Con Son - Kiep Bac: The place where the quintessence of heaven and earth converges, famous in Hai Duong

Nestled among the mountains and forests, Con Son Kiep Bac has long attracted tourists with its majestic and magnificent natural beauty and its solemn and ancient historical relics. The Con Son - Kiep Bac national relic site includes a complex of historical relics related to the glorious victories of the three times the Tran Dynasty army and people defeated the Yuan-Mongol invaders in the 13th century and the 10-year resistance war of the Lam Son army against the Ming army in the 15th century. This is the place associated with the life and career of national heroes Nguyen Trai, Tran Hung Dao and many cultural celebrities of the nation: Tran Nguyen Dan, Phap Loa, Huyen Quang... The highlights of this relic site are Con Son Pagoda and Kiep Bac Temple.

Con Son Kiep Bac complex bears a strong historical mark of our nation.

According to the stele at the relic, Kiep Bac Temple was built by King Tran Thanh Tong after Hung Dao Dai Vuong passed away in 1300 to commemorate Hung Dao Vuong's great merit in eliminating evil enemies and preventing great disasters for the country; now the Temple is a place to worship Hung Dao Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan.

The temple is located in the center of Kiep Bac valley, on a land area of about 13,500 m2. In the Kiep Bac temple area is a fertile valley surrounded by Dragon mountain range on three sides, and Luc Dau Giang on one side. The highlight of the temple is the gate with 3 large, majestic and ancient doors. Inside is the Jade Well with the legend of never running out of water, to the north is the Money Cave - where the treasury for the resistance war was hidden in the past.

Leaders and staff of Lai Chau Newspaper and Thua Thien Hue Newspaper visited and listened to an introduction to Con Son Pagoda.

Every year in the 8th lunar month, Kiep Bac Temple organizes the Autumn Festival to commemorate the death anniversary of Saint Tran Hung Dao Dai Vuong, which is one of the most important festivals of the year. In particular, the Hau Thanh performance (spirit mediumship, hau dong) is a typical ritual to honor the merits and virtues of Saint Tran in the struggle to protect the country as well as the cause of building and developing Vietnamese religion (Dao Noi).

In particular, the annual Seal Opening and Seal Offering Ceremony of Kiep Bac Temple is as crowded as the Seal Opening Ceremony of Tran Temple ( Nam Dinh ). Currently, Kiep Bac Temple still preserves 4 bronze seals of Duc Thanh including: Tran Trieu Hung Dao Dai Vuong Chi An, Quoc Phap Dai Vuong, Van Duoc Linh Phu and Phi Thien Than Kiem Linh Phu.

The Kiep Bac Temple Seals are national treasures, associated with the cultural and spiritual life of the people for over 7 centuries. The granting of seals is one of the sacred and important rituals, contributing to enriching and diversifying cultural activities at the Con Son - Kiep Bac Special National Relic Site.

Gate of Kiep Bac Temple.

If Kiep Bac Temple reminds of Tran Hung Dao's career of fighting the Yuan-Mongol invaders, the Con Son historical relic site is known as the Buddhist center of the Truc Lam Zen sect associated with the Three Patriarchs: the First Patriarch - Emperor Tran Nhan Tong, the Second Patriarch - Phap Loa Ton Gia and the Third Patriarch Huyen Quang Ton Gia, in which the Third Patriarch - Huyen Quang Ton Gia was the one who directly came to Con Son pagoda to preside over and passed away here. The Three Patriarchs all contributed to opening up, building the landscape and developing Con Son into a Buddhist center during the Tran Dynasty, making Con Son a symbol of Vietnamese Buddhist ideology.

Currently, Con Son Pagoda still preserves 16 steles, the oldest of which is from the reign of King Tran Due Tong and this stele was recognized as a national treasure in 2015; 12 steles from the Le Dynasty from the early 17th century to the late 18th century and 3 steles from the Nguyen Dynasty. All of these steles show the cultural values of the Con Son relic site. Kings and lords all considered Con Son a pilgrimage site, turning this place into a national ceremony to pray for national peace and prosperity, good crops and good harvests.

In the middle of the first lunar month every year, Con Son Pagoda will hold the Spring Festival to commemorate the passing of the third patriarch of the Truc Lam Zen sect, Venerable Huyen Quang. He was a talented intellectual but gave up his official career and decided to practice Buddhism. Huyen Quang, along with the Buddhist Emperor Tran Nhan Tong and Phap Loa, traveled to many places to propagate Buddhism and became the third patriarch of the Truc Lam Zen sect. In his later years, he returned to preside over Con Son Pagoda, renovating and expanding the pagoda with many famous architectural works, making Con Son a famous landscape, a great pine forest, one of the centers of the Truc Lam Zen sect of Buddhism.

In addition to its historical and cultural values, the Con Son - Kiep Bac relic site is also a land of unique natural landscapes. Kiep Bac has the majestic Tran Rong mountain range overlooking the entire Luc Dau river, with beautiful landscapes. Thanks to that, Con Son - Kiep Bac is a famous spiritual destination, known not only in Hai Duong province but also throughout the country. Every year, these places welcome thousands of tourists to visit, burn incense, pray for luck and fortune.

Source: https://baolaichau.vn/van-hoa/con-son-kiep-bac-noi-hoi-tu-tinh-hoa-dat-troi-noi-tieng-hai-duong-661600