Mysterious masterpiece "Dragon Cloud Contract"

TTH.VN - The painting "Dragon Cloud Contract" is a masterpiece on the ceiling of the old main hall of Dieu De Diem pagoda, after being moved back, and is currently being preserved quite well to the surprise of many people. The painting was a hotly debated topic many years ago about whether to keep the old main hall or downgrade it. Lowering the award also means eliminating this masterpiece.

TTH.VN - The painting "Dragon Cloud Contract" is a masterpiece on the ceiling of the old main hall of Dieu De Diem pagoda, after being moved back, and is currently being preserved quite well to the surprise of many people. The painting was a hotly debated topic many years ago about whether to keep the old main hall or downgrade it. Lowering the award also means eliminating this masterpiece.

The painting "Dragon and Cloud Contract" on the ceiling of the main hall of Dieu De Pagoda

Moving the main hall to preserve the masterpiece of dragon painting

The pagoda decided to retain this work by hiring genie Nguyen Van Cu from the city. Ho Chi Minh came out to move the main hall, so that today the beautiful dragon painting remains in its original state. During the spring days of Giap Thin Festival 2024 - we returned to the ancient pagoda located at 110 Bach Dang Street, facing the banks of Dong Ba River to admire the extremely rare work.

The old main hall of the Dieu Empire, supported by the genie Nguyen Van Cu and his colleagues, with the support of modern machinery, has moved nearly 20 meters deep from its old location by the end of 2022. This decision is considered This is quite bold of the temple after a lot of time and consideration. After more than a month, the main hall weighing more than a thousand tons was also successfully moved. At that time, moving the main hall outside ensured safety, and the integrity of the painting had to be maintained at all costs.

The old main hall of Dieu De Pagoda, after being moved back, has been renovated and reinforced

After being moved to a new location, the main hall was beautifully restored. In addition to keeping the altars intact, now inside this space are bookcases, serving the study of the temple's monks.

Looking from the bottom up, the work "Dragon Cloud Contract" is still intact and sparkling, as if there had never been any change or movement before. The painting is more than 10m long, nearly 11m wide, covering almost the entire ceiling of the main hall, depicting 5 winding dragons hidden in the clouds on the ceiling of the hall and 4 dragons wrapping around 4 large pillars according to a legend. ancient Buddhism.

Many people who visited Dieu De Pagoda could not help but admire that the pagoda still retains the old main hall, and more importantly, retains the rare masterpiece of fine art. “The dragons painted on the ceiling of the old main hall of Dieu De Pagoda are so beautiful and skillful. Through the ups and downs of history and the hesitations in the restoration work, the pagoda was still able to retain it, which is a rare thing," Mr. Nguyen Duy Vu (Hue City) warmly praised.

Hope to preserve it in the best possible way

According to our research, this main hall was re-visited by Venerable Dieu Hoang with the call for contributions from Duc Tu Cung (mother of King Bao Dai), this work was carried out from 1953 to 1955. .

The inauguration ceremony was held in 1955. And the painting "Dragon Van Khe Hoi" was painted in the period from 1953-1955, not during the Khai Dinh period as some information has given. The ceiling of the main hall is not made of solid reinforced concrete but is made of plastered steel mesh, which is quite low quality. Although the pagoda has contacted a number of people who lived at Dieu De Pagoda from 1951 onwards to find out, the author's information is still unknown.

Previously, since King Thieu Tri built it in 1844, Dieu De Pagoda had a wooden structure following the typical royal architecture of the Nguyen Dynasty - which developed from the Hue communal house architecture. The building has undergone many restorations, although the scale is not as large as the original, but still retains the old architectural style until 1951.

One of the dragons on the ceiling of the main hall is extremely impressive

Today, Dieu De Pagoda is a typical landmark of Hue, a land known as the land of Zen scriptures. Every year, the Buddha-bathing and Buddha-processing ceremony of Hue Buddhism is held at the pagoda during the Buddha's birthday season. The special feature here is that this pagoda has many royal elements, associated with King Thieu Tri, the third emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty. From its inception until 1945, Dieu De Pagoda was classified as a National Pagoda by the Nguyen Dynasty (along with Giac Hoang, Thien Mu and Thanh Duyen Pagodas).

Venerable Thich Hai Duc, Custodian of Dieu De Pagoda, said that after moving the old main hall back, the pagoda reinforced the surrounding walls, leaving the "Dragon" painting almost untouched. so on" on the ceiling. Now this front has become the ancestral house to worship Buddha and the king...

"We try to keep the work, but the temple's preservation is almost impossible to interfere with because we don't have enough capacity," Mr. Hai Duc shared and said that when it was put back, it was even higher than the original. front so the space is quite airy. Master Hai Duc also hopes that in the future, there will be experts as well as meeting "like-minded" people to find the best way to preserve the unique and rare dragon painting located in the famous ancient temple. Ancient Capital land.

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Update day : 14/02/2024