Witnesses of history

I went to Thien Co Temple, Huong Lan village, Trung Vuong commune, Viet Tri city on a hot afternoon. Under the cool green canopy of a 2,300-year-old yellow flower tree, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Luan (the caretaker of Thien Co Temple) slowly told about the two "old tau" associated with the sacred temple.

According to the genealogy, during the reign of the 18th Hung King, under the reign of Hung Due Vuong, there was a couple of teachers Vu The Lang and Nguyen Thi Thuc who opened a class in the capital of Van Lang. They were invited by King Hung to the palace to teach Princess Tien Dung and Ngoc Hoa. The two princesses were taught to read and write by Mr. Vu The Lang and his wife, and became virtuous and talented princesses. When the teachers suddenly passed away, the local people buried them and built a temple in the village. The two white-flowered tau (silver tree) and yellow-flowered tau (golden tree) trees were planted by the ancients at that time and have survived until today.

The respect and affection of the local people for the two "old tau" trees are clearly shown on the stele erected in the temple: "Nearly 2,300 years have passed, through the upheavals of war, the people of Huong Lan and Lau Thuong have always cared for them and, when necessary, are ready to sacrifice their lives to preserve the intact Communal House, Temple, Tomb, and two precious tau trees - precious relics of the Hung King era's education". On May 28, 2012, the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment recognized the two tau trees as Heritage Trees, and also the oldest Heritage Trees in Vietnam.

Following Mr. Hap, I went to Thien Sinh Ba Nhan Pagoda - where there is a row of ancient frangipani trees over 700 years old. Legend has it that this row of trees appeared in the early 14th century (Tran Dynasty). The row of ancient frangipani trees originally had 7 trees, but over time, unfortunately, 2 trees died, now there are 5 trees still standing tall and majestic. Each tree is up to 10m high, the trunk is rough and knobby, but the branches and leaves are green, the flowers are very abundant, spreading a pure fragrance throughout the space that is rarely found anywhere else.

Strangely, the “old god” gives two types of fruit on the same branch, which are round fruit and flat fruit, round fruit with seeds, flat fruit without seeds. When standing under the tree, looking to the southwest, at the height of a person’s head, you will see the image of a mother elephant and her baby elephant in an embrace with the affectionate gesture of motherly love, bowing their heads respectfully to the sacred North Temple. With its age and profound spiritual meaning, the “old god” was recognized as a Heritage Tree on May 10, 2012, in the joy and honor of the villagers.

Up to now, Phu Tho has had 87 recognized Heritage Trees, many of which have long lifespans, beautiful tree shapes, and are associated with old stories and legends with mysterious colors. A typical example is the "Two Great Trees" over 500 years old, including a banyan tree and a sanh tree located in the relic complex of the Son Cuong village's Mau temple in Cam Khe town, Cam Khe district, which witnessed the historic August Revolution, protecting the temple where the Son Cuong Party cell and the No Luc cell held meetings and made decisions to lead the People's Resistance, or the thousand-year-old Cho Chi pair in Coi village, Xuan Son commune, Tan Son district, associated with the touching love story of an orphaned Dao boy and a girl who was the daughter of the Muong clan leader.

In fact, in addition to historical and cultural values, Heritage Trees are also of special importance in the conservation of genetic resources. Heritage Trees dating back hundreds and thousands of years show good adaptability to regional climate conditions, ecosystems, climate change, as well as negative human impacts. This is a very rare genetic resource for scientific research. In fact, it is entirely possible to propagate gene combinations to create strains of organisms with the ability to resist pests and diseases, grow, develop and provide outstanding economic value.

Regardless of the time, the Heritage Tree population still has very special meanings. Preserving this population is also a practical action to preserve for the future a "treasure" of immeasurable value. However, the work of preserving and protecting Heritage Trees is still an "unsolved problem", requiring the consensus and joint efforts of the whole society to maintain the precious "green gold".

Thanh AN

Source: https://baophutho.vn/cay-thieng-tren-dat-coi-nguon-ky-i-nhung-nhan-chung-cua-lich-su-219798.htm