(Baonghean.vn) - Located in the Gam Mountain - Dinh River complex (Yen Thanh district), Gam Pagoda historical and cultural relic is one of the religious and belief works with unique artistic features of ancient cultural beauty.
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| According to documents, artifacts, and historical events that remain, Gam Pagoda was built during the Tran Dynasty, belonging to the Truc Lam sect - a Zen sect founded by Buddhist Emperor Tran Nhan Tong, the official Buddhism of Dai Viet. |
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| With the investment attention of the local government, the pagoda is being gradually restored and embellished with majesty and grandeur, to preserve the cultural values that our ancestors worked hard to create, enriching the cultural beauty of our homeland Nghe An. |
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| The ancient Gam Pagoda, also known as Chi Linh Tu, includes all the ancient architectural works. The worshiping house is made of 5 compartments made of ironwood, connected together by tight mortise and tenon joints. |
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| A rather unique artistic feature here is the system of carved panels on the front wind panels, spanning across 5 compartments, with many reliefs of different heights and sizes, including different decorative motifs. The most prominent is the image of the four sacred animals (Dragon - Unicorn - Turtle - Phoenix) highlighted by the motifs depicting the scene of "Seven Sages of Bamboo Forest", "Southern Mountains and Four Seas", "Scholars - Farmers - Workers and Merchants" with soft, peaceful lines. |
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| In the middle room, there are carved images of dragons, coiled together. Below, the artisans skillfully put in carved images such as: Two dragons worshiping the moon, interspersed with images of Phoenix holding a letter, Carp transforming into a Dragon... |
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| With the art of carving, sacred animals are depicted very vividly, meticulously, softly, gracefully, and strongly with the themes decorated quite balanced, creating closeness between nature and humans. Through that, we can see the talented hands with the sophisticated art of sculpture of ancient artisans, as if wanting to attach to the tangible cultural heritage of the cultural traditions of our ancestors for future generations. |
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| Monk Thich Tue Minh - Deputy abbot of Gam Pagoda (Xuan Thanh) said: All the patterns and motifs on the wood exude deep humanity, representing the tradition of the Vietnamese people, which are: Noble, pure, loyal, honest, resilient and a soul that is kind, upward-looking, beautiful, and optimistic to have a peaceful life. |
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| Through many historical ups and downs, despite wars, changes in mechanisms and harshness of nature, with the people's awareness, the original architectural art of the pagoda is still preserved, closely associated with the historical evidence of the land and people of Ke Gam. |
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