Old stories of Ca Mau: The district chief is the 'most intelligent man in the land'

Located on a strip of Nguyen Thien Nang Street (An Xuyen Ward, Ca Mau), in addition to Tan Xuyen Communal House, Phat To Pagoda, Ngu Hanh Temple, there is also Ong Than Minh Temple. This is the temple to worship an honest district official who devoted himself to the people.

Suppress the riotous robbery

During the reign of King Minh Mang, Ca Mau land belonged to Long Xuyen district, Ha Tien province, there was a district governor named Nguyen Van Nang, later generations called him Nguyen Thien Nang (some documents recorded him as Nguyen Hien Nang) who was respected and worshiped by the people as "Mr. Minh Than".

The book Dai Nam Thuc Luc Chinh Bien recorded that in the 14th year of Minh Mang (1833), the Qing people (ie Chinese) in Lac Duc town, Long Xuyen district, Ha Tien province, Lam Dai Manh, Lam Nhi, Trinh Dai No, who called themselves first brother, second brother, third brother, gathered several hundred troops to kill the district chief Nguyen Van Nang along with his wife, children and 12 relatives. At the same time, the Qing people in Lac Tan town, Trinh Than Thong and Tran Bien, who called themselves chief and deputy commanders, together with Lam Dai Manh and his gang, formed a gang to rob the innocent people.

Gate of Than Minh Temple - PHOTO: HOANG PHUONG

At that time, the captain of Ha Phu, Nguyen Van Thuy, gathered the porters to suppress the enemy and captured two enemy boats, captured Trinh Than Thong, beheaded Tran Bien and more than 30 pirates. Lam Dai Manh and his group escaped.

King Minh Mang ordered Nguyen Van Thuy to be promoted to Cai doi, Thu pho quan co, and sent by the province to suppress bandits. Afterwards, Lam Dai Manh and more than 20 of his followers were all captured and killed by Ba Thac governor.

The main hall of Than Minh Temple - PHOTO: HOANG PHUONG

Worship the district governor

Folklore has it that District Chief Nguyen Thien Nang was originally from the Central region. He was upright, honest, and diligent, so he was very popular with the people. Since he took office in Long Xuyen District, he has judged many injustices among the people fairly and frankly, causing the tyrants, the corrupt merchants, and the thieves to be afraid and not dare to act recklessly.

At that time, Ca Mau was a bustling market town, attracting many merchants from Singapore, Siam, and Cambodia to do business. There was also a group of Qing people who often took the sea route to bring smuggled goods to Ca Mau. The district chief found out and sent soldiers to patrol and intercept them, confiscating the evidence, so they hated the district chief. The book Geography of Bac Lieu Province (printed in 1926) recorded that whenever the "residents" smugglers were caught, they were severely punished. Therefore, taking advantage of the time when Le Van Khoi was mutinying in Gia Dinh, Phu Liem (later the gang leader) rose up, incited and led a number of people with the surname Quach to organize looting from Ba Thac to Ca Mau.

The grounds of the tomb of Mr. Minh - PHOTO: HOANG PHUONG

Tomb of the God Minh - PHOTO: HOANG PHUONG

Author Nghe Van Luong recorded a folk story in Ca Mau, An Xuyen today , that after the District Chief Nguyen Thien Nang and his wife and children were murdered, his spirit was so sacred that it terrified the group of guests with the surname Quach. In the year Binh Tuat 1889, some Chinese people in the area gathered to discuss building a temple, building a stone tomb right on the land where he was murdered near the Quan Lo river bank and worshiping him as a god with the title "The most intelligent god in the land". From then on, the people with the surname Quach were able to live peacefully and do business prosperously.

In 1938, when the French colonial government started building the Quay Bridge connecting Ca Mau - Bac Lieu, his grave was located near the bridge slope, so later his remains and those of his family were reburied and moved to the land between Phat To Pagoda and Tan Xuyen Communal House (Nguyen Thien Nang Street) today. Author Nghe Van Luong recorded: Because a long time had passed, and there was no coffin at the time of burial, when the grave was opened, people at that time only took a large skull, a few leg bones and a few amber necklaces.

The reburial ceremony was held solemnly, with the presence of village and commune officials and a group of soldiers. The memorial tablet was temporarily placed in Tan Xuyen communal house, awaiting the day the temple was re-established. In 1963, benefactors contributed labor and money to rebuild the temple, named Nguyen Cong Than Tu.

Tan Xuyen communal house - PHOTO: HOANG PHUONG

The temple is spacious.

Nguyen Cong Than Temple was built in a fairly large area. The three-door gate has a 3-storey dome roof covered with tube tiles and decorated with two dragons fighting for a pearl. In front of the main gate is a screen with a relief of a unicorn. Above are two plaques of Than Minh Temple in Chinese and Vietnamese characters. In particular, the two pillars at the main gate have parallel sentences in Chinese characters that are deciphered from the two words Thien - Nang: "Thien duc long-lasting, majestic and majestic, combining with heaven and earth/Nang tai long-standing, heroic and glorious, changing the past and present".

In front of the main hall is a horizontal plaque with four Chinese characters: Than Minh Chanh Khi. The temple has a martial arts theater, where in the past, opera was often performed to serve the people during festivals. The arrangement of worship in the main hall is similar to that in village communal houses, with altars for the Left and Right Ban, the Former and Later Patriarchs...

Behind the main hall is the tomb of Mr. Than Minh and his family, built separately, separated by a yard, with two entrances. The tomb is very large, built of concrete and tiled. The tombstone is made of stone, engraved with Chinese characters, including: "Long Xuyen district chief, name Thien Nang Nguyen Cong and his family's tomb" and the dates of the renovations and major renovations.

Mr. Huynh Huu Vien, Head of the Board of Trustees, said that the temple and Tan Xuyen communal house share a board of trustees. Every year, on the 6th and 7th of the 7th lunar month, the board of trustees holds a ceremony to worship the God of Minh. On the day Tan Xuyen communal house worships Ky Yen, a similar ceremony is held because the communal house's god's certificate is kept at the temple. (to be continued)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chuyen-xua-tich-cu-xu-ca-mau-tri-huyen-than-minh-nhut-xu-185251201203949055.htm