After several reconstructions and renovations, in 1926, Thai Vi Temple was rebuilt in stone in the "Inner courtyard, outer country" style (the outside in the shape of the Chinese character "Quoc" (country), the inside in the shape of the Chinese character "Cong" (work)), and a pair of stone horses were erected in front of the stone ceremonial gate.
What's special is that the temple is built on land that resembles Dragon's Head promontory. Behind the temple is the Cam Son mountain range: "Jade Well in front, Cam Son behind," auspicious feng shui, as there is a jade well built of green stone in front of the temple and a mountain range behind it.
What's unique is that outside the stone gate of the temple, on either side, there are two pairs of horses made of solid green stone, standing guard. These are ancient stone horses, erected in 1926, approximately 100 years ago.
The ancient stone horse on the right (facing the temple) is 1.63 meters tall from foot to head, 1.79 meters long from head to tail, and 0.43 meters wide. This stone horse is placed on a 0.15-meter-thick stone base.
The stone horse on the left is also 1.63 meters high, 1.67 meters long, and 0.43 meters wide, placed on a stone base 0.14 meters thick.
The two stone horses are carved in the exact likeness of warhorses, ready for battle. The horses' heads have eyes, noses, and ears; their tails hang down, and their breastplates draped over their backs and hanging down on either side are intricately carved with elaborate patterns and designs.
Surprisingly, from a massive, rough block of stone, the hands of ancient craftsmen sculpted it into two perfect, exquisite, and remarkably lifelike stone horses. Even after about 100 years, the rain and sun have not diminished the majestic appearance of the stone horses.
Looking at the two ancient stone horses standing in reverence, we are reminded of two famous lines of poetry by King Tran Nhan Tong:
"The nation has twice toiled like a stone horse."
"The mountains and rivers of ancient times, the golden palace"
Translation:
"The nation has been invaded twice, making even a stone horse struggle to survive. From now on, the land will be secure for eternity, like a bronze vessel that will never be broken."
Translate the poem:
"The nation has twice faced the wrath of the horse and the weasel."
"The nation's land will remain secure for a thousand years."
These are two verses that King Tran Nhan Tong recited on April 14, 1288 (Mau Ty year) during the victory ceremony at Chieu Lang (the tomb of King Tran Thai Tong) in Hung Yen province. He noticed that the hooves of the stone horses guarding the tomb were covered in mud. This was because the Yuan-Mongol army had previously raided the area and dug up Chieu Lang intending to destroy it, but hadn't had the chance to do so.
Perhaps before 1288, in Hung Yen province, people had already carved stone horses in the Chieu Lang area. Therefore, the people of Ninh Binh also carved a pair of stone horses in front of the ceremonial gate of the Thai Vi stone temple to preserve the image of the stone horses at Chieu Lang, and to affirm the victory of our army and people during the Tran dynasty in driving the Yuan-Mongol army out of the country.
2026 is the year of the Fire Horse - the year of the horse will forever remain a symbol of "the mountains and rivers of the ancient golden palace."
Source: https://baoninhbinh.org.vn/doi-ngua-da-co-o-den-thai-vi-co-cach-ngay-nay-khoang-100-nam-251118092656581.html
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