Peaceful suburban village

(Baonghean) - From National Highway 1A, following the vast and enchanting melodies of Tung Vinh's song "Stories of the past, the sacred fish return to the ancient river..." to find Ngoc Hot village, Hung My commune (Hung Nguyen district) - a peaceful suburban area with the famous and sacred Ngoc Hot temple.

According to the elders, the ancient Ngoc Hot Temple had three main halls: lower, middle, and upper, with a triple-arched gate adorned with majestic elephants and horses. Located on a 2-acre plot of land at Cua Den, it was built in the year Canh Tuat (1670) and dedicated to the village's tutelary deity, Trung Lang Bo Linh Dai Vuong – a renowned general who contributed to the nation's defense during the Tran Dynasty. The upper hall had one chamber and a statue of a majestic general. The middle hall had three chambers, with two rows of swords and a gilded signboard. Every year, on the 15th day of the 6th lunar month, the village solemnly held a procession and a grand ceremony here. During the Soviet era, the temple served as a meeting place for clandestine activists; a gathering place for villagers to coordinate with other villages and districts in demonstrations against colonialism and feudalism. During the resistance war, the temple served as the village school, the committee headquarters, and a warehouse for the cooperative…

Ngoc Hot Temple, Hung My commune (Hung Nguyen district).

After decades of being forgotten, the temple was rebuilt and renovated by the villagers in 2009. Currently, Ngoc Hot Temple is a large, beautiful, and famous temple in the region. Beside the green fields, under the morning sun, the curved temple bridge and the majestic three-arched gate cast their reflections onto the temple pond, creating a picturesque scene. The main hall is a three-bay, sixteen-column structure with two pairs of stone dragons and lions facing forward, carved and sculpted vividly down to the smallest detail. Adjacent to it is a one-bay, two-story building in the "double-tiered roof" style. To the left, in front of the lower hall, is a rectangular brick-paved temple pond with a pair of dragons seemingly holding water in their beaks. The ancient-looking curved roofs of the temple, nestled amidst lush greenery and surrounded by a system of ponds rippling with waves, enhance the temple's rare and harmonious beauty.

Under the feudal regime, Ngoc Hot Temple received many royal decrees from various dynasties. One decree from the Tay Son dynasty, dating back to the 4th year of the Canh Thinh era (1795), is still preserved. Every year in mid-July of the lunar calendar, the villagers joyfully hold a procession to carry the decree and organize solemn ceremonies at the temple, as in the past. Descendants from all over gather here to remember their ancestors, reflect on the past, and promote the traditions of their homeland. Ngoc Hot Temple is not only a place of cultural and spiritual activity for the local people but also a tourist attraction for visitors from near and far.

The village has a set of village regulations, dating back to the early Nguyen Dynasty, in the 5th year of Gia Long's reign (1806), consisting of 19 concise and succinct articles, strictly regulating the organization of ceremonies; maintaining security and order, and preserving traditional customs... In particular, the regulations dedicate many articles to encouraging learning and examinations, and valuing talented people: "According to the village custom, if someone passes the imperial examination, the celebratory money is 60 quan, a banner, betel nuts and wine. For those who pass the imperial examination, it is 30 quan, a banner and betel nuts"; "For families whose children attend school, regardless of whether they pass or not, all taxes and services are exempted according to national custom, so that they can further develop their literary skills." This ancient set of village regulations, imbued with the colors of time, has profound historical and cultural value, and is a precious asset that is being preserved, passed down, and referenced by generations of villagers in building a new cultural life today.

In the old village, there was the Ngoc Hot Pagoda hidden beneath an ancient banyan tree. The main hall, with its three bays, was situated on a one-acre garden overlooking the Con Cau rice fields. Inside the pagoda were many Buddha statues and an ancient bell; on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, villagers often came to offer incense. From ancient times, the pagoda had a resident monk, and later, villagers were appointed to oversee its upkeep. During the resistance war, the pagoda served as the headquarters of the commune committee and a trading post. Today, the site of the old pagoda is occupied by the Le family's ancestral temple; the banyan tree remains, but the echoing sound of the ancient bell and the pagoda's roof are now only memories.

In the past, the village had two wells: the village well in Ngoc Thanh hamlet and the communal well in Ngoc Tien hamlet, located next to an ancient banyan tree. People from the three hamlets of the village often came here to fetch water. The village had its own fields, which were cultivated annually to provide income for the community, including the cost of surveying and dredging the village wells. When the village relocated from the Nghe Co area, the village wells were left in the middle of a distant field. Today, the villagers are renovating the wells, hoping to preserve another charming aspect of the village's past.

Visiting Kẻ Lót, admiring the village temple, reflecting on ancient customs, and reminiscing about the old scenes and people of centuries past. Even though we've parted ways, the song written about that warm, rural land still resonates, stirring emotions in our minds, as if beckoning us back: “Will we ever forget Ngọc Tiến, our father’s homeland, where there’s the banyan tree and the sweet-water well? Will we ever forget Ngọc Thanh, our mother’s homeland, where the sacred Ngọc Hốt village temple stands?”

Huy Thu