Sacred temple of Princess Thien Thanh

In Chi Linh City, Hai Duong Province, Vietnam, there is the famous and sacred Kiep Bac Temple, which worships Hung Dao Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan - the national hero who defeated the Yuan Mongol invaders three times. But few people know that not far away, there is also the Dim Temple, which worships Thien Thanh Princess Nguyen Tu Quoc Mau, his wife.

Nguyen Tu Quoc Mau Tran Trieu (titled Thien Thanh Thai Truong) was the eldest daughter of King Tran Thai Tong. In the year Tan Hoi (1251), the princess married the Duke, Commander-in-Chief Tran Hung Dao. From then on, she left the palace to help her husband govern the country. During the two resistance wars against the Yuan invaders of Dai Viet (1285 and 1288), King Tran assigned her to be the general in charge of military provisions. The princess guided noble families and common people to implement the "Thanh da" (empty gardens and houses) strategy, launching guerrilla warfare to wear down the enemy's forces.

Despite her status as a noblewoman, Princess Thien Thanh endured many hardships for the sake of a great cause, stayed close to the people, took direct charge of the rear, organized production, gathered food, and arranged military food storage. The princess took advantage of the dangerous terrain of mountains, forests, rivers, and streams to defend, store food, and serve the military camp in all situations. At that time, the entire vast area of Kiep Bac, Ben village, Thanh Tan, Thanh Tao, Trung Que, Da Coc, Bai Thao, Huyen Dinh mountain... were all especially important logistical bases of the Van Kiep defense line.

Food and rice were transported along the Vang River and Mo Stream to Ho Thoc for storage and hiding. While on the battlefield, soldiers sacrificed themselves to kill the enemy, in the rear, the princess commanded the establishment of production facilities, planting and raising livestock to provide food for the army. To later generations, the area still bears the name Ho Lon, Ho Thoc, and the folk song: The Mother lets the Huyen Dinh buffaloes/The Mother lets the Trung Que fields pigs.

In 1288, the Yuan army lost the battle and retreated to their country. That same year, in the fall, Princess Thien Thanh passed away. Upon hearing the news, the people were heartbroken, the court mourned, King Tran granted her the title "Nguyen Tu Quoc Mau, Thien Thanh Thai Truong Cong Chua" and allowed the carving of a statue to worship her. The temple of Nguyen Tu Quoc Mau was built during the Tran Dynasty, located on Dim hill, Thanh Tan village, Le Loi commune (Chi Linh). This was originally one of the bases for storing military provisions during the war against the Yuan invaders. Legend has it that because there were many sweet potatoes grown here, many of them were soaked, it was called Dim hill, which is also the popular name of Dim temple, passed down to this day. The temple leans against the hillside, with the position of front water and back mountain. The Luc Dau River flows far in front, on both sides are Triu and Dong Trong islands as solid arms. The space is airy, the scenery is charming, the moon is clear and the wind is cool all year round, the leaves of the forest rustle in the wind between the sky and clouds all year round. It has been more than 700 years since the temple was destroyed by natural forces, war, and bombs... but the locals have renovated it many times to have a place of worship where the incense smoke never goes out.

The most recent restoration was in 1996, when the people built 2 central rooms, restored 3 front rooms and 1 back room. Dim Temple currently has the architecture of the front (-) and back (J) style. From the traffic route, visitors pass through the ceremonial gate built in the style of four pillars, the top of the roof is decorated with two dragons facing the moon. The outside has the words "Van co toi linh". On both sides of the pillars are a pair of parallel sentences: Thuc tuc, binh cuong luu hau the/Cong cao, duc dai to thien thu (Sufficient food, strong soldiers, remember for posterity/High merit, great virtue, remember for thousands of years). Princess Thien Thanh is respected by all people, recorded in history books. Her achievements in the cause of fighting foreign invaders, protecting the country, are as heavy as Thai Son mountain, as bright as Dau star. Later generations praised: "Quoc sac quyen thanh thien ha huu/Anh linh liet nu the gioi vo" (There have been women with beauty that toppled cities in the world, but there are no saints with virtues like this one).

To show gratitude to the Mother Goddess, every year on the anniversary of her death (28th of the 9th lunar month), the villagers hold a solemn ceremony. Visitors from all over the area come to offer fragrant flowers, sweet fruits, cakes and offerings made from local rice, flags and banners fill the sky, and incense sticks and candles fill the air to pay respect to the gods.

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