Trần Thương Temple

Trần Thương Temple is a temple dedicated to Trần Hưng Đạo, built right on the land where he once used as a granary to serve the resistance against the Mongol–Yuan invaders during the second campaign. Trần Thương Temple is located in Trần Thương commune, Ninh Bình province, Vietnam. From Hoa Lư ward, the centre of Ninh Bình province, it is 50 km to Trần Thương Temple. This is a large temple dedicated to Trần Hưng Đạo, which has been recognised as a Special National Monument in Vietnam and is associated with the annual Đức Thánh Trần Rice Distribution Festival.

The area of the temple was formerly the centre of six small streams (called Lục đầu khê); from here, one could follow the Long Xuyên river, out to the Hồng river, down to Hữu Bị estuary, Tuần Vường into the Châu Giang river; or from here, go upstream on the Hồng river to Thăng Long and then out to sea. This place has beautiful terrain, is rich in food resources, and is convenient for waterway transport, so Trần Quốc Tuấn, who was then the Grand Prince and Commander-in-Chief, established a granary here to serve the resistance against the Mongol–Yuan invaders during the second campaign. After the great victory, he established his living portion here, making this a "tạo lệ" village, from which Trần Thương village emerged.

Trần Thương village is also one of three places closely associated with the life and career of Trần Quốc Tuấn: Kiếp Bạc, Bảo Lộc (Trần Temple), and Trần Thương; this is reflected in the saying: "Born in Kiếp Bạc, died in Trần Thương, incense at Bảo Lộc (Trần Temple)".

Trần Thương Temple was built during the Later Lê dynasty, right on the foundation of the Trần dynasty granary constructed to serve the resistance against the Mongol–Yuan invaders during the second campaign.

The temple has a unique architecture in the ancient artistic style of the Vietnamese people; it is decorated with intricately carved motifs combining many ancient techniques such as relief carving (deep carving, sunken carving, raised carving), planing, tight-fitting joinery, mortise and tenon joints, and techniques for processing wood and traditional materials (lime, sand, bricks, etc.) of high research value.

The area around the temple bears strong imprints of the material culture of the Trần period; through excavations, archaeologists have discovered many weapons and ceramic fragments in the artistic style of Trần dynasty ceramics (brown-glazed bowls and plates, ivory-yellow glaze, etc.).

Trần Thương Temple is built on a spacious plot of land, standing isolated. The temple's spatial boundaries are defined by a system of solid brick walls plastered with mortar, combined with sections of canals and ponds. The overall temple faces south and consists of the following components: Outer ceremonial gate (Nghi môn ngoại), Main ceremonial path (Đường chính đạo), Inner ceremonial gate (Nghi môn nội), Courtyard and screen (Sân và bình phong), Main temple (Đền chính), Mother Goddess house (Nhà mẫu), and Wells (Giếng nước).

Outer ceremonial gate (Nghi môn ngoại): features a three-storey pavilion architecture, with three entrance gates, flanked by ornamental pillars. The central gate is the main entrance to the temple, with an arched vault, the four corners of the roof have tiled balustrades with lemon blossom motifs, and in front are sculpted a pair of carp facing each other. The outer ceremonial gate is constructed with solid brick walls plastered with mortar, each section decorated with animal figures, floral patterns, and beautiful mouldings.

Main ceremonial path (Đường chính đạo): paved with bricks, leading from the outer triple gate to the temple courtyard, 50m long and 5m wide, lined on both sides with rows of green trees creating a scenic landscape for the monument.

Inner ceremonial gate (Nghi môn nội): built in the style of ornamental pillars, the two main pillars are square in cross-section, made of solid bricks plastered with mortar, decorated with mouldings. Each pillar is topped with a lion facing inward. The two side gates are arched, two-storey with eight roofs stacked. The roof is covered with tubular tiles, the lower roof has curved ridge ends decorated with stylised motifs, the upper roof also has ridge ends, and on the ridge are two dragon-head finials with open mouths biting the ridge.

Courtyard and screen (Sân và bình phong): Passing through the inner ceremonial gate is the temple courtyard, about 600m², paved with red bricks.

The main temple consists of the following components: Cổ lâu (ancient tower), Tiền tế (front ceremonial hall), Tả hữu vu (left and right side halls), Hồ khẩu (well), Trung điện (central hall), and Hậu cung (rear sanctuary), with an overall size of 16.8m x 24.18m. On the right and left sides of the structure are two wells, lined with blue stone.

The Cổ lâu is located in front of the central bay of the Tiền tế, with a square floor plan, two-storey architecture in the style of stacked roofs with eight eaves, covered with shoe-shaped tiles, with dragons and phoenixes sculpted on the ridge and eaves.

The Tiền tế has five bays and two side wings, with six trusses made of ironwood. Each truss consists of four columns, the columns are shaped like budding lotus, thicker in the middle and thinner at both ends, placed on blue stone bases. The roof truss system is constructed in the style of stacked beams and transverse supports.

The Hồ khẩu well connects the space with the Tiền tế, it is an open well without a roof, with a diameter of 6.39m and a depth of -2.9m. The well wall is built with bricks.

The two Tả/Hữu vu houses are connected to the two end bays of the Tiền tế, symmetrically flanking the Hồ khẩu well, with identical architecture, enclosed, two-storey with four eaves. The roof is covered with tubular tiles, the ridge and gable walls are built with bricks and plastered with mortar, the walls are made of solid bricks plastered with cement mortar, the doors open towards the Hồ khẩu well, a side door leads to the Trung điện, and the windows with bars open towards the main direction and the Tiền tế.

The Trung điện is located behind the Hồ khẩu well, with an area of 12.47m x 5.97m, the floor is paved with Bát Tràng tiles, the central bay in front of the altar is paved with ceramic tiles, and the floor of the Trung điện is raised to +0.20m. This building has five bays, mainly built of bricks, higher than the Tiền tế and Tả Hữu vu. At the front, the central bay has a brick Cổ lâu projecting towards the well, above which are two layers of roofs covered with tubular tiles.

The Hậu cung is the rearmost structure with an area of 2.68m x 5.82m, connected to the Trung điện. It is constructed of solid bricks plastered with mortar, built in an arched vault style, both roof levels are covered with tubular tiles.

The Mother Goddess house (Nhà mẫu) is located separately behind the Main Temple, with a floor plan in the shape of the letter 'đinh' (T-shaped), with three bays and two side wings. In front of the Mother Goddess house is a courtyard paved with red bricks in the 'công' (工) pattern.

The temple has a total of four wells, with walls lined with rubble stone, steps built of bricks, including: two round wells located in front to the south of the temple, each with a diameter of 7.5m. At the rear left to the north of the temple is a small well with a diameter of 4.9m. On the right to the west of the temple is another small well, the well bottom is diamond-shaped and currently has no water.

Trần Thương Temple currently preserves 202 artefacts, antiques, and beautiful worship objects of high artistic value, rich in type and diverse in material such as: worship statues, worship shrines, thrones, seals, palanquins, a system of ceremonial poles, parallel sentences, and large horizontal inscribed boards. Ceramic items include vases, incense burners, bowls and plates, cups, wine flasks. Stone items include turtles, nghê (mythical lions), elephants, incense burners, and offering tables. Paper items include 38 imperial edicts. Other materials include silver and bronze, such as a silver sword with tortoiseshell scabbard, silver bracelets, silver cups, bronze jars, etc., all contributing to the value of the monument.

The Trần Thương Temple festival is held annually on the 15th day of the first lunar month and the 20th day of the eighth lunar month, and is one of the three largest regional festivals in Hà Nam province. The festival features many unique and special folk cultural activities, such as the water procession and boat racing on the river. Since 2010, Trần Thương Temple has organised the Rice Distribution Festival (on the night of the 14th day of the first lunar month), attracting a large number of visitors and local people.

The rice distribution ritual has three parts: the procession of rice from the granary into the temple for the ceremony; the second part is the torch-lighting and incense-offering ceremony by the delegates; the third part is the procession of rice into the rear sanctuary for a secret ritual. Afterwards, symbolic rice bags containing five types of seeds (red beans, mung beans, soybeans, red maize, and yellow glutinous rice) together with the seal of Trần Thương Temple are distributed to guests and the public with the wish for a new year of peace, happiness, and abundance.

With its outstanding value, the historical and architectural monument of Trần Thương Temple was recognised as a Special National Monument by the Prime Minister (under Decision No. 2367/QĐ-TTg, dated 23/12/2015).