National Monument of Nguyen Huynh Duc Tomb and Temple

Nguyen Huynh Duc's tomb and temple (located in Khanh Hau ward, Tan An city, old Long An province; now Khanh Hau ward, Tay Ninh province) was recognized as a National Artistic Relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) in 1993. The relic preserves the architectural art of the early Nguyen Dynasty tomb along with many ancient artifacts related to the life and career of one of the people who contributed to the reclamation of Cai En mound.

Inside the Tomb and Temple of Nguyen Huynh Duc.

A few words about Nguyen Huynh Duc's life

Nguyen Huynh Duc was born on January 14, Mau Thin year (1748) in Truong Khanh village, Kien Hung district, Dinh Tuong town, now Khanh Hau ward, Tay Ninh province. His family name was Huynh, his real name was Huynh Cong Duc, some documents recorded it as Huynh Tuong Duc, belonging to a family of mandarins for many generations. His paternal grandfather and father were Mr. Huynh Cong Chau and Mr. Huynh Cong Luong, both were military generals of Lord Nguyen, holding the position of Cai doi thuy quan. In 1731, his father went to the South and stayed to make a living in Giong Cai En and gave birth to him here.

In his youth, he mainly reclaimed land in Cai En sloping land in Ba Giong area (Go Yen, Go Ky Lan, Go Qua Qua) - a sloping system stretching from Tan An city, Long An province to Cai Be district, old Tien Giang province. In the year Canh Ty (1780), Lord Nguyen Phuc Anh fled to the South, to Gia Dinh citadel and Nguyen Huynh Duc was present in the army from Ba Giong to Gia Dinh to assist Lord Nguyen Phuc Anh. At that time, he was 33 years old.

After Lord Nguyen Phuc Anh ascended the throne and took the reign name Gia Long, Mr. Nguyen Huynh Duc was assigned many important responsibilities, including three times serving as Governor in the three regions of the North, Central and South. In the year of Nham Tuat (1802), he held the position of Governor of Binh Dinh citadel. In the year of Canh Ngo (1810), he went to the North to take up the position of Governor of the North Citadel. In the year of At Hoi (1815), he was again appointed by King Gia Long as Governor of Gia Dinh citadel. In 1817, seeing himself old and weak, Mr. Nguyen Huynh Duc submitted a petition to the King asking him to retire in his homeland. Here, he had a tomb built and the old house of his ancestors renovated to serve as a temple. He died on the ninth day of the ninth month of the 18th year of Gia Long (1819), at the age of 72 (1).

Every year on the 7th, 8th and 9th of the 9th lunar month, the people of the area gather with their families to hold a solemn ceremony to worship him. This tradition has been continued since 1819 until now.

Tombs and temples

The area of ​​Nguyen Huynh Duc mausoleum is about 3,000m2, limited by a fence, with a triple gate opening to the East, on the gate is embossed the words Tien Quan Phu. Nguyen Huynh Duc mausoleum was built in 1817 (before his death) with laterite and mortar, oriented North - South. The mausoleum was built in the ancient style, strictly symmetrical, with a rectangular wall 35m long, 19m wide, 1.2m high, 0.4m thick surrounding it.

Blocking the entrance to the tomb in the North is a 3m high laterite screen with embossed plum and deer patterns. From the screen, there is a 17m long path leading to the main part of the tomb, including the citadel, pillars, two screens and tombstones. On the two screens, there is an engraved Longevity section composed by the Deputy Governor of Gia Dinh citadel, Trinh Hoai Duc. The entire tomb is decorated with dragon, flower, leaf, sun, cloud, lotus and many Chinese parallel sentences. The highlight of the tomb is a 1.56m high, 0.95m wide stone stele brought from Hue . The stele has Chinese characters: Viet Co Kham Sai Gia Dinh citadel Governor, Chief of the Vanguard Army, presented to Thoi Trung Duc Van, meritorious mandarin, general of the country, pillar of the country, and deputy of the Nguyen Huynh Quan Cong. Behind the stele is the burial place of Mr. Nguyen Huynh Duc with a rectangular tomb, 3.4m long, 2.7m wide, 0.3m high. Around the tomb are ancient frangipani trees. In general, Nguyen Huynh Duc's tomb was built in the early Nguyen Dynasty architectural style: simple but majestic.

20m south of the tomb is his temple. From 1819 to 1959, the Nguyen Huynh family worshiped him in an old house built by King Gia Long about 500m from the tomb. In 1959, for convenience of worship, the family built this new temple in the style of four pillars, 2 roofs, wooden doors facing the East. Right behind the main door of the temple is a red-lacquered and gilded altar, carved with dragons, phoenixes, flowers and leaves, above is a portrait of Mr. Nguyen Huynh Duc painted in 1802. Behind the altar is a set of wooden planks 3.4m long, 1.8m wide, 0.14m thick, more than 300 years old, which were his relics when he was alive. Inside is the main altar with a gong placed on the altar and a red-lacquered box containing 8 copies of royal decrees, edicts, decrees, and royal decrees of the Gia Long, Minh Mang, and Tu Duc dynasties bestowing upon him.

Inside the temple, there are also 3 sets of umbrellas, parasols and 4 pairs of parallel sentences praising his career, bestowed by King Gia Long. In addition, ancient artifacts dating from the 18th and 19th centuries are also preserved in the temple, such as: the bronze decree of King Gia Long, given in the year of Ky Mao (1819), the Van Ly Danh horizontal plaque of King Tu Duc, given in the year of Giap Dan (1854)... Behind the temple is the main hall covered with blue glazed tiles, built by the family in 2000 according to the drawings of architect Nguyen Ba Lang, former Director of the Saigon Institute of Archaeology.

Previously, in 1972, the family built two large gates at both ends of the circular road leading to the mausoleum with the same design in the traditional three-entrance gate style. On the gate are the words Tien Quan Phu and Lang Nguyen Huynh Duc in bronze. Seen from afar, the mausoleum gate exudes a majestic and imposing appearance (2).

With his contributions in the exploitation of Cai En mound and its historical, architectural and artistic values, Nguyen Huynh Duc's Tomb and Temple were recognized as a National Artistic Relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) under Decision No. 534-QD/BT dated May 11, 1993.

Tran Kieu Quang

(1) Nguyen Ngoc Quang (2017), “Nguyen Huynh Duc (1748-1819)”, in the book "Some historical figures of the Southern land", Hong Duc Publishing House, pp. 139-141.

(2) Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Long An province (2021), "National relics in Long An province", Thanh Nien Publishing House, pp. 192-195.

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/di-tich-quoc-gia-lang-mo-va-den-tho-nguyen-huynh-duc-a192947.html