The worship of Holy Mother Lieu Hanh at Pho Cat Temple

The relic and scenic spot of Pho Cat used to belong to Thanh Van commune, now Van Du town (Thach Thanh). Pho Cat is not only a land of history and legend, but it is also the center of worshiping the Holy Mother Lieu Hanh - a traditional beauty in the Mother worship belief of the Vietnamese people.

Pho Cat Temple - a place to practice the worship of the Holy Mother Lieu Hanh. When studying Pho Cat, local people and researchers have discovered many precious artifacts of the Middle Stone Age (belonging to Hoa Binh culture) in some stone mountains and caves. From Pho Cat to Con Moong cave is only a few kilometers away. And, this is also the cycle of many historical events of the Dinh - Le period (10th century) and the following periods. Many legends about the march of Lam Son generals and the participation and contributions of the people are also recorded in this area. Pho Cat and the old ramparts also prove that this was the base and homeland of the great peasant uprising in the 18th century (Le Duy Mat's uprising) against the Trinh lord. Pho Cat is also the place where the marches of the guerrillas of the Ngoc Trao war zone were marked. It was an important hub and base of the Hoa - Ninh - Thanh war zone during the 9-year long resistance war against the French. In addition to contributing manpower, the people of Pho Cat also donated a lot of money to the resistance...

Besides the historical, geographical and scenic factors, perhaps the most important factor of Pho Cat is the people's admiration for the Holy Mother Lieu Hanh and the spiritual and cultural activities of national beliefs in this temple. According to folk legend, Holy Mother Lieu Hanh was the daughter of the Jade Emperor. Because she accidentally broke a jade cup, she was exiled to the mortal world. After a while, she was called back to heaven, but God had mercy and allowed her to come down to earth to repay her debt to the mortal world. She and two fairies descended to the middle of Pho Cat, a place with beautiful and lush scenery. The goddesses also granted many miracles to the local people. To show their gratitude, the people built a temple halfway up the mountain to worship and burn incense. Therefore, she is honored as the Fairy Princess, the first tutelary god, the Mother of the world...

When evaluating the Holy Mother Lieu Hanh, a professor wrote: “Among the four “Four Immortals” of Vietnam, Lieu Hanh is a woman and a diverse and vivid symbol, an extraordinary yet ordinary character. In Lieu Hanh, we meet a lover, a wife. Lieu Hanh appears as a girl, a fairy, a writer, a female general. Lieu Hanh has filial piety according to Confucianism, magic according to Taoism, and takes refuge in Buddha...”. In general, in the sense of legend in folk legends, we see that the goddess Lieu Hanh has expressed the necessary aspirations of anyone in this world. Therefore, in the minds of the majority of people, there is a consensus to exalt and respect the goddess.

Pho Cat Temple is located halfway up the mountain, with the land of the throne. In front of the temple, there are three rocky mountains called Tam Thai, standing like a screen. Near the temple, there is a small stream, with rockery and small waterfalls flowing through like melodious music in the ears. In front of the temple, the stream flows into a pool like a small lake. There are many carp there, and during the temple festival season, people see schools of fish swimming around. Here, the Governor of Thanh Hoa built a hexagonal fish-watching tower for the Nguyen Dynasty kings to sit and enjoy watching the fish.

In the temple's throne position are independent structures from low to high, including the dragon yard with 8-roofed gate, the third palace, the second palace and the first palace. Each palace has 3 connecting rooms. The 2 rooms at the 2nd and third palaces act as connecting roads up and down. Inside the palaces are statues and worship objects made of very precious materials. Next to the main structure are the guest house and reception house, the three-door gate, the fish-watching tower, flower walls, ornamental plants, and a curved stone bridge across the stream for pedestrians to reach Quan Giam Temple and Bui Temple. All the architecture is from the Nguyen Dynasty.

The three-door gate of Pho Cat Temple has a very beautiful and aesthetically perfect architecture. Although it is Nguyen Dynasty architecture, the art of expression has reached a very high level in all aspects. It combines royal architecture with traditional architecture very skillfully. The three-door gate is made in the style of 2 floors and 8 roofs, on both the left and right sides there are three-step steps that curve up and down very gracefully, blending with the reasonable layout. Stepping up to the second floor of the three-door gate, we feel like standing on a wind-gazing tower with a windy soul and strange emotions when looking at the surrounding scenery and creatures. The structure and art of the three-door gate can be said to be majestic and magnificent to exalt the authority of the Holy Mother. On the other hand, it also expresses the traditional ideas and spirituality of the nation.

Next to the gate is the fish-watching tower, which has a hexagonal shape and a harmonious and balanced layout. The top floor is decorated like a flower platform. The steps from the foot of the tower gradually go down to the foot of the stream. The entire structure creates a poetic and attractive feature for visitors every time they come to watch the fish. Along with that is a stone bridge across the stream in an arc shape, made very solidly with stone pillars and large stone slabs. Over time, the bridge still stands firm and adds softness and charm to the whole Pho Cat area as well as this spiritual area. From Pho Cat temple, crossing the stone bridge, we can continue our journey in this area within just over 1 kilometer to other attractive attractions such as: Thien Loi Cave, La Lot Cave, natural rock beach, Quan Giam Temple, Bui Temple, Voi Abyss and clear, cool waterfalls that seem to be singing a symphony of poetic nature.

Currently, Pho Cat relics and landscapes only preserve a few artifacts, such as: Statues, palanquins and 4 stone steles from the Nguyen Dynasty (1 stele about the restoration of Pho Cat temple and 3 steles recording the names of meritorious people). Researching and collecting sources of documents about Pho Cat relics and landscapes is necessary and meaningful, because this place contains a lot of historical and socio-cultural content. Just by researching the formation and existence of Pho Cat temple (worshipping Holy Mother Lieu Hanh), we also see interesting things about the formation and rise of national beliefs and culture. In Pho Cat, when Holy Mother Lieu Hanh was exalted (because it was in line with the aspirations of the people), the feudal court intended to extinguish this divine element. However, due to the struggle and petition of the people, the feudal court was forced to accept and deify Holy Mother Lieu Hanh. At the same time, the temple was also rebuilt more spacious than before.

Pho Cat relic and landscape was ranked at the provincial level in 1999. Over time, many construction items have shown signs of deterioration. Therefore, it is necessary to allocate funding to renovate, embellish and expand the relic area, in order to meet the spiritual and cultural needs of the people, as well as strengthen the connection between tourist attractions, promoting tourism development in the area.

Thank you for choosing iguide.ai to accompany your exciting experience!