Tay Ho Palace - a sacred, peaceful and relaxing place

Tay Ho Palace always attracts many tourists to come and worship.

Tay Ho Palace is a place to worship Lord Lieu Hanh - one of the four immortal saints in Vietnamese folk beliefs. The palace is located in the ancient Nghi Tam village, which is like an island jutting out into the vast West Lake, now at 52 Dang Thai Mai Street, Quang An Ward, Tay Ho District - Hanoi City. We came to Tay Ho Palace not on a major holiday or a weekday, so it was not too crowded to the point of having to jostle and worship. Therefore, after the ceremony, we had time to admire the space, architecture, miniature landscape... and study the sacred legend of the palace. Looking at the whole picture, the space exudes solemnity, silence but also extremely poetic. Because Tay Ho Palace stands out with its ancient architecture, imbued with Vietnamese folk culture, creating a quiet and sacred space in the heart of Hanoi. The road to the palace winds along the lake with "sparse willow silk hanging down the curtain". Passing through the gate of the palace, you will see a majestic ancient banyan tree, then two rare large guava trees and an old ficus tree right in front of the Son Trang palace, stretching out their green branches and leaves, and their luxuriant roots hanging down to the lake. The architecture of the palace is meticulously and elaborately designed and decorated. The four doors have the upper part carved with the Four Noble Ones, the lower part carved with the Four Sacred Animals, and the middle carved with peaches. The front is a 2-storey three-door gate, the middle roof has the words "Tay Ho hien tich" which is translated as "Dau de Tay Ho". Next is the Son Trang palace with 2 floors, 8 curved roofs, the upper floor worships Quan Am, the lower floor has 3 Son Trang caves. In addition to the temple and palace, in the campus there is also a guest house, Co tower, Cau tower... The palace is a connected building but divided into three in the shape of the letter "tam".

The worshiping area is arranged in layers: The first layer worships the Three Palaces, the Four Palaces of All Spirits, and the Council of Officials, with three pairs of parallel sentences praising Lord Lieu Hanh. The second layer worships the Jade Emperor, Nam Tao, and Bac Dau, with parallel sentences about the West Lake landscape. The third layer worships the Three Holy Mothers, with a gate with the words "West Lake Wind and Moon" and a pair of parallel sentences praising Lord Lieu Hanh. On the roof of the back door hangs the large words "Mau Nghi Thien Ha", on both sides are wooden parallel sentences. The top layer of the harem is where the statues of Mother Lieu Hanh and the statues of Chau Quynh and Chau Que are placed. Above are the large words "Thien Tien Trac Giang" and "Mau Nghi Thien Ha". The relics in the palace are quite rich with many parallel sentences, gate doors, dragon thrones, tablets, and altars. The rolling doors and gate doors are beautifully carved. In addition, there are various types of umbrellas, canopies, parasols, bronze bells, bronze incense bowls, royal decrees, and 50 large and small statues.

Although there are many altars and precious relics, Tay Ho Palace is officially the temple to worship Mother Lieu Hanh. Legend has it that Lord Lieu Hanh was the daughter of the Jade Emperor, and was banished to the mortal world for breaking a precious jade cup. After traveling all over the lower world, she was attracted by the beauty of West Lake, so she decided to stop here to open a tea shop, compose poems, and enjoy literature in the midst of magical nature. During her stay here, she helped people settle down, found jobs, and eliminated corrupt officials so that people could have a peaceful and happy life. As if by fate, while taking a boat trip through this place, Trang Bung Phung Khac Khoan visited the Fairy Lord's temple. Like-minded, they composed the poem "Tay Ho Ngu Quan" which is still circulated today. No one knows how long the Fairy Lord stayed here, only that when Phung Khac Khoan returned to find her, there was no trace left. To ease his longing, he built a temple to worship his soulmate. The temple was built around the beginning of the 17th century. With such cultural and historical values, in 1996, Tay Ho Palace was ranked as a historical and architectural relic by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Invested, renovated and decorated in accordance with the legend, Tay Ho Palace has become the most sacred, peaceful and relaxing place in Hanoi.

Lam Nguyet (Contributor)

Source: https://baohoabinh.com.vn/276/200961/Phu-Tay-Ho-chon-linh-thieng,-binh-yen-va-thu-thai.htm