Nguyen Tat Thu Church relic

From Vinh City, visitors go against Highway 1A, Vinh-Hanoi direction to Dien Chau intersection, turn left and go about 28km, to Khuon bridge, continue to turn left, follow Tan Son-Minh Son inter-commune road, about 2km to hamlet 13, Tan Son commune, where Nguyen Tat family church is located on the left side of the road.

Nguyen Tat Thu, whose given name was Nguyen Tat, whose real name was Le Giap, was the son of the Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Lu and Bui Thi Phan, who lived under the Later Le Dynasty.

According to the genealogy and legend in Tan Son area, Do Luong district: Le Giap was born in Bau Coc village, Ha Trung district, Thanh Hoa province, in a family of "The Cong Than" lineage of the Le dynasty. Born and raised in a family of mandarins, Nguyen Van Thu had the opportunity to study and train. From a young age, he was smart and intelligent. Growing up, Le Giap was taught by his father, so he soon showed more talent and will than ordinary people. In addition to studying literature, Le Giap diligently practiced martial arts and military strategy every day. His family sent him to study at Quoc Tu Giam school in Thang Long. After graduating, he was appointed as "Ta chan co cai doi" under the Le dynasty.

When the Le-Mac war broke out, the country fell into chaos. Nguyen Van Lu (father of Le Giap) was very scared because his wife, Bui Thi Phan, was the daughter of Bui Dinh Khue, a general of the Mac dynasty. Nguyen Van Lu had his two sons, Nguyen Van Du and Nguyen Van Thu, evacuate to a deserted place to find a way to make a living. Nguyen Van Du and his wife and children fled to Son Nam (present-day Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh). Meanwhile, Nguyen Van Thu took his wife and children to the South, where there was a large area to live.

At that time, the Le Lau and Kiet Nghi Trang areas were still wild and sparsely populated. Seeing that this was a peaceful place with many prosperous rivers and mountains, he decided to stay and make a living. From then on, he changed his name to Nguyen Van Thu.

In order to seek a long-term life, he spent time studying the local geography and customs. He also saw that there were still many unexplored hills, valleys, and ravines. With money and extensive knowledge, he asked the local government to organize a force to reclaim the land. He mobilized his family and friends, brought rice, salt, hoes, axes, etc. to the valleys, sandbars, and sandbanks to build tents, raise livestock, hunt, and clear land for farming. On the other hand, he recruited the poor and displaced people due to war and natural disasters in neighboring areas to set up camps to reclaim the land. In his spare time, Nguyen Tat Thu and the young men in the village hunted wild birds and animals to have more food for his family. After a long period of hard work, the wild, dense lands from Tan Son, Minh Son to Hoa Son, had many new hamlets and camps. People had land and fields to grow rice, crops, and raise livestock.

As a far-sighted person, Nguyen Tat Thu expanded the knowledge of the people through teaching reading and martial arts. Being a kind person and knowledgeable about medicine, Nguyen Tat Thu often spent time visiting the health of people in the village, reading books, and personally prescribing medicine to treat many people.

The successive achievements of Nguyen Tat Thu, who opened the Nguyen Van family from Thanh Hoa to Nghe An, became the Nguyen Tat family in Tan Son, Do Luong, are passed down by history and people. In the history book of the Party Committee and people of Tan Son commune, it is written: "A representative of the spirit of land reclamation, from the 15th century was Mr. Nguyen Van Thu. He was the pioneer in opening up the land with the people, turning a deserted area into a vast field of hundreds of hectares".

At the age of 80, Nguyen Tat Thu passed away. The people of Kiet Nghi Trang gathered at Con Ngai, Tien Son to send him off to his resting place at Con Ngai (about 20m from the church). In memory of his great contributions, the people of Kiet Nghi Trang built the De Tam Temple (commonly known as Lang Le Temple) to worship him and honor him as the village's Thanh Hoang because he had the merit of "Protecting the nation and protecting the people". Considering Nguyen Tat Thu's merit of reclaiming and opening up land, the Nguyen Dynasty issued the Decree "Bao Son Thach Co Hien Ung Thanh Hoang, Gia Tang Duc Bao Trung Hung Don Ngung Linh Phu Ton Than". In 1890, King Thanh Thai presented the temple with two horizontal lacquered boards "Bao nga le dan" and "van co anh linh" to express their respect for him and remind future generations to live a life worthy of their homeland and country.

Nguyen Tat Church is a place that marks historical events:
Built in a beautiful, secluded area. In front is a lake, open fields, behind is a forest, on both sides are villages. With such a location, Nguyen Tat church is very convenient for family and community meetings. When the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement broke out in 1930-1931, Nguyen Tat church was a meeting place, printing secret documents for the Party. On the morning of September 8, 1930, people around the area gathered in front of the church, then took to the streets with people throughout Do Luong to protest...
Mr. Nguyen Tat Ngan was the first local Party Secretary who often came here to encourage his children and grandchildren to participate in the revolutionary movement.

During the two resistance wars against France and the US (1945-1975), the Nguyen Tat family temple was used many times as a meeting place for soldiers and local authorities to discuss plans to strengthen the rear and support the battlefield. Over the past 70 years, the Nguyen Tat family has had 54 martyrs who heroically sacrificed themselves to save the country and protect the fatherland.

From ancient times to the present, the relic has been closely associated with the spiritual and cultural life of the descendants of the family and the people in the region. On the full moon and full moon days (the 15th and 1st of the lunar month), the descendants come to the church to pray for blessings, peace, fortune, and wealth. In particular, on the 15th day of the first lunar month, the descendants of the Nguyen Tat family gather at the church to hold the Ancestor Worship Ceremony. The Ancestor Worship Ceremony is held for two days. On the 14th of the first lunar month, the ceremony is held to open the light, clean the interior and exterior, and perform ceremonies such as: bathing ceremony, changing the mandarin, installing the throne, and announcing the ceremony. The main ceremony is held on the 15th of the first lunar month, including the great ceremony and the thanksgiving ceremony.

The church was built during the Nguyen Dynasty (1869). This is an ancient, precious architectural work with beautiful scenery, built in the shape of the letter Tam, including the following items: yard, door, Lower hall, Middle hall, Upper hall. The outer yard is a parking lot, with an area of ​​480m2. The East, West, and South sides have brick fences, and the North side is the church door. The entrance to the church is built of bricks, limestone mortar, not large in scale but quite beautiful. In front of the main pillar is a pair of white stone lions. The church door is connected to each other by main pillars, secondary pillars, and a sturdy brick wall. The top of the pillar is embossed with two porcelain-inlaid lions facing the church door, with two parallel sentences on the front:
"Establishing ancient and immortal merits
"Heaven and earth prosper in later times"
The inside has two parallel sentences:

"Enter and see the beautiful temple
"Hope is like a high place"

The connecting part between the main pillar and the secondary pillar is a fake roof wall. The wall near the main pillar has two Guardians embossed to guard the church. Adjacent to the wall with the Guardians is a fake roof wall, the front of which has two horses with saddles and bells embossed.
The side pillars on both sides are similar to the main pillars, but the top of the pillars does not have the chimera, the body of the pillars is smaller and lower. The front has a parallel sentence:
"The light of the work
"The Buddha created merit"
The front yard has an area of ​​20.21m2, the surface is paved with square bricks. In front of the yard there is a small rectangular gate decorated with tigers and parallel sentences.
The Lower House has an area of ​​51.6m2, including 3 rooms and 2 sides. The roof is covered with yin-yang tiles, the straight ridge is decorated with dragons facing the moon, clouds, and sparks. The entire house frame is made of ironwood, the trusses are structured in the style of a front pillar with a rafter. To create harmony, at the ends of the rafter, the ends of the beams and the lower part are embossed with dragons, unicorns, turtles, phoenixes, clouds, and flower vines.
From the Lower House to the Middle House is a central courtyard with an area of ​​20.21m2. The Middle House has the same design as the Lower House, an area of ​​51.6m2, including 3 rooms, 2 sides, a roof covered with yin-yang tiles, a straight ridge decorated with dragons and moons. The Middle House's porch is narrow, the entrance is two levels. On both sides are wall panels decorated with Dharma Protectors. Near the Dharma Protector's feet is a small brick and mortar altar, on top are incense bowls, food trays, wine bottles, and cups.

Above the middle room are decorated horizontal lacquered boards and parallel sentences praising the merits of ancestors and the sacredness of the temple, while reminding descendants to preserve the family's traditions.
The first horizontal lacquered board is engraved with the Chinese characters "Viên bản nguyên" which means "Always keep the family tradition".
The second horizontal lacquered board reads: "Van co anh linh" meaning "forever sacred".
The decorative altars below the horizontal lacquered board are an incense table and a two-tiered altar gilded with gold, similar to the altar in the Lower House. On the incense table are incense burners, bronze candlesticks, etc.

From the Middle House, go through a small yard of 20.21 m2 to enter the Upper House.
The Upper House has the main architecture of Nguyen Tat period. This is the place to worship the ancestor Nguyen Tat Thu and other meritorious ancestors.
The Upper House is made of ironwood, with trusses structured in the style of a front pillar and a rafter. Overall, there are 4 main pillars, 12 small pillars, 2 end pillars and many rafters, rafters, horizontal beams, and purlins... at the ends of the rafters and rafters are embossed with cloud patterns and flower vines. The supporting beam section is shaped like a pig's belly beam, with the base of the pillars embossed with lotus petals.

In front of the Upper Hall are the steps, brick walls, and corner pillars. The pillars in the front and back are built with straight trunks, overlapping in the shape of a square, with a convex edge on the outside. The inside is inscribed with the following parallel sentences:
"The deputy priest Dan Nam is a man of the same age.
Accumulate good deeds through historical merit"

In the left room, there is an altar to worship Nguyen Viet Thanh, the second ancestor of the Nguyen Tat family. The altar behind has two levels, made of red-painted wood, with an incense burner in front. The higher level displays a tray, a throne, a wooden sword... to worship Nguyen The Ngu, son of Nguyen Tat Thu, who "had the merit of reclaiming and turning over 100 acres of fields, ponds and gardens".

On the left side is an altar to Nguyen Tat Lu, the third ancestor of the Nguyen Tat family. The throne behind worships Nguyen Chan Tinh, the eldest grandson of Nguyen Tat Thu. He "had the merit of leading the army to defeat the enemy, defend the locality, maintain security and order, and was awarded the title of Huyen Thu by the royal court".

The middle room has an altar and a two-tiered altar. Worshiping Mr. Nguyen Van Lang, the first ancestor of the Nguyen Tat family. The altar behind is a throne to worship Nguyen Tat Thu. The throne is painted red and gilded, beautifully carved. The throne legs are carved in the kneeling style, the surrounding boards are decorated with dragons, unicorns, turtles, phoenixes, lotus, chrysanthemums, bamboo, and apricot blossoms. The throne body simulates the shape of a sitting person, the curved wooden armrests are stylized with two dragon heads. Supporting the armrests are round, carved dragons. Above the head is a stylized human head with a round moon bordered with halos. On the head of the throne is a hat decorated with dragons and moons. The throne is a worship object symbolizing the ancestral god, tutelary god Nguyen Tat Thu, who contributed to opening the land of Le Lau Kiet Nghi Trang, expanding the Nguyen Van family from Thanh Hoa to the Nguyen Tat family in Do Luong Nghe An.

In recognition of the family's contributions to the homeland, the country and the historical and cultural value of the church, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Tran Duc Luong issued Decision No. 563/2005/QD/CTN dated June 7, 2005 to award the Second Class Resistance Medal to the Nguyen Tat Family Temple in Do Luong, Nghe An.