Lang Suong - the legend of the sacred land where saints were born

If I had not been introduced by the head of the Lang Suong Temple (Trung Nghia commune, Thanh Thuy, old Phu Tho province), now Tu Vu commune, and especially if I had seen with my own eyes and touched with my own hands the sacred artifacts in the legend, I would not have believed that this temple was the birthplace of Saint Tan Vien, considered the "Supreme Spirit" god, the leader of the "Four Immortals" in the folk god worship of the Vietnamese people...

Lang Suong Temple in Tu Vu commune carries the legend of the sacred land where Tan Vien Son Thanh was born.

The Land of the Saints

Following the instructions, we walked along the Da River to find the land of Lang Suong. The road was easy to travel, so we arrived at the temple quite early. Surprisingly and fortunately, when we arrived, the first person we met was Mr. Giang Dinh Quy - the head of Lang Suong temple. Lucky because this is the "living history" of this land. Letting guests freely visit around, Mr. Quy said: Our Lang Suong village is proud to be the homeland of the Mother of the Nation Au Co. This is also the birthplace of Tan Vien Son Thanh (Son Tinh), the leader of the "four immortals" in the folk belief of worshiping gods of the Vietnamese people. He was also the talented son-in-law of the 18th Hung King.

Since 2005, Lang Suong Temple has been ranked as a national historical relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information.

Turning the page of the genealogy book that had been stained with time, Mr. Giang Dinh Quy slowly told: Lang Suong Cave in the past was not only the birthplace of Tan Vien Son Thanh, but also the birthplace of the National Mother Au Co. Legend has it that this land is where Lac Long Quan met Au Co, then they became husband and wife and gave birth to a sac containing 100 eggs and 100 children. According to him, Lang Suong Temple also worships Princess Ngoc Hoa, worships two generals Cao Son and Quy Minh; worships the father, the parents who gave birth to Duc Thanh Tan and the foster mother who raised Duc Thanh Tan. The Mother worship here has blended with the Mother worship of the Vietnamese people such as Mother Au Co, Mother Earth, Mother Water... to create a spiritual cultural identity. Every year, Lang Suong Temple opens its festival twice on the 25th of the 10th lunar month (the anniversary of the Mother who gave birth to Thanh Tan) and on the 15th of the first lunar month, the birthday of Duc Thanh.

The temple is a place to worship Princess Ngoc Hoa, two generals of Duc Thanh Tan, Cao Son and Quy Minh; the father and mother who gave birth to Duc Thanh Tan and the foster mother who raised Duc Thanh Tan.

Lang Suong Temple Festival has long been a famous festival of the Tan mountain and Da river areas. In addition to the sacred ceremony, the festival is organized with many folk games close to the lives of the people such as throwing con, cockfighting, rice cooking competitions... With its special meaning and value, on July 12, 2005, Lang Suong Temple was ranked as a National Historical Relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information. Since then, the temple has been restored and embellished on a large scale. The main temple consists of 3 main worship rooms and 3 rear sanctuaries. In the main worship room, there is an altar to worship the statues of Cao Son and Quy Minh, the generals who helped Tan Vien defeat the enemy. The rear sanctuary is decorated with a throne to worship the Holy Mother Dinh Thi Den (Tan Vien's mother) and to worship the Holy Tan. In the rear sanctuary, there is also worship of the Holy Father of Tan Vien, Mr. Nguyen Cao Hanh, his foster mother Ma Thi Cao Son and Princess Ngoc Hoa (wife of the Holy Tan Vien)...

Spiritual support by Tan mountain and Da river

When we came to Lang Suong Temple, the most interesting thing for us was to sit and listen to the legend of the birth of the Saint. Listening to the story, we felt that this legend was real. So real that no one thought that it was an ancient legend tinged with fantasy. Because besides the stories and legends, at Lang Suong Temple, there was still the "Quỳ rock" with imprints of the Holy Mother's feet, hands and knees when she gave birth to Saint Tan Vien.

The story of the Holy Mother giving birth to the Saint, tinged with fantasy, is still remembered by the people.

At Lang Suong Temple, there is still the "Kneeling Stone" that marks the time when the Holy Mother gave birth to Saint Tan.

According to Mr. Giang Dinh Quy, the story of the Holy Mother giving birth in excruciating pain, kneeling and supporting herself with her hands still remains on the stone slab. Everyone believes that it is a legend because hundreds, thousands of years ago, no one had seen what the shape of the stone looked like, and people only knew that it was recorded in the Jade Genealogy of the Temple. However, a miracle happened in 2003 when participating in the tree planting festival at Lang Suong Temple, people dug up a rock. On the surface of that rock, there was a knee-shaped indentation, 5 finger prints and a foot print imprinted on the stone slab just like described in the jade genealogy. Moreover, in addition to the stone slab, currently in Lang Suong Temple there are still relics in the legend of the birth of the Saint still existing such as the stone to press the belly, the Saint's bathing basin is a square green stone basin. Legend has it that this is the basin that the Mother used to hold water to bathe the Saint when he was just born; There is still the Thien Thanh well where Mother Goddess used to bathe when Duc Thanh was born in those distant days...

Thien Thanh Well and legendary artifacts such as the stone used to support her belly and the bath tub used by the Holy Mother after giving birth are still vividly present.

All of these artifacts, through the ups and downs of history, still exist vividly today. These artifacts seem to confirm that this is truly the birthplace of the Saint... Not only having historical and cultural value and significance, Lang Suong Temple is also a temple with unique architecture on a vast sacred land from ancient times. This has become a spiritual support for local people. In times of natural disasters, droughts or epidemics, villagers come to the temple to burn incense and pray, placing their faith in the sacred Saint's protection. And strangely, most of the prayers are answered as a communication between humans and gods...

For local people, Lang Suong Temple has become a spiritual support, a place where people place their faith in the protection of the sacred Saint.

Returning from Lang Suong, I brought with me a deeper belief than ever in the power of tradition, in the origin of national culture when “gods” are not an illusion but a spiritual symbol of the aspiration for humanity, justice and national unity. Lang Suong Temple is not only a spiritual tourist destination, but also a historical milestone, a place to preserve the original memory of the Vietnamese people in the heart of thousands of years of mountains and rivers.

Manh Hung

Source: https://baophutho.vn/lang-suong-huyen-tich-ve-noi-dat-thieng-sinh-thanh-236717.htm