The complex of King Le Thai To Temple and King Le Thai To Stele is located 110km southwest of Lai Chau City, in the administrative area of Le Loi and Pu Dao communes, Nam Nhun district, and is gradually becoming a spiritual tourist destination attracting visitors. The temple was built to commemorate the merits of national hero Le Loi, who had the merit of suppressing the rebellion in the Northwest region.
On the journey to experience the culture and life of ethnic minorities in Muong Te, Nam Nhun, and Sin Ho districts of Lai Chau province, we were "fortunate" to visit the Temple of King Le Thai To.
The National Treasure with the handwriting of King Le Thai To in 1431 on a large stone block was moved and placed at the Relic Site.
Riding a motorbike along provincial road 127 with its dense forests and steep passes from Kan Ho commune, Muong Te district to the center of Nam Nhun district, we stopped at a roadside cafe to rest. The owner of the cafe was generous, as if encouraging visitors from afar to explore his homeland. In his conversation with us, he said that nearly 20km from the center of Nam Nhun district, on the way to Lai Chau city, there is a temple dedicated to King Le Thai To, which is attracting many tourists when coming to this land. In particular, since March 2018, a large stone block with the inscription of King Le Thai To, cut from the cliff on the bank of the Da River and placed at the temple, has been recognized as a National Treasure, attracting even more people to come here to admire. Indeed, the owner's story also made us want to come here once.
Each milestone leading to the temple of King Le Thai To got closer, making us more excited…And here it was! The sign pointed to the left of the road in the commune named after the king - Le Loi. The temple is located in a prime, high position, with a view in all four directions, the main front facing south. Walking up the steps leading to the temple, the first image that caught our eyes was a large stone block, below which was a stone plaque, inscribed: National Treasure of King Le Thai To's stele, "Year: 1431". To the right of the stele is a stone plaque printed with a translation of the meaning and the poem.
Mr. Lo Van By, the Management Board of King Le Thai To Temple, told us that the stele was written in Chinese characters consisting of 132 characters, carved in a rectangular frame measuring 1.2m x 0.8m. In December of the year Tan Hoi - 1431, King Le Thai To had it carved into the Pu Huoi Cho cliff on the North bank of the Da River to preserve for future generations, and was called "Ancient Hoai Lai Stele" in history books. In 2005, the Son La - Lai Chau Hydroelectric Plant started construction, so the inscription of King Le Thai To's stele was moved out of the Pu Huoi Cho cliff into a large stone block measuring 2.62m long, 1.13m wide, 1.85m high, and weighing over 15 tons. After the inscription was drilled out of the Pu Huoi Cho cliff, in 2012, the Le Loi stele was moved to the temple grounds of King Le Thai To, 500 meters away from its original location. The Le Loi stele relic in Le Loi commune and Pu Dao commune, Nam Nhun district, Lai Chau province was recognized as a national historical relic according to Decision 10/VH-QD, dated September 2, 1981, in the list No. 185 of the Ministry of Culture on ranking the national relic of Le Thai To stele and in 2016 was officially recognized as one of the priceless treasures of the country. On March 5, 2018, the People's Committee of Nam Nhun district, Lai Chau province held a ceremony to announce the decision to recognize the Le Thai To stele as a national treasure and receive the National Historical Relic Ranking Certificate for this memorial site.
According to Mr. Lo Van By, after the research process, scientists, historians, and culturalists all have the same opinion, affirming that the Le Thai To stele (Le Loi commune, Nam Nhun district, Lai Chau province) is a unique original artifact, completely different from the stele inscriptions that have been discovered in our country up to now. The stele not only has great historical value but is also a cultural masterpiece of King Le Thai To in the farthest place of the Fatherland. In it, there are 3 verses: "Our mountains and rivers are on a map/ Engraved on the mountain stone a poem/ The Western region of Vietnam is forever steadfast"... which helps us understand more about the ideological contributions of King Le Thai To, affirming the determination to maintain the border, maintain national independence, and unify the country of the hero of Lam Son land. The transcription and translation of the poem were translated by poet Tran Le Van, collected and supplemented by Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Ta Nhi (Han - Nom Institute).
It is known that the Le Thai To stele was made into 3 versions: One version was placed by Lai Chau province at Le Loi Temple; one version was presented to the Le Thai To Monument in Hanoi and one version was presented to Thanh Hoa province, solemnly placed in the premises of the Lam Kinh Historical Relic Management Board, Tho Xuan district.
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