Peaceful suburban village

(Baonghean) - From National Highway 1A, follow the immense, wonderful lyrics of Tung Vinh "The story told by the old man, the divine fish returns to the ancient river..." to find Ngoc Hot village, Hung My commune (Hung Nguyen) - a peaceful suburban countryside, with the famous sacred Ngoc Hot temple.

According to the elders, the ancient Ngoc Hot Temple had 3 lower, middle and upper halls, with a three-door gate with majestic elephants and horses, located on the 2-acre land of Cua Den, built in the year Canh Tuat (1670), worshiping the village's tutelary god Trung Lang Bo Linh Dai Vuong - a famous general who had contributed to protecting the country during the Tran Dynasty. The upper hall has 1 room, with a majestic and imposing statue of the general. The middle hall has 3 rooms, with 2 rows of swords and knives, and a red-lacquered and gilded signboard. Every year, on the 15th day of the 6th lunar month, the village solemnly held a royal procession and a grand sacrifice here. During the Soviet years, the temple was a meeting place for secret activists; a place where villagers gathered, coordinated with villages and communes to protest against colonialism and feudalism. During the resistance war, the temple was the village school, the committee headquarters, and the cooperative warehouse...

Ngoc Hot Temple, Hung My Commune (Hung Nguyen).

After decades of no trace, in 2009 the temple was rebuilt and renovated by the villagers. Currently, Ngoc Hot Temple is a large and beautiful temple, famous in the region. Beside the green fields, under the morning sunlight, the curved temple bridge and the majestic three-door gate reflect on the temple pond, beautiful as a painting. The worshiping hall is a 3-room, 16-pillar house with 2 pairs of stone dragons and lions facing forward, carved and carved vividly to every detail. The adjacent Upper Temple is a 1-room, 2-storey house in the style of "double toads and snails". On the left, in front of the lower temple is a rectangular brick temple pond, with a pair of dragons looking like they are holding water on the surface of the pond. The curved temple roofs have an ancient appearance, looming among the lush green garden, surrounded by a system of ponds and lakes with ripples in the morning and evening, enhancing the rare, harmonious beauty of the temple.

Under the feudal regime, Ngoc Hot Temple received many royal decrees from the dynasties, and currently preserves a royal decree from the Tay Son Dynasty, dated Canh Thinh 4 (1795). Every year in the middle of the 7th lunar month, the villagers joyfully hold a royal decree procession, hold solemn ceremonies at the temple as before, and descendants from all over the world gather here to remember their ancestors, learn from the past, and promote the traditions of their homeland. Ngoc Hot Temple is not only a place for spiritual and cultural activities of local people, but also a place for sightseeing and admiration for visitors from near and far.

The village has a village charter, which was established at the beginning of the Nguyen Dynasty, in the 5th year of Gia Long (1806), consisting of 19 short and concise articles, strictly regulating the organization of ceremonies; the maintenance of security and order, traditional customs, etc. In particular, the village charter has many articles about encouraging studying and taking exams, and respecting talented people: "The village's rules for those who pass the imperial examinations are 60 quan, 1 banner, betel and areca nuts, and congratulatory wine. Bachelors are 30 quan, 1 banner, betel and areca nuts"; "Any family with children studying, regardless of whether they pass or fail, will be exempted from all tax and service duties according to the country's rules, to enrich the literary style". The ancient village charter, stained with time, has profound historical and cultural value, and is a precious asset, being passed down, preserved, and referenced by generations of villagers in building a new cultural life today.

The ancient village had Ngoc Hot Pagoda hidden under an ancient banyan tree. The main hall had 3 rooms, located in a 1-acre garden, overlooking Con Cau field. In the pagoda, there were many Buddha statues and an ancient bell. On the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, villagers often came to offer incense. Since ancient times, the pagoda had a resident monk, later villagers were appointed to take care of it. During the resistance war, the pagoda used to be the place where the committee headquarters and shops were located. Today, on the old pagoda's location, there is the Le family's church. The banyan tree still remains, but the ancient bell's ringing sound and the village pagoda's roof are only memories.

In the past, the village had 2 wells: in Ngoc Thanh hamlet there was a village well, in Ngoc Tien hamlet there was a copper well located next to an ancient banyan tree. People from the 3 hamlets of the village often came here to get water. The village had its own fields, and every year people plowed the fields to get profits for the common good, including the cost of surveying and dredging the village well. When the village moved out of Nghe Co area, the village well had to be located in the middle of a distant field. Today, the village well is being repaired by the people, with the hope of preserving the village's ancient charm.

Visit Ke Lot, admire the village temple, contemplate the ancient vows, and feel nostalgic about the old scenery and people of hundreds of years ago. Even though we have parted, the song written about that warm, rustic land still lingers in our hearts, as if holding us back: "Will we ever forget Ngoc Tien, our father's hometown, where there are banyan trees and fresh water wells? Will we ever forget Ngoc Thanh, our mother's hometown, where there is the sacred Ngoc Hot village temple?"

Huy Thu