Phu Tho is known not only for the sacred Hung Temple – the place to worship the ancestors of the Vietnamese people, but also the first capital of Vietnam – where the Hung Kings chose as the starting-up land of Son Ha; established the first State of the Vietnamese nation. A land of high mountains and lakes; majestic like a father, lyrical like a mother’s womb, has become a rendezvous for spiritual, historical, cultural and ecological tourism journeys in the countryside. Most localities in the province have cultural and historical sites worth remembering. Among the relics of the province, we cannot fail to mention the historical site of the temple of King Ly Nam De in Van Xuan commune, Tam Nong district. The relics of Ly Nam De worship are scattered throughout the provinces: Thai Binh, Thai Nguyen, Hanoi, Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho… but only in Phu Tho there is a temple at the place where he died and the mausoleum of his family. King.
Temple of Ly Nam De in Van Xuan Commune, Tam Nong District.
In the history of the country, King Ly Nam De was the first person to call himself Emperor. Ly Nam De was also the first person to realize the central position of the country in the old Hanoi. His name is Ly Bi (also known as Ly Bon). He was born on September 12, the year of the Goat (October 17, 503) in Co Phap hamlet, Tien Phong commune, Pho Yen district, Thai Nguyen province. From a young age, Ly Bi proved to be an intelligent boy with a different personality. One day, there was a French patriarch passing by, seeing Ly Bi’s handsome appearance, he asked Ly Bi to bring him back to the temple to raise him. After more than 10 years of diligently forging books, Ly Bi became a broad and deep learner. Thanks to his martial arts talent, Ly Bi was promoted as a local leader. After raising an army to start a business to defeat the invaders of the Luong Dynasty, in January 544 Ly Bi officially became Emperor, claiming to be Ly Nam Viet De, naming the era as Thien Duc,
In the spring of 545, the Luong Dynasty sent troops back to invade, the capital fell, Ly Nam De had to retreat to the Khuat Lao area to consolidate his forces, in the fall of 546 the king sent troops to meet the enemy at Dien Tri lake. (In the area of Tu Yen commune, Lap Thach district, Vinh Phuc province now), due to the weaker and weaker forces, they were defeated by the Luong army, the injured king had to hand over the military power to Trieu Quang Phuc to continue. During the resistance war, I retreated to hide in Khuat Lao cave. On March 20 (ie April 23 of the solar calendar) year 548, King Ly Nam De died at the age of 46. Although he only reigned for 5 years, he was the one who established the country of Van Xuan, founded the pre-Ly dynasty – the earliest established dynasty in our country and had merit in asserting independence and territorial sovereignty. for the contemporary feudal dynasties at that time.
King Ly Nam De died, his body was buried in Khuat Lao cave. Over thousands of years of history, his tomb is cared for and worshiped by the people. In 2010, with the consent of the People’s Committee of Phu Tho province, the People’s Committee of Tam Nong district carried out the restoration and rebuilding of the King’s tomb and temple on the old foundation at Go Co Bong to honor the first Emperor of the nation. , to match the name and merits of him and the generals. In 2016-2017, the district built an entrance, a garden, planted trees, built steps up and down the fence, renovated a fish pond and some items for the incense offering ceremony and ceremony for tourists from all over the world to visit. visit. Ly Nam De Temple is about 20 km west of the center of Viet Tri city. Visitors to visit the monument can go by road or waterway, in which road is the most popular and convenient.
The temple of Ly Nam De was embellished and built at the site of Co Bong mound in Van Lang village, Van Luong commune (now in administrative area 10, Van Xuan commune) associated with Khuat Lao cave, with a total area. over 5 hectares. The overall plan of Ly Nam De temple relic site includes architectural items: Nghi Mon, Ly Nam De Tomb, Than Nong altar, temple, Ta vu, Huu vu and garden, lotus pond, infrastructure Technology.
Path to the Temple
The opening of the temple grounds of Ly Nam De is the four-pillar Nghi Mon with three aisles, built in a traditional style with two large pillars on the top emblazoned with four phoenix shapes overlooking four sides, leaning their tails against each other. Two small pillars at the top are covered with a unicorn shape in an adoring position. Ly Nam De’s Tomb was renovated in 2010 with the architecture in the style of “First, Lastest”, consisting of 2 buildings: the front altar and the harem. Architectural interior decorated with hammock door fringes, couplets diaphragm, majestic and splendid worship decoration. The altar was built by the villagers of Van Lang in 2006 to worship and worship Ly Nam De. The altar is open-air without a roof, the altar is made of cement, and the word Thien Duc is embossed above it. Temple of Ly Nam De Built in August 2018, the architectural layout of Dinh typeface includes two buildings: Dai Bai and Hau Cung. The main hall of the temple, in the middle, has an altar with a statue of Ly Nam De sitting on a bronze throne, showing the majestic and majestic appearance. The interior of the temple is dignified with hammock door friezes, tall wooden columns hanging parallel sentences, diaphragms, couplets, delicately carved rituals, and splendid gilded painting. After nearly 1 year of construction, the project has been completed and put into operation, meeting the needs of tourism and cultural and spiritual activities of the local people. On May 28, 2019, Tam Nong district held the inauguration ceremony of the harem building of King Ly Nam De’s temple. The temple of Ly Nam De in Van Xuan commune, Tam Nong district has been decided by the People’s Committee of Phu Tho province to rank a provincial-level historical-cultural relic according to document No. 3289/QD-UBND dated December 16, 2020.
Inside the Temple
Statue of King Ly Nam De at the harem
Every year at the temple and tomb of King Ly Nam De on Go Co Bong, Van Xuan commune, the government and local people organize holidays and prayer days as follows: there are 04 days of prayer in a year. The festival in January (from the 4th to the 7th) to celebrate the King’s departure is the largest, most crowded and has many fun, healthy and skillful games of the village festival nature in the early spring. Rituals and games in the early spring to remember and simulate the feats of the forebears in the cause of building and defending the country. March 12 marks the day when the King ascended the throne. On the 20th day of the third lunar month – the day the King died, a festival to commemorate King Ly Nam De was held in accordance with the documents in Vietnamese history and the traditional customs and practices of the Vietnamese people. And September 12th celebrates the King’s birthday.
The relics of King Ly Nam De’s temple and his tomb have historical significance, cultural and spiritual values, especially important because of the respect and gratitude for the merits of the people who had merits to protect the country of the Vietnamese nation. time to promote national cultural identity, contribute to the education of patriotic traditions for present and future generations. In the coming time, it is hoped that the relics of Ly Nam De temple and historical sites related to the Ly Bi uprising in Van Xuan commune, Tam Nong district will become an attractive spiritual destination in the tour. about the origin of Phu Tho province.
Source: Collected internet.