The old Thien Truong Palace (now in Nam Dinh province) was the site of the Tran Dynasty and was considered the second capital of Dai Viet after Thang Long. In 1258, when the Nguyen Mong army invaded our country for the first time, King Tran Thai Tong ordered the implementation of the strategy of “garden without empty house” in Thang Long citadel and retreated to Thien Truong palace to mobilize the strength of the people. .
Later defeated the Mongol army. That year, on January 14, at Thien Truong Palace, King Tran Thai Tong held a banquet and conferred titles on the mandarins and soldiers with meritorious services to the enemy. Since then, on this day, the Tran kings held a ceremony to “open the seal” to sacrifice to ancestors of heaven and earth, reward and reward those with meritorious services, and at the same time open a new working year for the government. the dynasty of Tran.
In the 15th century, Phu Thien Truong was destroyed by the Ming army. Later, in the old palace, the Tran Nam Dinh Temple relic site was rebuilt, and at the same time, the ceremony of opening the seal was maintained in memory of the Tran kings who had merits to protect the country.
The architecture of Tran temple is deeply imprinted on people’s hearts.
Tran Nam Dinh temple relic area includes 3 main architectural works: Thien Truong temple, Co Trach temple and Trung Hoa temple, with the same design and same scale. There is a five-door gate in front. Through the gate is a rectangular lake. In the middle behind the lake is Thien Truong Temple.
Thien Truong Temple is often called Thuong Temple, located in the center of the Tran Nam Dinh Temple relic. The temple was built on the foundation of Thai Mieu and Trung Quang palace of the Tran Dynasty, but before that was the family church of the Tran family. Trung Quang Palace is where the Tran dynasty emperors lived and worked.
The current architecture of Thien Truong Temple includes the front, middle, main hall, burning incense, 2 rows of left and right Vu, 2 rows of left and right pipes, 2 rows of East and West dance. A total of 9 courts, 31 compartments. The temple frame is built of ironwood, the roof is tiled, the floor is tiled.
The front hall consists of 5 compartments, 13m long, with 12 female columns and 12 military columns, all placed on a lotus-shaped stone pedestal which is the foot of the old Trung Quang bow column. Inside are the altars and tablets of the mandarins with great merits to assist the Tran Dynasty. In the middle of the street, there are tablets of 14 emperors of the Tran dynasty, in front of the door there are three thrones that are the place to worship the emperors. The main chamber has 3 compartments, worshiping the 4 ancestors of the Tran family, and the main wives are in the middle, and the royal concubine is in the left and right compartments. The incense cremation court (the altar) houses the altars and tablets of the Tran dynasty’s gods. There is a separate altar for the mandarins and martial arts.
Co Trach Temple, often called Ha Temple, is located on the East side of the Tran Nam Dinh Temple relic site, to the right of Thien Truong Temple. The epitaph records that, in the 21st year of Tu Duc’s reign (1868), people dug in the East a broken stele with the words Hung Dao Prince Co Trach. Therefore, when built in 1894 and completed in 1895, the temple was named Co Trach Tu meaning the old house temple, as a place to worship Tran Hung Dao, his family and the general.
The front hall placed three confidants of Tran Hung Dao’s family members, Pham Ngo, Pham Ngu Lao and Nguyen Che Nghia. The middle hall worships tablets and statues of Tran Hung Dao, his 4 sons, Pham Ngu Lao and the left and right generals. The main shrine placed the plaques of his parents, Tran Hung Dao and his wife (Princess Thien Thanh), 4 sons and 4 daughters-in-law, daughter and son-in-law.
Trung Hoa Temple is located on the west side of the Tran Nam Dinh Temple relic, to the left of Thien Truong Temple. The temple was newly built in 2000, on the foundation of the old Trung Hoa Palace – where the Tran emperors returned to consult the emperors. In Trung Hoa Temple, there are 14 bronze statues of 14 emperors of the Tran Dynasty located in the middle hall and the main palace. The incense burning court placed the throne and the altar to worship the council of mandarins. Describing the slander of the mandarins. Fraudsters worship the martial mandarins.
Every year, at the relic of Tran Nam Dinh Temple, there will be two big festivals, which are the opening ceremony of Tran Temple in early spring and the Tran Temple Festival in August, attracting a large number of locals and tourists from all over the world to attend. , grateful for the merits of the 14 Tran kings and wish for good things.
The opening ceremony of Tran Nam Dinh Temple takes place from the 14th to the 15th day of the first lunar month. On the evening of the 14th, the ritual of carrying the casket of seals was started from the inner palace of Co Trach temple to Thien Truong temple, and then the sealing ceremony was performed at the right time of the Rat… then the guests from all over the world entered the temple to offer sacrifices and ask for a seal with their wishes for the new year. success and prosperity.
The annual sealing festival at Tran Temple attracts a large number of visitors from all over the world.
The Tran Nam Dinh Temple Festival takes place from the 15th to the 20th of the 8th lunar month. The ceremony begins with processions from communal houses and surrounding temples to offer incense at Thien Truong Temple. The festival will have attractive folk cultural activities such as martial arts performances of 5 generations, wrestling, lion dance, playing card chess, going to the bridge, singing literature, dancing Bai Bong …
This year, because of the complicated developments of the Corona epidemic, the Opening Ceremony was not held.
However, this year, in the face of the complicated situation of the Corona epidemic, in order to limit mass gatherings, Tran Temple continues to announce that it will close the temple from 10pm on January 14 to 7am on January 15. January. At the same time, set up checkpoints, medical stations and inspection in the relic area. Coordinate with the temple to distribute free masks, at the same time distribute loudspeakers, organize forms of propaganda for people not to gather in large numbers and take measures to protect their own health.
Source: Collected internet.