The tomb of Mrs. Boi Lang is in disrepair.

The tomb of Mrs. Boi Lang has a small area in Vong field.

"The rich are the enemies of the country"

One of the vestiges of the talented, wealthy, and charitable businesswoman is her tomb in Vong field, Dong Phong village (Binh Lang commune). Over time, the tomb has deteriorated and needs to be restored and expanded soon to match the reputation of the person being worshiped and the value of the relic.

Learning about the origin of businessman Boi Lang, we were directed by the people of Dong Phong village to meet Mr. Nguyen Ta Trien, a 17th generation descendant. Taking us around the mausoleum, Mr. Trien said that Boi Lang was born in the middle of the 17th century. As a child, he was named Thuyet, and when he grew up, he changed his name to Tri. Born into a poor family, his father died early, but he was very hard-working. In his early 20s, he married Mr. Sai Dac Loc, from Ha Tinh.

There are many thrilling stories surrounding the life and wealth of businesswoman Boi Lang that people in Binh Lang still tell each other today. When she was poor, she often went to the river to catch mussels to sell. One afternoon, while catching mussels, she found a lot of gold, silver, and jewels. She brought them home to get capital to do business. Mrs. Boi Lang chose to trade in rice and raise livestock to start a business. Later, she became the richest person in the area, with thousands of acres of fields, over ten thousand strings of money, and countless rice and livestock.

The roof of the mausoleum was broken in some places.

Being a virtuous person, Mrs. Boi Lang often spent money to help the poor. She opened roads and built stone bridges for the people in the surrounding area. There were years of crop failure, when rice was as expensive as gold and silver, but she decided to sell her property to get money to subsidize the poor. The wealth and good deeds of the businessman Boi Lang reached the ears of Lord Trinh Sam. To find out the truth, the Lord led his army by water to Binh Lang. When they reached the river in her hometown, they saw dust flying everywhere, so the King sent someone to investigate and learned that the dust was caused by the servants in Mrs. Boi Lang's house grinding rice. Mrs. Boi Lang felt that she was a small person in the countryside but the Lord came to visit her, so she asked permission to treat her army to 3 days of food to show her gratitude. During the 3 days of lavish feasting, the Lord admired her and gave her the title "Phu gia dich quoc" (the richest person in the world) or "Thach nhan" (great woman). The word "Thach nhan" was engraved on her tomb.

Upgrade, expand

The roof of Mrs. Boi Lang's tomb in Vong field has been broken in many places. The wide stone base has sunk deeply. The surface of the tomb is chipped and the patterns have faded. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hue, over 70 years old, who lives near Mrs. Boi Lang's tomb, said that recently a pair of stone unicorns were dug up by thieves and taken to the main road, where they were discovered and abandoned. Villagers and relatives had to rebury them. In previous years, thieves thought that gold, silver, and jewels were hidden under her tomb, so they also tried to dig out the base, causing the tomb to sink. Later, the family had to repair it. "This tomb needs to be restored and protected soon," Mrs. Hue said.

Tu Ky District Young Entrepreneurs Association sponsors to make the road to the mausoleum wider

The book "Hai Duong phong vat chi" recorded that in Binh Lang commune there is an ancient tomb 9 meters high, 7 meters long, 5 meters wide; made entirely of smooth green stone as if smeared with grease, in front there is a bed and stone animals; on the left there is a stone stele engraved with an inscription composed by Mr. Tu Thien, the title of Lien Quan Cong, the Third Prize winner of the Le Dynasty. The relic of Mrs. Boi Lang's tomb has a unique architecture, and was ranked as a provincial historical relic since 2016. The relic has both architectural and historical value, so it is in great need of careful research and timely restoration and embellishment. According to documents from the Department of Culture and Information of Tu Ky district, Mrs. Boi Lang built the tomb and composed the inscription in 1720 a year before her death. Since then, for more than 300 years, her tomb has not been completely renovated. The tomb has a small area located in the middle of Vong field, quite far from residential areas, so protecting the relic is difficult.

The four-pillar stone stele, dated Vinh Thinh 16th year (1720), is nearly 2 meters high and over 0.6 meters wide, with faded Chinese characters recording the life of businesswoman Boi Lang.

Implementing the Project "Building and developing tourism in Tu Ky district in the period of 2021-2025", at the end of August, the People's Committee of the district decided to renovate, embellish and expand the area of ​​the mausoleum. Ms. Tran Thi Minh, a cultural and social official of Binh Lang commune, said: "The renovation, upgrading, especially the expansion of the area of ​​​​the mausoleum of Mrs. Boi Lang is very necessary to remember her contributions. After being upgraded and expanded, this place will become a tourist destination connected with many other locations in the district".

In early 2022, the People's Committee of Binh Lang commune held a conference to adjust and demarcate the protection area of ​​the tomb of Ba Boi Lang. Accordingly, the area of ​​the tomb was adjusted from 1,197 m2 to 24,100 m2. Most people in the commune agreed with this policy.

Mr. Trien said that in addition to the surrounding wall and the mausoleum foundation that were renovated by the family many years ago, the District Young Entrepreneurs Association has now donated to widen the road leading to the mausoleum. The road is expected to be completed by the end of October.

HAI MINH