Quan Thanh De Quan Festival - The beauty of spiritual culture in Hoi An

VHO - From early morning on July 18 (June 24th of the lunar calendar), people and tourists have been bustling in Hoi An and Da Nang city to attend the Quan Thanh De Quan festival. In particular, the flower float parade, lion, lion and dragon performances on the festival are eagerly awaited by many tourists.

Quan Thanh De Quan's birthday ceremony is held on the 24th day of the 6th lunar month every year at Quan Cong Temple - Hoi An

Quan Thanh De Quan Festival (also known as Quan Cong Festival) is held on the 24th day of the 6th lunar month every year at Quan Cong Temple relic, No. 24, Tran Phu Street, Hoi An Ward, Da Nang City (formerly Minh An Ward, Hoi An City, Quang Nam Province).

This is a folk ceremony of the Chinese people in Hoi An and has become an important cultural event in the religious life of the local people.

From early morning on July 18, people and tourists came to Quan Cong temple to participate in the ceremony.

The festival is also an occasion for people everywhere to come and pay their respects to the famous general Guan Yu - a symbol of loyalty, trust, chastity, and righteousness in Chinese culture; a guardian deity in the folk consciousness, blessing business and prosperity.

In Hoi An, in addition to Quan Cong Temple (also known as Ong Pagoda), Quan Thanh De Quan is also worshiped in some assembly halls and in Chinese families in the old town.

The lion dance performance at each festival is always an activity that many tourists eagerly look forward to watching.

This year, the festival takes place on July 18 with ritual activities, incense offering, parades, lion, lion and dragon performances at Quan Cong Temple and Le Loi, Tran Phu and Tran Hung Dao streets.

From 6am, at the Quan Cong Temple relic, the incense burning ceremony began at the Quan Cong statue area. Along with that, there was an incense offering ceremony, practicing Quan Thanh's death anniversary ritual; Phuoc Loc Thien Assembly Hall offered offerings. People and tourists came to attend the incense offering.

Phuoc Loc Thien Assembly Hall, Tu Cau lion and dragon dance troupe parades along the route from Hoi An Museum - Le Loi Street - Le Loi Tran Phu intersection - Tran Phu Street - Quan Cong Temple.

Preparing for the parade of flower floats and lions, dragons and lions on the streets of Hoi An ancient town

From 2023, Hoi An will officially become a member of UNESCO's Global Creative Cities Network in the field of Crafts and Folk Arts.

The annual organization of Quan Thanh De Quan Festival not only demonstrates cultural assimilation and creative application in the lives of Hoi An people, but also clearly demonstrates the international trade and open cultural values of the ancient and modern Hoi An land.

At the 2024 festival, international lion dance associations participated in the performance, once again affirming that the Quan Cong festival of the Hoi An community has been raised to a new level, promoting the expansion of international cultural exchanges, contributing to promoting the beauty of traditional festivals in particular, and Hoi An's cultural heritage in general to domestic and foreign tourists.

Quan Thanh De Quan (Guan Gong, Guan Yu) is a real person from the Three Kingdoms period in China. He had many achievements and was famous for his loyalty, integrity, and virtue, so he was praised by people as "The hero of the Three Kingdoms period has no rival, he is a loyal and perfect sage".

In Vietnam, the dynasties, especially in the early Nguyen Dynasty, also built Quan Cong temples in 23 provinces and cities and issued royal decrees to worship him. The highest title of Quan Thanh was conferred as "Quan Thanh De Quan Ho Quoc Ti Dan Hien Huu Cong Duc Duc Bao Trung Hung Dai Vuong Ton Than".

The main ceremony takes place early in the morning of the 24th day of the 6th lunar month. The offering tray in the middle of the main hall displays a whole roast pig, a tray of sticky rice, a tray of dumplings and many fruits... On the altars of the White Horse, Red Hare, the altars of Confucius and Lord Tien, there are also many fruits and cakes.

In Hoi An, the Quan Cong Temple was built by the Minh Huong and Vietnamese communities before the year of Khanh Duc Quy Ty (1653). For the people of Hoi An, Quan Cong symbolizes the virtues of Loyalty - Trust - Integrity - Righteousness, the pinnacle of human morality.

According to researcher Nguyen Duc Minh - Former Deputy Director of Hoi An Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation Center, Hoi An used to be an urban - commercial port, where trading contracts often took place. To make a pledge in debt and loan transactions, there needed to be a place to swear and make commitments. Legend has it that there were transactions to buy and sell on credit even large cargo ships.

Quan Thanh De Quan in Hoi An is worshiped by the people as a Saint who not only witnesses the word "trust" in business and commercial relations but also punishes those who violate their promises to each other.

Therefore, Quan Cong Temple in Hoi An has the meaning of being an economic court, a place to punish deceitfulness, to enforce social balance, and a place to protect and provide livelihood for everyone. The worship of Quan Thanh has a profound influence on the people of Hoi An.

The image of Quan Cong has been Hoi Anized, becoming a very important belief in community life. When people have faith, they will have everything, faith in beliefs also has the effect of maintaining the balance of human guiding actions to reach Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. This belief has been Hoi Anized, becoming a unique cultural feature of the local people.

In previous historical periods, Quan Cong Temple was taken care of and held ceremonies by the Ngu Huong Minh Huong Commune Council. Since 1997, the Hoi An Center for Cultural Heritage Management and Conservation has directly managed and organized festivals.

Tourists watch the rituals at the ceremony held on the morning of July 18 at the Quan Cong Temple relic.

Nowadays, in Hoi An, the Quan Cong festival at the Quan Cong temple relic, depending on the period and conditions, is organized on a large or small scale, but is always maintained and performed annually by the community and the government.

The festival is not only an occasion to show respect to the righteous saint, but also reflects the cultural exchange of the ancient international trading port of Hoi An; thereby, contributing to the preservation and promotion of folk beliefs, enriching the spiritual life of residents of Hoi An Ancient Town and visitors.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/le-via-quan-thanh-de-quan-net-dep-van-hoa-tam-linh-o-hoi-an-153471.html