Relics

Explore the ancient medicine garden

HOANG LINH - THANH CHUNG January 12, 2025 11:00

As one of the ancient eight gardens of ancient Chi Linh, Duoc Linh Co Vien (Duc Son medicinal garden) holds many historical, medical and cultural values. Therefore, the restoration of the precious medicinal garden of Hung Dao Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan is the desire and concern of many generations.

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Duoc Son medicinal garden is located on Nam Tao mountain, built by Hung Dao Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan in the 13th century.

The first national medicinal garden?

The Duoc Son medicinal garden is located on Nam Tao mountain, south of Kiep Bac temple. According to historical records, before the second resistance war against the Yuan-Mongol army (in 1285), Tran Hung Dao, with the idea of ​​"Southern people using traditional medicine", and his wife, Princess Thien Thanh - a talented medicine maker, directed the planting of medicinal herbs on Nam Tao mountain to treat and cure the soldiers and people in Van Kiep fief. Therefore, Nam Tao mountain also has another name, Duoc Son (medicine mountain). Initially, the medicinal garden was small, but later it gradually expanded to an area of ​​about 10 hectares.

This medicinal garden is also associated with a legend passed down by the people. The story goes that King Hung Dao was always concerned about treating wounded soldiers.

One night, he dreamed that an old man with a brown turban, wearing a black tunic, and carrying a straw bag came to see him. The old man bowed three times and said his name was Duoc Linh. Knowing that the Duke needed medicine, he gave it to him. Hung Dao Vuong thanked him and accepted the bag in return. Opening the bag, the Duke only saw a few medicinal plants, but when he looked up, the old man was nowhere to be seen. A few days later, on the way from the boatyard to his palace, Hung Dao Vuong saw on the roadside plants similar to the medicinal plants Duoc Linh had given him. Hung Dao Vuong brought them back to plant on Nam Tao mountain and personally picked the leaves to make medicine to apply on the soldiers' wounds. It was indeed very effective.

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At the Mother Goddess shrine in Kiep Bac temple, there is a horizontal plaque "Duc linh udumbara" praising Duc Nguyen Tu Quoc Mau for her medicinal career in Duoc Son.

The medicinal profession in Kiep Bac also originated here and has been passed down for many generations. Local people say that the medicinal herbs grown in Duoc Son are incomparable to any other place. Therefore, the folk still pass down the song: "The fragrant flowers and grass of Duoc Son are unusual."/Know, know the magic medicine".

To this day, local people and visitors still have the custom of going to Duoc Son to ask for medicinal plants to cure diseases. At the end of the medicinal garden is Chao pond. Legend has it that Tran Hung Dao had the water sourced from Mang Nuoc hole opened here to cook porridge for soldiers after they had been treated with medicine. There are still traces of Chao pond.

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Currently, there are still traces of Chao pond, but the pond has been narrowed and belongs to the land used by Mr. Nguyen Tat Sang's family in Bac Dau village, Hung Dao commune.

In Kiep Bac Temple, in the Mother Goddess shrine, there is a horizontal plaque “Duc Linh U Dam”, praising Duc Nguyen Tu Quoc Mau for her noble medicinal career on Duoc Son Mountain, as beautiful as the U Dam flower of Buddhism. During the Le Dynasty, the medicinal garden was still developed and preserved under the name of Duoc Linh Co Vien and was classified as an ancient garden with beautiful landscapes and famous relics.

Dr. Le Duy Manh, Deputy Head of the Con Son - Kiep Bac Relic Management Board, said: "Through some documents and research, it can be said that Duoc Linh Co Vien is the first national medicinal garden of our country and is still unique to this day."

Restore, preserve

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Nowadays, on Nam Tao mountain there are still many precious medicinal plants.

According to statistics from the Central Institute of Traditional Medicine, in the 70s of the 20th century, the Duoc Son medicinal garden had about 600 species of cultivated and wild plants that could cure diseases. Over time, the medicinal garden is no longer the same as before. Many areas have been replaced by people with fruit trees and timber trees. However, there are still about 100 species with high value in Oriental medicine that can cure many diseases such as: rheumatism, spinal degeneration, typhoid, cirrhosis...

According to some elders in Duoc Son village (Hung Dao commune), the last practitioner of traditional medicine in the village passed away 2 years ago. However, although they did not study systematically and in-depth to follow the profession, many people here know about medicinal plants and traditional remedies left by their ancestors.

Mrs. Dong Thi La is nearly 80 years old this year but still remembers and recites all the medicinal plants on Nam Tao mountain. She said that in the past, she often went up the mountain with everyone to find medicinal leaves such as: egg, chicken intestine, devil's bile, polygonum multiflorum, an xoa, cho dia... "I don't know if it's because of the old Duoc Son medicinal garden, but now the locality is developing the profession of growing medicinal herbs. I hope that Hung Dao Vuong's precious medicinal garden will be restored and preserved so that the values ​​of traditional medicine will be passed down to future generations," Mrs. La expressed.

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Con Son - Kiep Bac Relic Management Board cooperates with Hai Duong Traditional Medicine Hospital to research and restore Duoc Son medicinal garden

According to the Master Plan of the Con Son - Kiep Bac special national relic site associated with tourism development in Chi Linh town approved by the Prime Minister in 2010, the ancient Duoc Linh garden is located in a special protection zone for restoration and restoration.

On January 3, the People's Committee of Hai Duong province issued a plan to develop traditional medicine services and products for tourists until 2030. The province requested to urgently restore the ancient medicinal garden of Duoc Son, focusing on restoring precious medicinal species and medicinal products with strong characteristics of this place. This will create a premise for developing tourism services associated with relaxation and health care using traditional medicine. Only then can we preserve, maintain and promote the long-standing medicinal values ​​associated with the life and career of the outstanding national hero Tran Hung Dao.

HOANG LINH - THANH CHUNG
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Explore the ancient medicine garden