Le Hoan Temple - A thousand-year heritage affirming the position of Thanh land

VHO - In the flow of national history, King Le Dai Hanh (941 - 1005) is always mentioned as a wise king with the career of "defeating Song, pacifying Champa", opening a new brilliant period for Dai Co Viet nation. Associated with the name of that king is the Le Hoan temple in Xuan Lap commune (Thanh Hoa), an ancient architectural work dating back about 1,000 years, now ranked as a special national monument.

Le Hoan Temple (Xuan Lap Commune, Thanh Hoa ) - A special national relic associated with the career of King Le Dai Hanh

The temple is not only a place of worship and gratitude to the founding king of the Tien Le dynasty, but also a living testament to the everlasting vitality of Vietnamese history, culture and beliefs.

The heroic spirit of Tien Le Dynasty and thousand-year-old relics

According to legend, Le Hoan's mother went to catch snails and suddenly gave birth to a boy with a handsome face, bright eyes and a loud cry.

During his youth, Le Hoan was also associated with the legend of the golden dragon hatching itself, a sign of the emperor. Thanks to his outstanding qualities, love of reading, and martial arts skills, he was soon trusted by King Dinh Tien Hoang, given the important responsibility of managing soldiers, and promoted to the position of General of the Ten Ways, Commander of the Imperial Capital.

After the assassination of Dinh Tien Hoang, the country fell into a state of internal and external enemies, the Song army threatened to invade, the Champa was eyeing the border, Le Hoan was enthroned as emperor by his mandarins to protect the country and bring peace to the people.

History has proven that choice was correct: in just a few years of reign, he achieved glorious feats, typically the Bach Dang victory in 981, which caused the Song army to be defeated and forced to recognize Dai Co Viet as an independent nation.

Not only was he an outstanding military leader, King Le Dai Hanh was also a flexible diplomat, a reformer of the government apparatus, encouraged agricultural production, and cared about national culture.

It was under the Tien Le dynasty that Dai Co Viet gradually rose to become a strong nation, opening a period of independence and autonomy after a thousand years of Chinese domination.

With such great merit, when the king passed away, the people built a temple in his hometown Xuan Lap commune. For hundreds of years, through many historical changes, Le Hoan temple has been preserved and restored, becoming a symbol of the admiration of later generations for the national hero.

Le Hoan Temple Festival (Xuan Lap Commune) is held annually, attracting a large number of people and tourists from all over the world.

Le Hoan Temple today is a unique architectural complex including Sinh Thanh foundation, Quoc Mau tomb, Hoang Khao tomb, Le Dot tomb. The main hall of the temple has a Cong-shaped structure with 13 compartments, divided into the front hall, the middle hall, and the back hall.

The system of trusses, gongs, beams, and rafters are tightly connected, creating a majestic architectural block. The rich art of wood carving, from embossing to carving, demonstrates the talent of ancient artisans.

Not only impressive by the architecture, this place also preserves many precious artifacts: two 17th-century stone steles recording the king's career, 14 royal decrees of the Le and Nguyen dynasties... These treasures both prove history and reflect the cultural tradition - belief of "remembering the source of water when drinking" of the people of Thanh land.

Preserving and promoting heritage values

In 1990, Le Hoan Temple was recognized as a national monument, and in 2018, the Prime Minister signed a decision to rank it as a special national monument. This honor not only affirms the stature of the project but also sets a great responsibility in the work of preserving and promoting its value.

Mr. Ha Dinh Cuong, Chairman of Xuan Lap Commune People's Committee shared: "The special national relic of Le Hoan Temple is the pride of our hometown. In recent times, the local government and people have always made efforts to preserve the relic, organizing a festival to commemorate King Le Dai Hanh from the 7th to the 9th of the third lunar month every year, attracting a large number of tourists and children far from home to pay their respects to their roots. However, because the project has existed for hundreds of years, many items have deteriorated, affecting the worship and welcoming of visitors."

According to the report of Xuan Lap Commune People's Committee sent to Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee, the locality is requesting approval to implement the project of renovating and upgrading the temple with a total estimated investment of 25 billion VND, including: drainage system, ceremony house, lighting system, toilets and auxiliary items.

The project is expected to be completed in the 2025-2027 period, using provincial and communal budgets and social mobilization.

“We hope that the restoration and upgrading will both ensure the originality and meet the spiritual and cultural needs of the people. This is also an important step to turn the relic into an attractive cultural and historical tourist destination, contributing to the local socio-economic development,” Mr. Ha Dinh Cuong emphasized.

In fact, the Le Hoan Temple Festival is not only an occasion to commemorate the founding king of the Tien Le Dynasty, but also a unique cultural and religious activity, attracting tourists from inside and outside the province.

The procession, traditional ceremonies, along with folk cultural activities and ethnic games have created a sacred yet intimate atmosphere, connecting the community.

If invested and connected with other tourist attractions in the area, this place can completely become a highlight in Thanh Hoa's spiritual cultural tourism route.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/den-tho-le-hoan-di-san-nghin-nam-khang-dinh-vi-the-xu-thanh-169338.html