noting that the third set of trusses is created according to the variation of the overlapping style, but there is no match with the boards about 0.08m thick, 0.30m wide, overlapping each other to fill up the fly. for the stability of the house. To create a spacious space for the ceremony, the second truss was created differently from the rest. The main columns give way to the hidden columns placed on the bottom square, supported by the longitudinal beams. The roof of the pagoda is covered with terracotta roof tiles. The roof structure is composed of diaphragm and rafters.
About sculpture
Regarding sculpture, the pagoda currently has 8 statues, including 6 Buddha statues, 1 statue of Nguyen Trai, 1 statue of Nguyen Thi Lo. The statue of Buddha wearing a robe, sitting in meditation cross-legged on a lotus, with a full, balanced and harmonious face painted with vermilion, gilded with faded gold has artistic and antique value, exuding compassion, degree spectrum. Statue of Nguyen Trai, head wearing a hat with wings, looking forward with both faces, showing intelligence and erudition. Statue of Nguyen Thi Lo looks gentle and kind.
Con Son Pagoda is an ancient temple that still retains many original details of high historical and cultural value that need to be preserved, researched, embellished, protected, and brought into play. Con Son Pagoda is a reliable testament to the long-standing patriotic tradition of the local people, the province in particular and the whole country in general… If you have the opportunity to come to Son Tien, we invite you to visit this Con Son temple. Please!