The sacred temple on Tan Son land

According to legend, Ngo Xuong Xi was born between 945 and 950. He was one of the 12 warlords of the Later Ngo Dynasty. He was also the grandson of Ngo Quyen, a heroic and talented man recorded in history books as "handsome, with eyes as bright as lightning, a gait as leisurely as a tiger, intelligent and brave, and strong enough to lift a cauldron".

View of Khai Long Temple. Photo: Ngoc Phuong

In 965, Ngo Xuong Xi took over the military power, but at this time, forces were rising up everywhere. During the time when warlord Ngo Xuong Xi was guarding Binh Kieu (Thieu Son, Thanh Hoa), he often went back and forth to Chau Hoan (ie Nghe An) to recruit more soldiers. Wherever he went, he helped and protected the lives of the people, so he was trusted and admired by the people of Chau Hoan. The Tan Son - Do Luong area today (about 140 km south of Binh Kieu base) was also the base for training soldiers and storing food for warlord Ngo Xuong Xi.

The people here consider Ngo Xuong Xi as a king, an envoy who often travels around the land of Chau Hoan to protect the lives of all the people here. Therefore, the people here are grateful and build a temple to worship him. The appearance of the temple to worship Ngo Xuong Xi in Hoan Chau land affirms the great influence of the warlord Ngo Xuong Xi on the land of Chau Ai, Chau Hoan (Thanh Hoa, Nghe An today).

According to the book “History of the Party and people of Tan Son commune, Do Luong district” and the stories of the elderly in the village: Throughout historical periods, Khai Long temple has made many contributions to the cause of building and defending the country. From 1946 to 1947, responding to the popular education movement, the people of Duy Tan commune (now Tan Son commune) organized many classes at Khai Long temple.

In 1949, Khai Long Temple was the place where the Party Congress of Duy Tan Commune took place and where the district's cadre training classes were opened, named Le Hong Phong School. From 1953 to 1958, the Truth Party cell of Duy Tan Commune organized activities at the temple. In 1957, Khai Long Temple was the place where the Vietnamese Government's resistance bonds were sold.

Local elders perform a worship ritual at Khai Long Temple. Photo: Ngoc Phuong

Khai Long Temple is a large and sacred temple. This is a place for spiritual and cultural activities of local people and surrounding areas. Every year, many important ceremonies take place at the temple such as: Khai Ha ceremony, Thuong Nguyen ceremony, Trung Nguyen ceremony, Ha Nguyen ceremony, Thuong Tan ceremony... but the biggest is the village festival which takes place on the 7th day of the first lunar month. The festival is held every 3 years in a cycle in the years of Ty - Ngo - Mao - Dau. This is a village festival that has been maintained since ancient times.

After many historical changes, the temple was demolished. In 2014, the local government, people and philanthropists contributed to restore and embellish the relic. In December 2017, Khai Long Temple was recognized as a provincial historical relic by the Provincial People's Committee.

Currently, the local government and people are gradually restoring festival activities at the relic to serve the spiritual and cultural needs of the people and tourists./.