Four sacred temples: Bach Ma, Voi Phuc, Kim Lien, and Quan Thanh were built with the purpose of suppressing and protecting the ancient Thang Long citadel.
Bach Ma Temple
Bach Ma Temple is one of the famous historical sites in Hanoi . The temple is located in Tho Xuong district, Hoai Duc prefecture, currently at 76 Hang Buom street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi city. The temple is known as “the Eastern palace in Thang Long citadel”.
Bach Ma Temple worships Long Do god (that is, the god of Long Do mountain, along with Nung mountain – the place that receives the sacred energy of Thang Long Citadel.
The temple includes the three-door gate, the main worshiping hall, the courtyard, the incense-burning hall, the forbidden palace, and the council house. The three-door gate is divided into five compartments. The courtyard is built in a two-story, eight-curved-roof architecture.
Connecting the courtyard and the main worshiping hall is a crab-shaped dome. The wooden pillars are richly decorated by the ingenuity and sophistication of the artisans.
Thien Huong and the Forbidden Palace in the temple have quite similar architecture, with two-story curved roofs. The statue of the god Bach Ma is placed in the Forbidden Palace.
Currently, the temple still preserves 15 ancient steles and many valuable ancient artifacts such as the horizontal lacquered board “Dong Tran Linh Tu”, “Co Long Ngai”, and worship objects including ancient weapons such as: swords, sickles, chains,… which are exquisitely carved.
In particular, this sacred temple still preserves a Yin communication point. It is a well located on the right side of the temple, an important thing according to the concept of left yang and right yin, and the well is Yin.
With its rich history and unique architecture, Bach Ma Temple was ranked as a historical and cultural relic since 1986.
Voi Phuc Temple
Voi Phuc Temple is a special national monument known as Thang Long Tu Tran. The temple was established during the reign of King Ly Thai Tong (1028-1054) in the southwest corner of the old Thang Long citadel in Thu Le village, now Thu Le park.
The temple worships Linh Lang, who helped King Ly Thanh Tong in the war against foreign invaders and repelled the Song invaders from our country. After his death on the Cau River defense line in 1076, the people of Thu Le built a temple and the king conferred Linh Lang the title of supreme blessing god. Because there are two kneeling elephants in front of the temple, the people called it Voi Phuc Temple; the name Tran Tay or Tran Doai comes from the temple’s location to the west of the capital city.
Coming to this temple, you will be surprised by the quiet, ancient architecture tinged with time. There are three ways to enter the temple yard. In which, the middle way has 12 wide stone steps for palanquin processions on holidays, the two side ways are for normal days.
In front of the main courtyard is a semicircular well, built with the meaning of praying for water and the wish for abundance expressed through a pair of round stone dragons and clouds.
Going deeper inside, visitors will see the ancient beauty of the temple roof carved with phoenixes, unicorns, dragons, pearls and tigers. In addition, the main hall area is decorated with tablets, thrones and a majestic statue of the god Linh Lang. The back hall of the temple is also built with ironwood and has a pair of stone mascots in front of the porch.
Voi Phuc Temple also has many horizontal lacquered boards and parallel sentences in Chinese characters, splendidly gilded and painted. The main content praises the merits and sacredness of the saints.
Kim Lien Temple
Kim Lien Temple (also known as Kim Lien Communal House) is located in Phuong Lien Ward, Dong Da District, built in 1509, worshiping Cao Son Dai Vuong. This is the southern palace of the ancient Thang Long Citadel.
According to historical records, Kim Lien Temple was built when King Ly Thai To moved the capital from Hoa Lu to Thang Long to protect the south of the new capital. In the past, Kim Hoa area (another name as Dong Lam) was a swampy area, mainly a low-lying area. The temple was built on the highest mound in the area and worshiped Cao Son Dai Vuong, praying for his support in farming and reducing natural disasters for the people.
The temple was built on a high mound east of Kim Lien lagoon. The communal house gate and the main door of the main hall both face west. The architecture of the communal house consists of two parts: the part in front of the mound has a gate and columns, two rooms on either side of a spacious brick yard, and the main architecture of the relic is located in the campus.
The main architecture of the relic site consists of three gates and a temple. At the end of the steps, you will pass nine high brick steps built with large bricks from the Le Trung Hung period, connecting the outdoor architecture with the main architecture. On both sides of the steps, next to the brick yard, there are two stone crocodiles from the Le dynasty. At the end of the steps are three entrances to Cao Son temple.
The main hall has a unique T-shape. The rear palace is a house with three vertical compartments, built of bricks and covered with tile roofs. Located in the last compartment of the rear palace is the place to worship Cao Son Dai Vuong and the two goddesses of harmony.
In addition to its unique architectural values, Kim Lien Temple still preserves many valuable relics such as the stele composed by historian Le Tung in 1510; 39 royal decrees of many kings to acknowledge and praise the merits of Cao Son god…
These are valuable relics, and are also “chronicles” that fully record the history of construction and the gods worshiped in the temple, and at the same time prove the birth of the temple.
With its typical historical, cultural, scientific and aesthetic values, in 2022, the Thang Long Tu Tran Historical and Architectural Relic – Kim Lien Temple was ranked as a Special National Relic.
Quan Thanh Temple
Quan Thanh temple worships Huyen Thien Tran Vu. Initially, this temple was located on the south side of To Lich River. After moving the capital to Thang Long, King Ly Cong Uan moved the temple to its current location, hoping that Huyen Thien Tran Vu would help control the water monster of West Lake and guard the north side of Thang Long citadel.
Quan Thanh Temple is opposite West Lake, at the intersection of Thanh Nien Street and Quan Thanh Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi. Along with Bach Ma Temple, Kim Lien Temple, Voi Phuc Temple… the temple is a famous spiritual destination in Hanoi.
According to historical records, Quan Thanh Temple was built in the early years when King Ly Thai To moved the capital from Hoa Lu to Thang Long, on Hoi Long hill in the northeast of West Lake. Quan Thanh Temple is a special architectural and artistic work, preserving many valuable documents on architectural art, sculpture, and beliefs in many historical periods of Vietnam.
This temple has two names: Tran Vu Quan and Quan Thanh Temple. As one of the four temples of Thang Long, Quan Thanh Temple worships Huyen Thien Tran Vu. Legend has it that this is the god who governs the North and helps people to exorcise evil spirits and monsters, destroy the nine-tailed fox in Tay Ho and the fox spirit on the Red River during the reign of King Ly Thanh Tong…
The temple has an architectural style with the outermost is the four-pillar ceremonial gate, impressively designed with the image of a phoenix fighting back and a unicorn on top. Surrounding the four pillars are prominent details such as: fish transforming into a dragon, fierce tiger descending the mountain, those pairs of parallel sentences bring majesty and antiquity.
Next is the bell tower where the bell was cast in the year Dinh Ty under the reign of Le Hy Tong (1677). Inside is the main worship hall and the rear palace. Hanoi tours. On the left and right sides of the main worship hall, there is a bronze plaque “De Chan Vu Quan” inscribed by King Thieu Tri.
In addition, this construction also has many valuable works of art, elaborately carved on doors, pillars, beams, horizontal lacquered boards, and parallel sentences written in Chinese characters. The temple also has a bronze bell cast during the Trinh Lord’s reign.
Source: https://www.hanoitraveltour.com/blog/visit-four-guarding-temples-of-hanoi.htm
