Dau Pagoda.

Dau Pagoda.

Dau Pagoda has the Chinese name Sung Thien pagoda in Thi Duc village, Nhat Tan commune (Gia Loc). From afar, we saw a majestic pagoda appearing in the middle of a field along with a luxuriant area of ​​trees. The pagoda is located on a high land, with unique architecture, bearing a strong Buddhist imprint. Around the pagoda there are lotus ponds and the winding Han River. According to the family tree, Dau Pagoda worships the saintly lady Pham Trinh Hien with the name Tien Dung, a princess who had the merit of helping Hai Ba Trung fight against the Eastern Han invaders. In the year 40, the Trung sisters raised a flag to rebel against the Han Dynasty. Once marching to this land, the two women stationed a military camp here. At night, they dreamed that someone called Princess Tien Dung, vowing to fight the enemy. The next day, the two women led their troops to battle on the Han River and won a resounding victory. The Trung sisters let the generals and local people celebrate and then issued a decree for the villagers to build a temple to worship Tien Dung, with the beautiful title Dieu Quang Hue Tinh Y Pham Trinh Hien, wife of Thuong class god. Over time, people built this place into a majestic pagoda that both worships Buddha and saints. The ancient Dau Pagoda had a scale of more than 100 rooms. The date of the pagoda's construction has not been determined, but based on the traces of bricks and tiles found, it can be determined that the pagoda was built at the end of the Ly dynasty and the beginning of the Tran dynasty. However, due to war and natural disasters, up to now, Dau Pagoda has lost many ancient architectural items. Currently, the pagoda has a nail-style architecture including 5 front halls and 3 back halls. The pagoda's roof has many reliefs with beautiful patterns of clouds, sun, and moon. In the pagoda there are 12 statues, made of wood, lacquered and gilded. In addition to the system of ancient Buddha statues, the harem also has a large temple, made of wood, exquisitely carved, and inside there is a statue of Princess Tien Dung. The statue is carved in a sitting position, calm and with a kind face. According to local elders, the entire statue system in the temple is carved from mulberry wood. Legend has it that the Han River next to the pagoda often floods. One time, the water was high, the flood came from upstream, carrying a large raft of mulberry wood with golden fibers like silk. Everyone thought it was a good omen so they picked it up and used wood to carve it into a statue. From then on, the pagoda was called Dau Pagoda. When visiting Dau Pagoda, we see that this place still preserves many valuable artifacts such as 2 steles of the Le Dynasty, some pieces of terracotta towers, terracotta pieces with phoenix heads, terracotta dragon heads, and patterned bricks and tiles. dating from the 13th-14th centuries. The most unique and special is the Tran Dynasty stele arranged right in front of the pagoda yard. The stele was created in 1331. The content of the stele was composed by Venerable Hue Van, a monk here, with about 1,180 words. This is a unique work of sculpture art. The stele is about 1.5m high, placed on the back of a rather large stone turtle. The stele's roof is moderately curved, and the stele's body has a border carved with dragons and vine flowers. The stele's forehead is decorated with many vivid leaves and lotus flowers, close to nature. Prominent on the front of the stele is a large cursive engraving of Buddha. Below the word Buddha are carved two images, on one side is a crane standing with a burning candle on its head. On one side is a humanoid demon wearing an incense burner. At the foot of the stele are carved patterns of water waves and mountains. On the back of the stele are engraved three Chinese characters "Sung Thien Pagoda", below are written the full names of those who donated fields and money to repair the pagoda. Not only unique in architecture and festivals, Dau Pagoda is also one of the important "red addresses". Dau Pagoda is a place that marks many revolutionary events. Before the August Revolution of 1945, the Viet Minh Front had a meeting at the pagoda to discuss seizing power and destroying the rice warehouses of the Japanese enemy in Thanh Mien district to give to the poor. In 1945, when the French invaded Hai Duong town, the Provincial Lien Viet Association chose the pagoda as the place to evacuate. In 1945-1950, Tay Son soldiers of Gia Loc district chose the pagoda as the location to open training classes. From here, our troops spread out towards Route 17 and Route 20 to conduct ambushes against the enemy during the resistance war against the French during the period 1949-1953. In the years 1951-1952, cadres, guerrillas of Pham Kha and Lam Son communes and soldiers chose the pagoda as a base to cling to the people to destroy the enemy, and destroyed the villains in Chuong and Ba Dong markets. Currently in the temple there is still a secret vault from the previous period. Dau Pagoda is a place to worship both Buddha and saints. The pagoda's traditional festival is held on the 8th to 10th day of the 8th lunar month. On this occasion, people and tourists from all over come to attend in large numbers. With its unique architecture and value, the pagoda was ranked as a national monument in 1992. Source: Electronic information portal of Gia Loc district, Hai Duong province.

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