Tien La temple in Thai Binh province

08/03/2021

Tien La temple located in Doan Hung commune of Thai Binh province’s Hung Ha district is a worshipping place of Bat Nan General Vũ Thị Thục, one of female generals under Trung sisters (Hai Bà Trưng) who had many merits in fighting against the Han Chinses invaders.  

Tien La is one of 200 Mother Goddess worshipping places in Thai Binh, and an important worshiping center of Mother Goddesses of Three Realms in the province.    

Unlike most Mother Goddesses places which mainly worship which worship Goddess of Heaven (Liễu Hạnh Mother Goddess), Tien La temple worships the Goddess of Human (real person in the national history).

Tien La temple has an area of over 6,000 square meters and includes main constructions such as: external and internal three-entrance gates, front, central and rear worshipping shrines. The temple was recognized as a national relic site in 1986.

  

 

A scene of the two-story three-entrance gate of the temple. There are many stone statues of horses, elephants, and female soldiers in the gate’s front site.

  

 

At the temple’s yard, there are an altar of common worship in the middle, with an altar of the male child deities (Thanh Cau) on the left, and an altar of the female child deities (Thanh Co) on the right.

 

The front worshipping shrine consists of five compartments and was built of wood with the interior carved with motifs "Long - Lan - Quy - Phuong" (dragon – unicorn – turtle – phoenix) interwoven with "Tung - Cuc - Truc - Mai" (orchid, chrysanthemum, bamboo and plum blossoms). Outside the shrine, there is a great calligraphy with contents praising the Trung Vuong dynasty, and virtuous and talented Bat Nan General.

The middle worshipping shrine was built with a traditional worshipping style.

 

At the shrine, the entire system of columns, trusses, and beams were built of stone and exquisitely carved with motifs "Long - Lan - Quy - Phuong" (dragon – unicorn – turtle – phoenix) and "Tung - Cuc - Truc - Mai" (orchid, chrysanthemum, bamboo and plum blossoms) in four columns and eight trusses.

 

    

The rear worshipping place consists of three compartments and was built of solid wood. The middle compartment worships Bat Nan general Vũ Thị Thục and her generals and soldiers. The left and the right compartments worship in turn her father and her mother.

Besides worshipping Bat Nan Mother Goddess, Tien La temple also worships Mother Goddesses in the Vietnamese Belief of Mother Goddesses of Four Realms

In addition, the temple also worships historical figures regarded as sacred gods, such as Hung Dao King Tran Quoc Tuan, who had merits in fighting against Yuan invaders, Hoang Muoi Mandarin who had merits in fighting against Qing invaders, Hoang Bay Mandarin who had merits in assisting the king and local people, etc.

Tien La temple’s festival is annually held from the tenth to the 20th of the third lunar month, which the main event is the death anniversary of Bat Nan General Vũ Thị Thục on the 17th. The festival includes worshipping rituals and unique festive activities including traditional art performances and folk games.