Ancient temple, Van Xa pagoda (Hai Duong city)

Van Xa is a residential area of ​​Ai Quoc ward. Over time and long resistance wars, this place has been heavily damaged, but with the philosophy of "remembering the source of water", the people have actively preserved and restored historical and cultural relics. The ward currently has 5 national relics, of which Van Xa has a cluster of relics including a communal house and a pagoda that have been ranked.

Rich in historical value

According to historical data, Van Xa communal house and other relics in Ai Quoc ward have a close relationship with each other, worshiping the same Thanh Hoang. According to the stele "The sacred stele that has been passed down for thousands of years" established in the 22nd year of Tu Duc (1869) and kept at Van Xa pagoda, Van Xa communal house worships Vu Dong, one of the three Vu brothers. He is the third son of Vu Thanh and Hoang Thi Mau, from Vu Xa village, a lineage of scholars in the Le Dai Hanh dynasty. At the age of 13, Vu Dong was sent by his parents to Hoa Hoc Duong with his two older brothers, Vu Hoang and Vu Hue, all three of whom were exceptionally intelligent.

At that time, our country was invaded by the Northern invaders. The king opened a school to select generals and soldiers. The three who passed the exam were appointed generals and led troops to fight the enemy. After returning victorious, the three were rewarded with gold, silver, and silk by the king. Every three years, the three brothers returned to their village (Vu Xa village) to visit their ancestral land.

Legend has it that once when the three brothers returned to their hometown, they invited the elders and villagers to a banquet. Vu Dong (the third duke) took the opportunity to leisurely wander to the neighboring hamlet of the village (Van Xa). He saw a piece of land shaped like a dragon. He stood there observing and naturally transformed himself. Upon hearing of his death, the king ordered the locals to build a temple to worship him and gave him the title: Dong Lam Tuyen Hue Dai Vuong.

According to the remaining stele content, Van Xa communal house was built quite early and renovated many times during the Nguyen Dynasty. Before 1945, the communal house was still spacious and majestic, including 5 main worship rooms, 3 middle rooms, 2 wings with many antiques and worship objects, but was devastated by war.

The current communal house was restored in the shape of the letter Dinh (J), including 5 main worship rooms and 2 rear rooms, the area is not large, the architecture is in the style of the Nguyen Dynasty, the roof is covered with traditional Vietnamese tiles. In the communal house, there are parallel sentences praising the Thanh Hoang. One of the parallel sentences has the content: "Thien giang Thanh nhan binh Bac Tong Dia linh Than tich tran Nam Bang", which means: "Heaven sent down a Saint to pacify the Northern Song invaders, the sacred land and the traces of the God shook the Southern country".

During the resistance war against France and the US, Van Xa communal house was also a base for guerrillas, soldiers and a place to treat wounded soldiers.

Van Xa Pagoda, whose real name is Phuc Thang Pagoda, worships Phap Loa, the second founder of the Truc Lam Zen sect in Vietnam. Previously, Phap Loa's statue was worshiped at Huong Hai Pagoda, in Tien Hai village (same commune), but because the French occupied the pagoda as a post and severely damaged it, the people moved the statue, tower, and stele to Van Xa Pagoda to worship. Since then, Van Xa people have followed the tradition of Huong Hai Pagoda to hold the anniversary of their ancestors on the 1st day of the 3rd lunar month.

Despite the destruction of time and war, Van Xa Pagoda still preserves many valuable antiques. Typical are the system of post-Nguyen steles in the communal house and the system of Buddha statues in the pagoda. Of the 11 statues, 9 date from the Le Dynasty (17th - 18th century) and 2 from the 19th century. In particular, the Phap Loa statue is gilded. In the pagoda garden, there is the Phap Loa tower built in the 21st year of Tu Duc (1868), decorated with tigers, carps, lotus flowers, dragons and a stele created in 1856 about the Second Phap Loa. These are truly antiques of historical and artistic value that most clearly demonstrate the history of the relic.

Preservation and preservation of monuments

Mr. Vu Khac Kha, 91 years old, in Van Xa residential area, expressed regret when recalling the image of the beautiful Van Xa communal house in the past. Although the communal house no longer preserves ancient relics and its area is also more modest, in the subconscious of the local community, the communal house and the Thanh Hoang worshiped still have great significance.

In the past, to show gratitude to the village guardian spirit, villagers held three festivals a year, including the 11th day of the second lunar month, the 18th day of the first lunar month, and the 24th day of the eighth lunar month. These festivals were held until 1945 when they were discontinued.

In recent years, the villagers have held a festival on the 10th day of the second lunar month. During the festival, there is a procession of three tutelary gods from Vu Thuong, Vu Xa, and Van Xa communal houses to Ky Lan pagoda. After the ceremony, they are brought back to their respective places of worship. The festival is an opportunity for villages to exchange culture in a spirit of solidarity towards the roots of the village community.

Phuc Thang Pagoda has also been renovated and even moved many times until it is located at its current location. Up to now, although the pagoda is not large, the construction items are neatly planned, the space is airy, attracting Buddhists from near and far to visit and worship.

According to Venerable Thich Giac Lam, abbot of Phuc Thang Pagoda - Van Xa, the communal house and Van Xa Pagoda in every period have monks and people to preserve, conserve and repair. At the pagoda, since 2018, a tower garden has been built, where the tombs of Zen Master Phap Loa and monks who contributed to preserving and building the pagoda in the past are located, to show gratitude, commemorate, continue the merit of protecting and promoting the historical value of the relic effectively.

Since 2001, both the communal house and the pagoda have been granted national historical and cultural relic status.