The legend of Cua Luy temple
This time in Anh Son, we visited Mr. Nguyen Sy Ta (80 years old), Hoa Son commune to learn about the story of Cua Luy temple.
According to Mr. Ta, the old people told that, during the Lam Son uprising, when Le Loi's army followed the upper road to Nghe An, they immediately captured Tra Lan citadel (Bong Khe commune, Con Cuong today) and then sent a general (unknown identity) to command an army to cross the Ca River and station in the Kim Nhan mountain area (Anh Son district today). This was a dangerous area surrounded by mountains and hills, many streams and creeks, with only a few entrances and exits, of which Cua Luy was the most important location.
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Front of Cua Luy Temple. |
At that time, due to the difficult marching route, the lack of life, having to fight constantly with the enemy, and the unsuitability of the soil and water here, the soldiers got sick a lot, and epidemics often broke out in the barracks.
Under the command of the general, there was a female doctor who loved the soldiers with all her heart, tried her best to take care of them and advised them to take care of their health. To have enough medicine to cure everyone, many days, regardless of rain or wind, the girl was willing to go alone through the forest to find precious medicinal plants. This work was admired and respected by everyone, everyone affectionately called the girl "Miss".
One day, the camp was ravaged by a malaria epidemic, medicine was in serious shortage, the girl went alone through the forest to find medicine, exhausted, she leaned against an old tree by the roadside to rest and never got up again. Not seeing her return, the soldiers scattered in all directions to search, she was brought back to the camp, lying still in a hammock, still tightly holding a handful of medicinal leaves.
Deeply mourning the devoted female doctor, the general ordered her burial in a field in the area, from then on the soldiers called it the tomb of the female doctor princess, this field was called "Dong Co" (later changed to "Dong Co").
One day, the general and his soldiers went to visit the grave. On the way, they saw a white rabbit running out from under an old tree. It circled around the generals and soldiers several times, then moved forward, raising its legs as if to block their path. After a while, it disappeared. Realizing that this might be a bad omen, the general ordered his soldiers to turn back and planned to patrol and guard carefully.
The next morning, a group of Ming spies were captured. They confessed that they had been ordered to assassinate the general guarding this land. The general believed that the white rabbit was the female doctor princess who had appeared to save his life. He immediately ordered his soldiers to build a temple right under the ancient tree where the white rabbit had appeared and named the temple Luy Son (the people used to call it Cua Luy Temple). From then on, the soldiers and people used to call her Bach Y Cong Chua. When the general passed away, the soldiers and people built a temple on a mound not far from Cua Luy Temple and called it Duc Ong Temple.
Later, because Duc Ong Temple was surrounded by swamps, making it inconvenient to travel and burn incense, people brought his tablet to worship at Cua Luy Temple. Legend has it that Cua Luy Temple is very sacred. According to the ancients, later the female physician was conferred the title of Holy Mother of Luy Son by King Minh Mang, and conferred the title of Duc Bao Trung Hung Thuong Dang Than by King Khai Dinh. Unfortunately, due to war, the temple was destroyed by bombs and bullets, so the above-mentioned decrees no longer exist.
In 1968, Cua Luy Temple was heavily damaged by American bombs, leaving only an incense bowl on a rock. Mrs. Tran Thi Chau, from Vinh, evacuated here with her husband, who worked at a power plant, and heard about the sacredness of the temple. She immediately bought bamboo and hired people to re-roof it. In 1988, Mrs. Chau decided to complete paperwork and submit it to relevant authorities and departments to request the restoration of Cua Luy Temple. The main source of funding for the restoration of the temple came from her family's donations. Although Cua Luy Temple today is not yet impressive, it has a beautiful and peaceful landscape, welcoming people every day to pray for peace and prosperity.
Cong Kien
