About the origin of a general honored at Mieu Temple

The Chinese document "Bach Than Su Tich" (the story of 100 gods) in Nghe An, page 4, records the temple and the god Doc Loi. This story was recorded at the end of the Nguyen Dynasty. The god was worshiped in the main temple at Mieu Temple (at the foot of Doc Loi Mountain). People in the two communes of Huu Biet (now Nam Giang Commune) and Truong Cat Commune (now Nam Cat Commune) were responsible for worshiping him. Doc Loi Temple was destroyed by American bombs, fortunately some of the sacrificial objects and statues were brought by the people of the two communes to the two temples of Nam Giang and Nam Cat communes for worship. Notably, among the remaining relics at "Chi Thien Dan" (also known as My Thien Temple), there are still some royal decrees conferring the title of Doc Loi to the Pham family.

Through the above documents, we only know that the god of Doc Loi mountain is Pham Lanh Binh, or Lanh Binh with the surname Pham. The god's real name is unknown, his position is Lanh Binh Phieu Ky Uy, Thuong Tuong Quan Uy Liet Hau. The god is very sacred, and was granted many beautiful names and titles to protect the people and the country.

Fortunately, recently there was Mr. Tran Dai Sy, a Vietnamese living abroad, a member and then Head of the French-Chinese Medical Exchange Group, who worked in China for many years. He had the merit of going to major libraries in China to read historical documents of our country, especially the Ly Dynasty against the Song Dynasty. He met most of the families with important figures related to the Song-Viet war to ask to read the genealogy and documents. He was able to read 2 military diaries of 2 Commanders-in-Chief of the Dai Viet invasion (1076-1077): Quach Thi Nam Chinh by Quach Quy and Trieu Thi Chinh Tieu Giao Chi Ky by Trieu Tiet. Mr. Nguyen Ba Mao summarized the background of the god Doc Loi, recorded in the documents provided by Mr. Tran Dai Sy (recently published in Nghe An Culture Magazine). We would like to summarize as follows:

His real name is Pham Trong Y (1052 -1077), hometown unknown (?). His father is Pham Trong Kham, his mother is Quach Thi Phuong. He lost his parents at the age of 7, was adopted by his uncle and changed his name to Quach Y. At the age of 10, his uncle died, and he was left alone to beg for food in Thang Long. He became friends with 6 other people in the same situation: Tran Di (Vu Thu, Thai Binh), Duong Minh, Trieu Thu (Cao Xa, Nghe An), Mai Cam (Van Phan, Nghe An), Ngo Uc (Duong Lam, Son Tay), Ta Duy (An Linh, Thanh Hoa). They were accepted as disciples by monk Minh Khong and sent to Prince Ly Chieu Van as his adopted son. They were taught both literature and martial arts by the Prince's father. They practiced in West Lake and dived as well as dragons. They were adopted by Lady Y Lan Le Thi Yen Loan and their talents were introduced to the king. The King gave them the title "West Lake Seven Heroes". Quach Quy recorded in Quach Thi Nam Chinh about the seven men as "Giao Long Seven Freaks" and the book Trieu Thi Chinh Tieu Giao Chi Ky called them "Giao Chi Seven Dragons". "West Lake Seven Heroes" gathered 500 poor teenagers, raised them to become a brave army, swimming underwater like otters, and talented in naval warfare. King Ly Thanh Tong gave them the title "Giao Long Tay Ho". In 1069, the Giao Long team followed the seven men to escort King Ly Thanh Tong to pacify Chiem, making many achievements in the battles of Nam Gioi, Nhat Le, Thi Nai, Phan Rang. Upon returning, the seven men were granted the title of Count, held the position of Do Thong, each of them was given the title of Thien Tu Binh. Pham Trong Y was given the title of Thien Tu Binh Bong Thanh. Y Lan goddess asked for wives for the seven men, asking for Pham Y, Miss Pham Phuong Tien, daughter of the Kinh Luoc An official and Thanh Hoa envoy Pham Nhat Chieu.

Once, leading his army to attack Champa, Pham Trong Y stopped his army at Ru Mieu. At that time, the Ru Mieu area was a wild and dense forest with many wild animals. He ordered his army to use large crossbows made of agate and ochre to destroy all the wolves and save the people. The people were grateful and built a temple to worship him in Ru Mieu.

In 1075, to prevent the plot to invade our country, King Ly sent troops across the border to attack the provinces of Ung, Liem, Kham, Dung, Nghi, and Bach of the Song Dynasty. The "Seven Heroes of the West Lake" followed Ly Thuong Kiet to the North and achieved great achievements. The seven were all awarded the title of Great General and Marquis. Pham Trong Y was awarded the title of Great General of Minh Uy, the title of Marquis of Minh Tam, and his wife was the First-rank Lady.

In 1076, the seven generals and their soldiers fought back against the Song army in earth-shattering battles at the Nhu Nguyet River front, forcing the enemy to retreat. All seven generals and their wives, the "West Lake Seven Heroes", died heroically right on the battlefield!

After the war ended, the seven were posthumously awarded the title of Dai Vuong, their wives were awarded the title of Quan Chua and the court ordered the construction of temples in their honor. Mr. Pham Trong Y was posthumously awarded the title of Minh Uy Loi Tran Dai Vuong and his wife was posthumously awarded the title of Trang Thanh Quan Chua. The king ordered the construction of a temple in Ru Mieu and granted land to the local people for worship.

The Doc Loi Mountain God Pham Trong Y Temple was leveled long ago, but the remaining relic site in front of the old stone field and near Cau Mieu Bridge needs to be rebuilt to honor a person who has contributed to the nation and the country. The General Director of Saigon Beer Company, the investor of Cau Mieu Brewery, has planned to rebuild the Mieu Temple. This is an action that needs to be supported!

Dao Tam Tinh -Nghe An Library