Duke Tong Tat Thang's Nghia District

(Baonghean) -On Highway 15A through Nam Loc Commune (Nam Dan), there is a small temple leaning against Quai Bai Mountain, part of the Thien Nhan Range. In front is the Lam River winding and irrigating the fields and banks. That is the Thong Chinh Temple with a history of hundreds of years, the place to worship Nghia Quan Cong Tong Tat Thang, who made Nghe An famous for his talent and virtue...

According to historical documents being preserved by the descendants of the Tong family in Nam Dan, Nghia Quan Cong Tong Tat Thang (1487-?) was from Nam Hoa Thuong village, Thanh Chuong district (now Nam Trung commune, Nam Dan district). His parents had two children, he was the second. Although his family was poor and his father died at the age of 13, his mother was determined to raise him to be a successful student. Not letting down his hard-working mother and his deceased father, Tong Tat Thang always maintained his will and determination to study hard, practice martial arts to become a man of both literature and martial arts. Thanks to that, at the age of 15, he passed the Huong Cong exam. And three years later, Tong Tat Thang was on the list of the golden board of the At Suu exam (1505) under King Le Uy Muc, and was appointed to the title of Thong Chinh Nguyen Suy Binh Man before leaving for his homeland. After that, he continued to hold important positions in the royal court such as Minister of Personnel, Grand Secretary of Dong Cac and was awarded the title of Nghia Quan Cong.

During his lifetime, Tong Tat Thang was upright, intelligent, and had both literary and martial arts skills, so he was always trusted by the Later Le Dynasty. Whenever the Ai Lao, Champa, and Bon Man invaders harassed the border, the king often sent Tong Tat Thang to lead the army to guard the border of Nghe An - which was also his homeland. Besides, with the assigned responsibilities, he also had great contributions in consolidating the court and building trust with the people. Once, the Bon Man invaders came to harass the western region of Nghe An, and Tong Tat Thang was again trusted by the king to lead the army to fight the invaders. With Tong Tat Thang's military talent, the Dai Viet insurgents quickly won and soon sang the song of triumph. However, he fell ill and died on the way back. After his death, his body was buried in his hometown, now in Trung Can village, Nam Trung commune (Nam Dan). Admiring the talent, virtue and achievements of a native son, the people of Nam Hoa Thuong village (now Nam Trung commune) take care of Tong Tat Thang's grave all year round and honor him as Thanh Hoang. Since then, every time there were enemies harassing the border area of ​​Nghe An, the generals sent by the royal court to lead troops to suppress the enemies would come to Nam Hoa Thuong village to burn incense before Tong Tat Thang's grave and altar in the communal house, praying for his spirit to bless them with victory. In 1995, Trung Can communal house and Tong Tat Thang's grave in Nam Trung commune were recognized as National Historical - Cultural Relics. Trung Can communal house in particular is considered by researchers to be one of the most beautiful communal houses in Vietnam.

The royal decree of Thong Chinh Temple is being kept at Nguyen Huu family temple (Nam Tan commune - Nam Dan).

In 1553, in recognition of the merits of Nghia Quan Cong Tong Tat Thang for the court, the country and the people, King Le Trang Tong ordered the villages in the present-day "Chin Nam" land to build temples and annually organize ceremonies on the 15th of the 2nd lunar month according to international rituals (a national-scale ceremony). According to Mr. Tong Xuan Hung (village 5, Khanh Son) - the 19th generation descendant of Tong Tat Thang, the Nghia Quan Cong temple was built at the foot of Quai Bai mountain and is worshiped by descendants and people in the region all year round. In the middle of the 2nd lunar month every year, people from all over the "Chin Nam" land and neighboring areas gather at Quai Bai mountain to participate in the festival. The festival lasts for 3 days, the procession takes place both on the river (by boat) and on land, creating a sacred and exciting atmosphere. Through the ups and downs of history, around the 60s of the last century, due to fierce war, local people did not have the conditions to take care of and regularly repair the temple, so Thong Chinh temple was seriously degraded. About 10 years ago, a son of the Tong family invested money to restore the temple.

Regarding the Thong Chinh Temple and the career of Nghia Quan Cong Tong Tat Thang, according to Mr. Tong Xuan Hung, there are currently some special points. First, the descendants of the Tong family in Nam Dan (Nghe An) and Huong Son (Ha Tinh) still preserve a total of more than 60 royal decrees of the Later Le and Nguyen dynasties conferred on their ancestor. After many decades of war and conflict, preserving so many royal decrees of a famous person is not an easy thing, it can be said to be very rare in Nghe An.

The second special thing is that in the midst of the bombardment, Thong Chinh Temple was degraded, and the descendants of the Tong family and local people were forced to evacuate their worshiping objects and ritual objects to the Nguyen Huu family temple in Nam Tan commune, about 5km away from the temple. We were truly fortunate to be able to see these treasures with our own eyes, including the throne, royal costumes, hats, shoes, umbrellas, flags, swords, bells, gongs... still intact. In particular, there are still more than 20 royal decrees of the kings Canh Tri, Duong Duc, Chinh Hoa, Vinh Thinh, Vinh Khanh, Canh Hung, Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, Tu Duc, Dong Khanh, Thanh Thai and Khai Dinh. The content of the above royal decrees all focused on recognizing and honoring the merits of supporting the king, helping the country, and bringing peace to the people of Thong Chinh Chieu Nghia Dai Vuong Tong Tat Thang. Those are words of praise for his morality, his tolerance, his upright character, his intelligence, his bravery, his glorious reputation, his reputation that will last forever. After his death, his spirit continued to help dynasties maintain the country, conquer the borders, so he was awarded the title of national loyal minister, supreme god and brought to the temple to be worshiped forever.

Another special thing is that at Thong Chinh Temple, there is still a stone stele with a total of nearly 400 Chinese characters. According to recorded data, this stele was carved and erected in 1853, on the occasion of completing the temple restoration. The author of the stele's inscription is Tham Hoa Nguyen Van Giao and Giai Nguyen Nguyen Huu Lap - great scholars born and raised in the land of "Chin Nam". The content of the stele (original Chinese characters, tentative translation) has a passage: "Famous scholars and poets have written poems praising his loyalty and great merit that never fades. 350 years have passed but his upright spirit still resonates, making people admire him more and more, making us still feel like he is still in this world, we can still meet him here, on the golden list of imperial examinations, his name is at the top.

To show his respect for him, at the beginning of King Tu Duc's reign, the king assigned the people of his old hometown to restore the relics in Dam Thuy, build a temple, and erect a stone stele to show his respect and remembrance of the talented man. In the autumn of Quy Suu year, he brought his spirit back to the temple to show his respect.

Rivers may dry up, mountains may wear away, but his loyal example will forever be as clear as the water of Dam Thuy Lake.

Mr. Tong Xuan Hung added: "Currently, the descendants of the Tong family are actively collecting documents and coordinating with local authorities to prepare a dossier to propose the ranking of a historical and cultural relic for Thong Chinh temple. From there, create a legal basis to continue to restore and upgrade the temple to be truly worthy of the merits of Nghia Quan Cong Tong Tat Thang; at the same time, "connect" with the system of historical relics in the district to develop tourism, contributing to helping visitors from near and far understand more deeply about the land of Nam Dan - a homeland of talented people".

Cong Kien