Ba Co Temple - Attractive tourist destination
Hung Hoa Commune, the strip of land where the Lam River reaches out to the sea, is a countryside that has experienced many historical and cultural events and is now creating a highlight for Vinh city with the Ban - Tram Chim forest tourist area, many unique historical and cultural relics, typically the provincial historical and cultural relic: Ba Co Temple.
Here, on full moon days and holidays, local people as well as tourists from many places have the habit of coming to the relic to visit, admire the temple and burn incense to thank Buddha, gods, and predecessors who have contributed to the homeland and country, and at the same time pray for peace, wealth, and blessings for their families and fellow countrymen.
Facing the Southeast, Ba Co Temple is as peaceful as a house. This is the only remaining temple in Hung Hoa land, located in Yen My village, Phong Yen hamlet.
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Ba Co Temple was built around the 16th century. The temple worships Princess Que Hoa and her predecessors from the Le Nhu dynasty during the Later Le Dynasty. According to the Le Nhu family in Hung Hoa and the opinions of some researchers, Princess Que Hoa was from the Le family in Yen My. After her death, she appeared to help the people and protect the country. Thanks to that, she was conferred the title of deity three times by King Thanh Thai, Duy Tan and Khai Dinh.
Currently, the temple still preserves these 3 royal decrees. In which, the royal decree of King Thanh Thai has the following content: "The royal decree of Nghe An province, Nghi Loc district, Yen Luu commune, Yen My village, serving the goddess of Que Hoa Princess to protect the country and the people, may she be honored in the future, and may she be honored forever. The royal decree exempts the spirit from being honored as the goddess of Nhan Uyen, the guardian of Trung Hung, but the former sacred service will be there to protect my people. I respectfully hear. Thanh Thai's 6th year, 2nd month, 15th day".
Provisional translation: Decree for Yen My village, Yen Luu commune, Nghi Loc district, Nghe An province to worship Princess Que Hoa, a responsive deity who helps people protect the country. Now, the time has come for her to inherit the title of Nhan Uyen Duc Bao Trung Hung. Please! Through the times of being conferred, the woman of the Le Nhu family, also known as Princess Que Hoa, was given titles such as: Nhan Uyen, Trinh Uyen and the title of Thuong Dang Than - the highest title for a deity. Notably, the Le Nhu family in Yen My village still preserves the crown given by the king to the goddess Que Hoa.
Although it is not yet known which king gave it, this is a very valuable historical artifact that needs to be researched and verified. In addition, the temple also has artifacts such as tablets, palanquins, large characters, ancient parallel sentences... Mr. Le Van Thuong - Chairman of the People's Committee of Hung Hoa commune said: "Ba Co Temple is a place for cultural and spiritual activities of the people in the area. In the past time, the local government together with the people of the Le Nhu clan have done a good job of renovating and protecting the Ba Co Temple relic...".
Not far from the temple is the tomb of Princess Que Hoa. Although her true identity when she was alive could not be determined due to the loss of her family tree, for generations the Le Nhu family in Hung Hoa has regularly protected, cared for, and burned incense. And the special thing is that the tomb is considered the ancestral tomb of the Le Nhu family. That is why the temple is called Ba Co Temple.
In addition to worshiping the goddess Que Hoa Princess, Ba Co Temple also worships the ancestors who have contributed to the Le Nhu family in Hung Hoa. According to research by some experts and records of the family, the Le Nhu family in Hung Hoa originated from Thanh Hoa. The Le Nhu family legacy in Yen My - Hung Hoa also has many names who have contributed to the country through feudal dynasties. Currently, Ba Co Temple still preserves a wooden board with the names of 13 ancestors who have contributed to the country, including Mr. Le Nhu Kien who was appointed Captain of the elite army by Lord Trinh Khai, and later promoted to general.
Every year when spring comes, Ba Co Temple becomes bustling. Children from all over the country come together to pay respect to their ancestors. What they learn is not only through the relics, royal decrees and teachings of their ancestors, but also through learning how to preserve and promote historical and cultural values; learning to share, support and be kind.
In 1997, the Provincial People's Committee decided to put Ba Co Temple into the management list according to regulations for relics and scenic spots. Mr. Tran Ngoc Lu - Director of Nguyen Tat Thanh Cultural Information Center said: "With the historical and cultural values of Ba Co Temple in Hung Hoa, we see the need to recognize and rank a relic... The good news is that the Le Nhu family in Hung Hoa has preserved it very well, this is a model of socialization in preserving and promoting spiritual culture...".
With Ba Co Temple recognized as a provincial historical and cultural relic, Ba Co Temple relic is an attractive destination in Vinh City Tour - a class 1 urban city of Nghe An.
Le Chung - Dao Tuan