Found the controversial 'lotus branch' in folk songs?

In the literary world, there have been countless debates surrounding the two folk songs: "Last night, I was bailing water at the village communal house/ I forgot my shirt on the lotus branch." People cannot accept the absurdity of "lotus has branches" and even "lotus branches" are so strong that they can catch a forgotten shirt.

However, recently, music researcher Nguyen Quang Long introduced to the public who love folk culture the lotus tree at Boi Khe pagoda, Tam Hung commune, Thanh Oai district, Hanoi.

Researcher Nguyen Quang Long believes that this lotus tree is the "lotus branch" that has been mentioned in Vietnamese folk songs for generations: "Last night, I was bailing water at the communal house/Forgot my shirt on the lotus branch", "Going to the pagoda to break a lotus branch/Eating rice by lamplight while planting rice under the moonlight...".

Panoramic view of lotus plants planted at Boi Khe Pagoda. Photo: NQL

The plant that artist Quang Long mentioned is planted at Boi Khe pagoda, with a signboard called “land lotus”, some places call it mountain lotus. Compared to lotus flowers growing in ponds, land lotus flowers have white petals, yellow stamens, as big as pond lotus flowers, petals curved like hands clasped together. In particular, the buds of land lotus flowers when not yet blooming are very similar to white lotus buds in ponds.

According to researcher Nguyen Quang Long, the lotus tree at Boi Khe Pagoda has a woody trunk, similar to the sapodilla tree, and leaves similar to banyan leaves. Every year, the lotus only blooms in the summer, from April to June of the lunar calendar.

The main gate of Boi Khe pagoda. Photo: TL.

Music researcher Nguyen Quang Long revealed that after much searching effort by him and other folk culture researchers, he temporarily concluded that in the entire Northern Delta, only Boi Khe Pagoda has an ancient lotus tree, although in recent years, this type of tree has been sold quite a lot, possibly imported from abroad.

"About 7-8 years ago, on the journey to learn about Xam singers, Xam singers, Trong Quan singers... we accidentally learned about Boi Khe pagoda and the lotus tree. At that time, there was a very large lotus tree behind the pagoda and the pagoda made efforts to propagate this rare tree into many others. Recently, when I had the opportunity to return, I saw that in the pagoda grounds there were 5-6 lotus trees taller than a person, propagated from an old lotus tree that no longer exists," artist Nguyen Quang Long shared.

The ground lotus is quite similar to the pond lotus, with thick, large, and pure white petals. Photo: NQL.

Talking about the hypothesis that the "lotus branch" in the folk song: "Last night I was bailing water at the communal house/Forgot my shirt on the lotus branch" is actually a branch of a ground lotus tree, not a lotus flower in a pond as many people think, music researcher Nguyen Quang Long analyzed: "The entire space in this folk song exudes the scenery of the Northern Delta, so we can assume that the folk song was born in this region. When we arrived here, the local elders also confirmed that the lotus tree in this folk song is a ground lotus. According to them, this lotus tree is very difficult to grow, it only grows properly when planted in communal houses and temples. (However, this may just be a way of thinking to add to the sacredness of the tree planted in sacred spaces).

For the locality, the lotus tree is as important as the banyan tree, the bodhi tree, the ancient ebony tree... Because of that sacredness, in the folk song, when the boy hinted to the girl that he had left his shirt on the lotus branch, although it was a love flirtation, it showed the seriousness in the feelings that the boy wanted to send to the girl.

Researcher Nguyen Quang Long admitted: "I have changed my mind since learning about this lotus tree because it solves all the questions in that folk song. Moreover, our ancestors were also sincere, honest, and spoke simply like "When we meet, I will hold your wrist/ I will ask you this question, will you marry me?" and rarely beat around the bush or write... Because the way of thinking of the ancients is close to action, I think no young man would lie like that.

The shape of the lotus flower is not different from that of the pond lotus flower. Photo: NQL.

Not excluding the hypothesis, in Vietnamese village architecture, village ponds originally had lotus ponds and it is very possible that the lovesick young man was born "silly", hanging his shirt on a lotus flower in a real pond, but it is also unlikely because if it was lotus season, I think it would be impossible to bail out the water. Meanwhile, a ground lotus plant can always hang its shirt on a branch!

Boi Khe Pagoda is located on the phoenix head land, the pagoda was built in 1382, under the Tran Dynasty on a land area of ​​about 4,000m2. The pagoda has five doors, one main door in the middle and four side doors divided equally on both sides. A small bridge built of bricks across the pond full of lotus flowers leads to the Tam Quan gate with 2 floors and 8 roofs. On the top floor, there are 2 large bells, each 1m high, 20cm in diameter.

The pagoda is arranged in the traditional style, worshiping Buddha in the front and Minh Duc Chan Nhan in the back of the Tran Dynasty, whose real name is Nguyen Binh An. He practiced and attained enlightenment here, and the people built a tower to preserve his remains, revering him as Duc Thanh Boi. According to the people, he was born in the year of Tan Ty (1281), from Boi Khe village, but practiced at Tram Gian pagoda (Tien Lu commune, Chuong My district). So Tram Gian pagoda is the official place to worship him, while Boi Khe is the place to worship him in memory. Every year on January 13, the people in the area excitedly hold a festival, carry the Saint's palanquin to show their gratitude to him.

According to some locals, the lotus tree at the pagoda is over a hundred years old and blooms regularly in the summer. The lotus flower is pure white, has thick petals and is more fragrant than the water lotus. When fully bloomed, it is as big as a rice bowl. The life of the flower is also "short-lived", the flower only has yellow pistils and does not have a lotus mirror like the water lotus, but when the petals dry, it is still fragrant.

Monk Dam Phuong (abbot of Boi Khe pagoda) said: “Villagers say that in Boi Khe pagoda there are two lotus trees donated by Buddhists a hundred years ago. But one tree died, now only this ancestral lotus tree remains. Over the years, the ancestral lotus tree has gradually withered, so about ten years ago the pagoda had about 40 branches grafted, two were planted in front of the pagoda, two were planted in Tram Gian pagoda, and the remaining two were given away to other places. After a while, it was reported that only the two branches planted in front of Boi Khe pagoda and one branch in Tram Gian pagoda were alive. Now those three trees are over 3m tall, with lush branches and leaves. Every season, they bloom heavily, spreading a sweet fragrance throughout the Zen monastery.

According to dantri