National treasures and wishes at Nhan Tower

Evidence of early Buddhism in Nghe An

Located in the grounds of Hong Long Temple, a national historical relic and a very sacred place in the cultural and spiritual life of local people, is the vestige of Nhan Tower. Walking with Chairman of Hong Long Commune People's Committee Pham Hong Son on the ancient ground, directly touching the bricks that have been discolored by the years, listening to the stories that local people have passed down for generations about the Buddhist work dating back 14 centuries ago, we were truly fascinated by the mysteries surrounding the tower. Many questions about the work of our ancestors that remains, even though it is just a ruin, still linger.

The remains of the Nhan Tower foundation in Hong Long, Nam Dan were built in steps. Photo: Thanh Duy

Since the 1930s, French scholars have come to research, but it was not until 1985 that the mysteries of Hong Long's underground were truly revealed when Vietnamese archaeologists and the provincial Department of Culture organized an excavation of the foundation of Nhan Tower. Behind the layers of grass and trees, there is only the foundation of Nhan Tower, 0.95m deep, built in steps. The strange thing is that the rows of bricks are arranged without joints, without adhesive. Here, researchers have collected 318 artifacts including tiles and bricks of many different sizes and patterns.

Mr. Nguyen Van Toan - the keeper of Hong Long temple showed me a brick with a relief of Buddha sitting on a lotus pedestal, which is said to be used to decorate the tower wall. A notable point is that people found a brick with the words "Trinh quan luc nien", which means the brick was made in the 6th year of Trinh Quan (623 AD) under the Tang Dynasty (China). From this clue, it is assumed that Nhan Tower was built in the early 7th century.

But that is not the most special and attractive thing about Nhan Tower, but during the excavation of the tower's base, archaeologists discovered a box containing relics. The excavation report clearly stated: "Perhaps this is the first time such a box has been found in Vietnam. The pure gold box was made by a goldsmith using the cold-stamping method, this type of box is very similar to the lacquered relic boxes found in Burma".

Mr. Nguyen Van Toan - keeper of Hong Long Temple introduces a brick from Nhan Tower with the image of Buddha sitting on a lotus pedestal. Photo: Nhat Le

The box containing the relics is divided into two parts: the lid and the body of the box. The lid is rectangular, with the four edges of the lid slightly concave, looking like the edge of a roof. On top of the lid is a decorative band with a 6-petal round chrysanthemum pattern. The body of the box is rectangular, with the edges being carved with sophisticated techniques. Around the body of the box is a decorative band with a stylized lotus pattern. According to researchers, the date of the tower's construction and the date of the burial of the relic box are the same. At the same time, this discovery also reveals to future generations a part of the early appearance of Buddhism in Nghe An.

The relic box found in Nhan Tower is one of three artifacts discovered in Nghe An that have been recognized as national treasures by the Prime Minister.

Concerns of posterity

The Nhan Tower relic is located on the left bank of the Lam River, with many unique architectural features, a long history and sophisticated artistic architecture, rarely found anywhere else. But the regrettable thing is that until now, this relic has not been awakened. Mr. Pham Hong Son - Chairman of the People's Committee of Hong Long Commune is a local son, who has worked for many years in the cultural field in the commune. In the story of Nhan Tower, the Commune Chairman always hopes that one day this relic will be restored and the rare values ​​of Nhan Tower will be promoted.

Chairman of Hong Long Commune People's Committee Pham Hong Son (left) introduces the Nhan Tower relic. Photo: Nhat Le

Since 2012, the People's Committee of Hong Long commune has made a proposal to the People's Committee of Nam Dan district, all levels and sectors to give their opinions on the restoration of Nhan Tower. After that, the Ministry of Culture - Sports and Tourism, the People's Committee of Nghe An province, the Department of Culture - Sports, and Nam Dan district have taken many actions to implement the necessary steps to preserve and restore the historical relic of Hong Long temple and restore Nhan Tower. The detailed planning of the investment project to build a project to preserve and restore the historical relic of Hong Long temple and restore Nhan Tower was also announced a few years ago on the main road in Nhan Thap hamlet, right in front of the road leading to the relic.

But until now, although the planning has faded with the sun and rain, the project is still on paper. Mr. Pham Hong Son said: Since 2015, the relevant agencies, the commune and 11 affected households, including 4 households that had to be relocated, have made a record of land recovery. The people also agreed to sign the record but to date the project has not been implemented.

It is known that last May, the Department of Culture - Sports of Nghe An held a meeting to approve the design of the construction drawings for the restoration of this relic with the participation of the Science Council, representatives of the People's Committee of Nam Dan district and the consulting unit. After the meeting, the Director of the Department of Culture - Sports also announced the conclusion of the contents that need to be implemented before submitting the design for approval.

The detailed plan for the investment project to build a project to preserve and restore the historical relic of Hong Long Temple and restore Nhan Tower has been announced to be stained by time. Photo: Thanh Duy

Nhan Tower and the secrets inside the tower have been discovered, bringing to the next generations a very valuable treasure of knowledge, helping us to visualize a stage of development of the land and people of Nghe An in the flow of time. Therefore, the timely restoration and preservation of Nhan Tower is not only the wish of the people of Hong Long (Nam Dan). This is extremely necessary to manage and protect the relic in a more professional manner, avoiding objective and subjective impacts that erode the relic, in order to answer the questions of future generations...