Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang with Nghe An and Dai Viet country

(Baonghean) -Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang was the 8th son of King Ly Thai To, born in Thang Long citadel, and was the younger brother of King Ly Thai Tong. In 1039, Ly Nhat Quang was sent to Nghe An to supervise tax collection. During his tenure, he was famous for his integrity. King Ly Thai Tong loved him and gave him the title of Uy Minh Thai Tu.

Great work

During the Ly Dynasty, Nghe An was an important southern borderland of Dai Viet. Deeply aware of the position and special importance of this land that affected the rise and fall of the country, from the beginning of the 10th century, the Ly Dynasty paid great attention to building, consolidating and developing Nghe An in many aspects, aiming to turn Nghe An into a "copper citadel, hot pond", the key to the dynasty. Therefore, the first person that King Ly Thai Tong (the second king of the Ly Dynasty) trusted to take charge of governing Nghe An was Uy Minh Marquis Ly Nhat Quang.

Statue of Ly Nhat Quang.

In 1041, Ly Nhat Quang was officially appointed as Tri Chau Nghe An (this is also the time Nghe An chose to establish the province). It can be said that at that time, Nghe An was a remote area of ​​the country with many uprisings of the local people of a "rebellious" nature that the royal court had to suppress many times. Being assigned to be the Tri Chau (head of the administrative apparatus in Nghe An), he always took morality as the most important thing and was determined with corrupt officials and bandits, determined to protect every inch of Dai Viet land. Therefore, during his reign and many decades after, this land was very peaceful. The stable political and social situation was a favorable premise for Ly Nhat Quang to organize and perfect the grassroots government apparatus, mobilize people to reclaim land, expand land, establish hamlets, take care of agricultural production, teach people to farm, raise silkworms, develop the economy...

In 1044, King Ly Thai Tong personally led an expedition to Champa. During this southern expedition, Uy Minh Marquis Ly Nhat Quang was assigned the task of supplying and transporting military provisions from the main source of supply in Nghe An to the army. After returning from defeating Champa, Ly Thai Tong promoted Ly Nhat Quang from the title of Marquis to the title of King and granted him the right to decide all political affairs in Nghe An. During the 16 years he was assigned to hold the position of Nghe An Governor, from 1041 to mid-1057, with his talent for governing the country, with his strategic vision and correct and bold policies, Ly Nhat Quang proposed progressive policies to develop production, protect order and security, keep the border peaceful, especially the policy of leniency and comfort for the people, taking the people's well-being, warmth, and happiness as the foundation of governance.

Ly Nhat Quang had the merit of building and developing Nghe An from a remote area with many disturbances during the Ly Dynasty into a prosperous region in all aspects, providing a solid support for later dynasties, creating a turning point in the history of Nghe An's development. As Prince, Governor of Nghe An, Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang was highly praised by historians, ranked as one of the 9 famous people of Dai Viet. And in "Viet Dien U Linh" by Ly The Xuyen, talking about Ly Nhat Quang with very solemn words "a great god of fortune in the region, honest, upright" and especially in terms of order, according to Ly The Xuyen's concept, the gods with greater merit were placed above the kings and ministers, not by time, Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang was written first.

Scientists also commented: Ly Nhat Quang deserves to be a historical celebrity, having made great contributions to the stability and development of the country, first of all the Nghe An region in the first decades of the Ly Dynasty.

Forever in the hearts of the people

Because of his great and comprehensive achievements, leaving behind deep affection in the people's hearts, after Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang passed away, the people built a temple to worship him. In the Bach Ngoc area (now Boi Son commune, Do Luong district), which used to be his administrative headquarters, there are 8 temples to worship Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang.

Legend has it that in 1057 - 953 years ago, Ly Nhat Quang became a saint in the Southeast of Qua Mountain (now Boi Son Commune, Do Luong District). The people built the main temple, becoming one of the three oldest temples in the Central region, including An Duong Vuong Temple (Cuong Temple), Mai Hac De Temple (King Mai Temple). After 1072, Grand Tutor Ly Dau Thanh became the Governor of Nghe An, honored Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang and began to build a larger temple. During the Tran Dynasty, King Tran Nhan Tong bestowed upon Ly Nhat Quang the title "Uy Minh Dung Liet Tao Thanh Phu De Vuong" and built a larger temple, considering it a spiritual support. During the Le Dynasty, there was a policy of rearranging the ranks of gods and Ly Nhat Quang was ranked as the highest god of Dai Viet, from which a very large area of ​​land was reserved for the people, who did not pay taxes, did not serve in the army, did not perform any other labor, but only took care of festivals and ceremonies at Qua Son Temple (currently, there is no temple with a large area and as many people as Qua Son Temple). During the Nguyen Dynasty, they also organized renovations and embellishments.

Experiencing the ups and downs of history, the events of time, after many restorations and embellishments in each historical period, today Qua Son Temple has become a sacred temple reflecting on the banks of Lam River, ranked among the famous landscapes of Nghe An province, a national historical and cultural relic. The temple consists of the upper hall, the middle hall, and the lower hall connected together to form the word "cong" to worship Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang; there is Ta vu to worship Dong Chinh Vuong Ly Luc and Huu vu to worship Duc Thanh Vuong (two famous generals with the same father but different mothers of Ly Nhat Quang, who assisted him in Nghe An). In addition, there is the tomb of the holy Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang, a stele house, a horse house and a horse, a Tam Quan gate and thousands of antiques, made of silver, bronze and wood, especially a unique ancient statue of Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang, dragon thrones, and sacrificial objects of the Ly Dynasty...

The Qua Son Temple Festival dates back to the Ly Dynasty and is considered the most ancient, majestic and magnificent festival in Nghe An, taking place in a large space. Every year, in the middle of the first lunar month, people from Boi Son, Ngoc Son, Lam Son, Trang Son, Dang Son communes and surrounding areas hold the Qua Son Temple Festival. Coming to the Qua Son Temple Festival, everyone will feel the unique features taking place both on land and on water with the ceremony and festival combined together. On land is the procession of 3 holy palanquins and many sacred objects, including horses, chariots, offerings to honor the merits of Ly Nhat Quang such as coins, sacred rice grains and many incense sticks, offerings, soldiers... the water procession consists of 6 boats, marching parallel to the land to Ba But Pagoda (Lam Son commune, 3 km from Qua Son Temple) to perform a ceremony to show gratitude to the Buddha. Along the way, there are 5 places to worship so that people can greet and thank the Saint. Before the procession, there is a "turning army" ceremony, which means a military parade to simulate battles on land and water according to the "eight trigrams" formation; a water god ceremony to pray to the water god for safe travel on the river, a proclamation ceremony, a bathing ceremony, and a trance ceremony. The festival space is expanded with many cultural and sports activities, including volleyball, tug of war, stick pushing, wrestling, chess, boat racing, etc.

The festival is held annually to contribute to reviving the fine tradition of “drinking water, remembering its source”, honoring the great contributions of Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang, honoring Buddha; encouraging the martial spirit to defend and build the country, strengthening solidarity among the people, and at the same time contributing to preserving and promoting traditional folk cultural values.

For nearly 1,000 years, the merits of Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang have always been deeply remembered by the people of Nghe An and the people of the whole country. His contributions and achievements are forever honored in history books and worshiped in the minds of the people as the most sacred symbol.

Mai Hoa -collected and compiled