Thuan My Linh Tu - Dau Temple, Hang Quat

Thuan My Temple is located at 64 Hang Quat Street, Hang Gai Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi City, opposite is the workplace of an important revolutionary cultural institution in the late 19th century, early 20th century in Hanoi: Tri Tri Association (1892 - 1938), now Nguyen Van To High School.

The two words “Thuan My” are decorated with blue ceramic pieces at the highest point on the temple gate’s forehead. This shape was modeled by architects in the Nguyen Dynasty’s style around the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The name and place name Thuan My are mentioned in many books such as “Bac Thanh Du Dia Chi Luc”, “Phuong Dinh Du Dia Chi” (mid-19th century), “Hoai Duc Phu Toan Do” (1831), and Ha Noi Dia Ba (1866). Thus, Hang Quat Street originally belonged to Thuan My village, Thuan My commune, Tho Xuong district. This is the basis for explaining the name of Thuan My temple.

Local legends say that this place used to have a large mulberry field, so the locals used to call it by its common name, “Dau Temple”. Based on the tablet kept at the temple with the inscription: “Khai Thien Cong Duc Thuy To” currently placed on the altar in the temple, this temple worships the gods who contributed to the founding of the country during the Hung King period.

Regarding the history of the temple, it is said that it was built around the 17th - 18th century by ancestors from Uoc Le village, Thanh Oai, Hanoi. After many restorations and repairs, it has now become more spacious and solid. Previously, the temple was roofed with palm leaves and wooden panels. The wooden panels were beautifully carved. At that time, the area of the temple was still small and divided into 2 palaces.

During the French colonial period, the temple was rebuilt in the style of a mallet handle with 3 parts: the front hall, the middle hall and the back hall. The back hall is much higher than the middle hall and the front hall. The house has no columns, the rafters are made of wood and covered with tiles. There are no special carvings or decorations on the architectural structures. When it was first built, the doors of the temple were carved with rich patterns in the openwork style, but when rebuilt, the architecture was completely modern, so it was simpler than before.

On the ridge and outside the gate, there are many reliefs of decorative figures of animals and flowers. The ironwood pillars have been replaced by brick pillars with plaster, and the floor is paved with marble instead of octagonal bricks (30cm x 30cm). Currently, the temple only uses two entrances on both sides (left gate and right gate) instead of the main door which was blocked by construction in 1971.

The site plan of the relic includes a 3-room front hall: the middle room is about 24m2, the 2 side rooms are each about 16m2. The middle room is arranged with altars, statues and worship objects. The two side rooms are two rows of wooden beds 0.6m high (to receive guests), behind the 3 front rooms is the toilet (middle room) 2.5m deep. The back hall is 4.6m wide, 4m deep, has a 4-panel middle door and two small panels on both sides, the inside is built into 3 floors of altars.

The altars and worship objects here are arranged quite elaborately. The altars are arranged in two layers. The most important is the layer of 1.2m high earthen statues, wearing dragonfly-wing hats, painted with red lacquer and gilded (these statues represent generals of the Hung King period who contributed to the founding and defending of the country). Attached to this layer of statues is the tablet "Khai Thien Cong Duc Thuy To", which means "Grateful to the Gods who contributed to the founding of the country". Due to the rearrangement, this tablet was moved to the altar of President Ho.

In addition, the temple also worships the Holy Mother Au Co and Princess Tien Dung in the harem. The artifacts and worshiping objects in the temple are quite complete and full, 4 merit steles are carved in Chinese and Vietnamese characters quite beautifully. The horizontal lacquered boards and parallel sentences are all elaborately gilded. Bronze and porcelain objects here are quite abundant: the bronze peaks are elaborately carved. Large and beautiful porcelain objects include vases, jars, incense burners, and most of them are made of blue and white enamel ceramics from the Nguyen Dynasty. There are vases nearly 1m high placed in the front and middle rooms. In this relic, there are also lacquer worshiping objects (such as beds) decorated with goldfish, dragons, and phoenixes.

The paper worship items (paper flowers, paper parasols, bamboo beams, etc.) are made quite elaborately, combining many brilliant colors. The fabric worship items (fabric parasols, flags, etc.) are embroidered with dragons, phoenixes, lotus flowers, chrysanthemums) are very delicate with many colored threads. In addition, there are many colorful fabric flags hanging on the architecture of the front hall and the back hall. Like a "collection" of complex, diverse worship items, with many origins, together with the arrangement, create an eye-catching landscape and sacred atmosphere of the temple.

Hidden in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, in a narrow space, the relic still attracts a large number of visitors and worshippers on festival days. Every year, when the whole country is bustling with Hung Temple Festival, the temple also organizes sword dances, boat rowing, brocade weaving, flower embroidery, food dances and worships of fruits, sticky rice, bananas, and cakes for 3 days.

The tradition of “When drinking water, remember its source” is a beautiful feature of culture and nation. Besides Dong Thuan temple – 11 Hang Ca worshiping Ly Tien, Huong Nghia communal house (13B Dao Duy Tu) worshiping General Cao Tu, Duc Mon temple worshiping General Ngo Van Long… Thuan My temple worshiping King Hung with Holy Mother Au Co and Princess Tien Dung is a collection of styles, architecture, worship objects, beliefs… of many periods and many sectors – in the name of an ancient Hanoi place to exist as a historical and cultural relic in Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi, Vietnam.

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