Admire the relic complex of Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac
Việt Nam•16/08/2024
Yen Tu is a mountain range in the Northeast region associated with the birth of the Truc Lam Zen sect imbued with Vietnamese identity, which is familiar in the folk song "A hundred years of practicing virtue/If you have not been to Yen Tu, you have not achieved the results of your practice". However, the geographical space and cultural and historical depth covering this sacred mountain range are even larger. In 2021, the Prime Minister assigned Quang Ninh province to preside over and coordinate with Hai Duong and Bac Giang to develop a dossier to nominate the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac Monument and Landscape Complex to submit to UNESCO for recognition as a World Heritage Site.
The Yen Tu – Vinh Nghiem – Con Son, Kiep Bac relic and scenic complex (abbreviated as Yen Tu) is located in 3 provinces (Quang Ninh, Bac Giang and Hai Duong). It is a system of hundreds of relics and scenic spots currently belonging to 8 National Relic Sites and Special National Relic Sites, stretching from Yen Tu mountain to the plains and reaching the Bach Dang estuary, like "a dragon reaching out to the sea". In which, the nominated heritage site includes 20 component relics spread over an area of nearly 630 hectares, together representing a complete heritage story.
The story begins with the relics related to the birthplace, homeland of the Tran family and the resting place of many kings and royal families of the Tran dynasty - the most brilliant monarchy in the history of Vietnamese monarchy in the 13th-14th centuries, notable for its three victories over invaders (Photo: An Sinh Temple - the palace of the Tran kings and a place of worship for kings who ruled after the Tran dynasty in Dong Trieu town, Quang Ninh )
The relics that clearly show this story are Thai Mieu (a place to worship the ancestors of the Tran family, later becoming a place to worship the first kings of the Tran dynasty), An Sinh Temple (the palace of An Sinh Vuong Tran Lieu - brother of King Tran Thai Tong, later becoming the palace of the Tran kings and a place to worship the kings of the second half of the Tran dynasty), Thai Lang (the resting place of King Tran Anh Tong and the queen), all located in Dong Trieu town, Quang Ninh province (Photo: Thai Mieu festival of the Tran dynasty was restored by Quang Ninh province since 2019).
Along with that is a particularly familiar relic located in Chi Linh City, Hai Duong Province - Kiep Bac Temple: the palace, the place of death, later became a place of worship for Tran Hung Dao - the son of An Sinh Vuong Tran Lieu, who also commanded the Dai Viet army in 3 resistance wars against the Mongol Empire, and was later honored as a Saint by the people. The temple has a unique location and landscape in the middle of a fertile valley, leaning against the mountain, next to Luc Dau - the meeting place of 6 rivers. The temple gate has a parallel sentence like the resounding Dong A spirit: Kiep Bac huu son giai kiem khi/Luc Dau vo thuy bat thu thanh (In Van Kiep, every mountain is filled with the scent of swords/Luc Dau, there is no river that does not resound with the sound of swords).
Over time, the story continues to the relics related to the life and career of Buddhist King Tran Nhan Tong and the birth of Truc Lam Buddhism on Yen Tu mountain range. Tran Nhan Tong (1258-1308) was the third king of the Tran dynasty, who "took off his royal robe and put on a monk's robe", founded and developed the Truc Lam Zen sect from the foundation of inheriting and unifying Zen sects, Buddhist sects, combining with Confucianism, Taoism and folk customs, practices and beliefs.
Many relics in the Yen Tu relic and scenic area in Uong Bi city, Quang Ninh province today all bear the footprints of the Buddha King. It is a pilgrimage route with the first stops at Bi Thuong pagoda, Suoi Tam pagoda (where one washes away worldly dust before going to Yen Tu to practice), Cam Thuc pagoda, Lan pagoda, Giai Oan pagoda (where the palace maids drowned themselves in the stream because they could not stop the King from becoming a monk)...
Going up Yen Tu mountain, the ancient pagoda and tower system interspersed with mountains, waterfalls, bamboo forests, pine roads, 700-year-old banyan trees... makes travelers feel like they are returning to the past. Here, Emperor Tran Nhan Tong and his disciples developed the Truc Lam Zen sect to become the dominant religion of Dai Viet at that time, with the ultimate goal of achieving independence, autonomy, great national unity, and raising vigilance against all foreign invasion dangers (Photo: Hue Quang tower garden in Hoa Yen pagoda area at an altitude of more than 500m, the resting place of Truc Lam Zen masters, in which Hue Quang tower is where the relics of the Buddha Emperor are located)
Dong Pagoda, located at an altitude of 1,068m on the top of Yen Tu Mountain, is surrounded by clouds all year round and is the final destination on the pilgrimage route. To reach Dong Pagoda, visitors can take the cable car or walk about 6km through the forest. Near the top of the mountain, there is also a bronze statue of Buddha King, 15m high and weighing 138 tons.
In his last years, the Buddha King returned to practice at Ngoa Van pagoda (Dong Trieu town, Quang Ninh) and entered Nirvana here. There is a pilgrimage route connecting this relic with his ancestral homeland in An Sinh.
Next are relics related to the life and career of the two Truc Lam ancestors, the Second Patriarch Phap Loa and the Third Patriarch Huyen Quang, and the period of the most prosperous development of Truc Lam Buddhism. Phap Loa and Huyen Trang were two outstanding disciples of the Buddha King, continuing to help Truc Lam Buddhism continue to play a key role in overcoming the consequences of war and developing the country.
These relics are spread across three provinces, with Ho Thien Pagoda (where eminent monks studied) in Dong Trieu Town, Quang Ninh Province; Vinh Nghiem Pagoda (headquarters of Truc Lam Buddhist Sangha under Phap Loa) in Yen Dung District, Bac Giang Province. Vinh Nghiem Pagoda dates back to the Ly Dynasty and was the first training school for monks and nuns in Vietnam. Notably, the pagoda has 6,021 sides of 3,050 woodblocks engraved with Buddhist scriptures and Truc Lam scriptures in Chinese and Nom characters. Vinh Nghiem Pagoda's woodblocks were recognized by UNESCO as a Documentary Heritage under the Asia-Pacific Memory of the World Program in 2012.
In Hai Duong province, there are two typical relics of this period: Thanh Mai Pagoda (where Phap Loa presided and was buried) and Con Son Pagoda in Chi Linh City. Con Son Pagoda (photo) dates back to the Dinh and Ly dynasties, and was expanded by the Second Patriarch Phap Loa and was the last abbot of the Third Patriarch Huyen Quang. Around the pagoda, there is a “buzzing stream”, “pine trees growing like wedges” and is also the place to worship famous people of the later period such as Nguyen Trai, Tran Nguyen Dan, etc.
The relics related to the revival and integration period of Truc Lam Buddhism include Da Chong Pagoda (Dong Trieu Town, Quang Ninh), Bo Da Pagoda (Viet Yen District, Bac Giang), and Nham Duong Pagoda (Kinh Mon Town, Hai Duong). In addition to Da Chong Pagoda, which only remains in ruins, Bo Da and Nham Duong both preserve many unique relics, typical of the integration of Truc Lam Buddhism.
The final point of the heritage story is the relics related to the role and influence of Truc Lam Buddhism in Dai Viet life and the tradition of using land and water resources of the Vietnamese people. The most prominent of these is the system of Yen Giang stake fields, Van Muoi field, Ma Ngua field (Quang Yen town, Quang Ninh) which partly recreates the battle on Bach Dang river in 1288 - the largest naval battle in Vietnamese history that completely defeated the invasion ambition of the Yuan - Mongol army. The traditional Bach Dang festival (Battle Anniversary) has become a national intangible cultural heritage.
Having existed for more than 7 centuries, the Complex of Monuments and Landscapes of Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac has always been a living cultural heritage in the lives of Vietnamese people today. Yen Tu not only clearly demonstrates many aspects of spiritual life, beliefs, cultural exchange, trade, and military of ancient Dai Viet culture, but also has significance in the wider Asian region. In August 2024, a team of experts from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) conducted a field assessment in Vietnam. It is expected that in June 2025, representatives of member countries will defend the nomination dossier for the Complex of Monuments and Landscapes of Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac as a World Heritage Site.
Việt Nam•16/08/2024
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