THANH HOA – Temple of Binh Khuong, located near the citadel of the Ho Dynasty, has a stone imprinted with a human head and two hands, which is said to be related to the woman who died following her husband.
Temple of Binh Khuong lady is located not far from the east gate of the Ho Dynasty (Vinh Loc district, Thanh Hoa). The ancient temple has a total area of about 600 m2, the architecture includes the forecourt, harem and landscaped grounds.
Ms. Do Thi Xuan Thanh, an officer of the Ho Dynasty Citadel Heritage Preservation Center (pictured), said that the temple was originally built in the early 15th century but later fell into disrepair. Duy Trinh for rebuilding. Legend has it that, Mrs. Binh Khuong thrice reported a dream to the Governor, and set up a temple where she died. The first two times he just considered it a normal dream, the third time she said in a dream that she would bless him with a son if he did what she wanted. The governor had no son, and strangely, after the temple was built, his wife gave birth to a son.
Over time, the temple was degraded and in December 2009, the temple was restored and restored by the Ho Dynasty Citadel Heritage Conservation Center, preserving the traditional wooden architecture. Binh Khuong temple relic was ranked as a provincial historical relic in 1995.
Behind the harem of Binh Khuong Temple, there is a large sacred stone block that people in the area believe is a vestige of the ancient Binh Khuong woman’s complaint. The stone is 2 m long, 1.5 m wide, on the face, there is a concave larger than a human head, on both sides, there are two marks like the marks of her two hands propped down…
Legend has it that at the end of the 14th century, the rush to move the capital because the Ming invaders were trying to cross the northern border, made the king and mandarins of the Tran Dynasty afraid. In 1397, in order to quickly move the capital from Thang Long to An Ton, Ho Quy Ly sent soldiers day and night to dig and build ramparts. Mining and transporting stone slabs weighing tens of tons is very arduous. Assembling a towering wall up to 3-4 m high without modern machinery or mortar requires skillful techniques.
Among the people participating in the foreclosure was Cong Sinh Tran Cong Si. This official was assigned by Ho Quy Ly to supervise and urge the construction of the eastern wall, working day and night without rest to ensure the progress.
Construction was rushed, but the eastern part of the citadel, which was in charge of Tran Cong Sy, fell after construction was almost finished, for unknown reasons. Suspecting Tran Cong Sy of treason and deliberately delaying his work, Ho Quy Ly angrily ordered the soldiers to bury his body in the position of the fallen wall as a deterrent.
His wife, Binh Khuong, heard that her husband had been sentenced to death, so she became angry. Heartbroken, she rushed to the stone wall, and used all her strength to knock down the stones, hoping to see her dead husband’s body. Exhausted, but the wall did not shake, Binh Khuong banged his head on the rock to die with her husband. The stone where she was martyred had a very deep pit like a human head and two streaks of scratched hands.
On the wall of the Citadel of the Ho Dynasty, right behind the temple of Binh Khuong, there is a tomb and a stele inscribed with the name of the foreman Tran Cong Sinh. Many visitors paid tribute to the faithful woman and had many verses praising her chastity. Her temple was established here.
Stone steles recording the legend of the martyr Binh Khuong complaining for her husband were erected around the temple.
According to historical books, during the reign of King Dong Khanh (Nguyen Dynasty), rumors about Binh Khuong’s hand and head prints over 500 years were still clearly imprinted on the stone slab, so tourists came in large numbers. The magistrate in Dong Mon village was worried that the rumors would spread further and further and would cause a lot of trouble, so he hired a worker to chisel the whole stone and bury it. But after chiseling, the group of workers contracted a strange disease and died.
When Doan Thuoc Trifu heard the news, they were afraid to send soldiers to find and dig up that stone, install it in the right place, and at the same time, sent a craftsman to engrave the words “Tran Dynasty Cong Sinh – Binh Khuong Niang, Lady Tri Thach” This stone signifies traces of Binh Khuong, the daughter of Cong Sinh, Tran Dynasty). The Tri government also erected a stone slab in the citadel, where Cong Sinh was buried, on which was engraved the words “Tran Dynasty Cong Sinh – Binh Khuong husband chi satire” (meaning the burial place of Mrs. Cong Sinh Tran Dynasty).
The altar in the front hall is decorated with gold paint and Chinese characters.
The communal house has traditional wooden architecture with intricate carvings.
According to the Ho Dynasty Citadel Heritage Conservation Center, for hundreds of years, the ancient temple has become a place of spiritual and cultural activities for local people and tourists. They come here on the occasion of Binh Khuong’s death anniversary (1/9 lunar calendar) as well as the Tet holiday to offer incense to pray for health, peace, and luck for the family…
A corner of the eastern wall, right next to the temple of Binh Khuong, was built in the late 14th century by square and straight stone slabs without any adhesive.
To the right of the temple there is a small pond nearly 200 m2 wide, local people say that no matter how big the sun or drought, the pond never runs out of water.
Ho Dynasty citadel is located in two communes Vinh Tien and Vinh Long, Vinh Loc district, Thanh Hoa. Over 600 years of existence, most of the architecture inside the Imperial Citadel has been destroyed. The vestiges of the old palace foundation are still hidden under the rice fields of people around the area.
On June 27, 2011, at the 35th session of the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) held in Paris, the Ho Dynasty Citadel was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. world cultural heritage.