Visit Hai Thuong Lan Ong relic site in Ha Tinh

The Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac relic complex in Huong Son district ( Ha Tinh ) is a place that preserves the cultural and historical values ​​of the great physician.

The complex of Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac relics includes the tomb and monument in Hai Thuong village (Son Trung commune); the church and memorial area in Bao Thuong village (Quang Diem commune). The tomb and monument area covers an area of ^{​​45,000m2} with 48 items, including: Hai Thuong Lan Ong stone tomb; the communal house; the reception house; the garden; the 629m long stone-paved road to the monument with 231 steps, 51 landing systems; Le Huu Trac marble monument; a monolithic marble screen weighing 17 tons; a guest house; a festival yard...

Le Huu Trac's pen name was Hai Thuong Lan Ong, when he was young he was also known as "young master Bay". He was born on November 12, Giap Thin year (1724) in his father's hometown, Van Xa village, Lieu Xa village, Duong Hao district, Thuong Hong prefecture, Hai Duong town (now Lieu Xa commune, Yen My district, Hung Yen province). He died on the full moon day of January, Tan Hoi year (1791) in his mother's hometown, Bau Thuong village, Tinh Diem commune, Huu Bang canton (now Quang Diem commune, Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province).

The tomb is the resting place of the famous physician Le Huu Trac, located at the foot of Minh Tu Mountain (Son Trung Commune) since his death. Although it has been renovated and embellished several times, the location, direction, and appearance of the tomb have not changed. If viewed from above, the tomb looks like a kite lying in the middle of the vast, peaceful, and quiet mountains and forests.

Folklore says that during his lifetime, Le Huu Trac had a hobby of flying kites. At the end of his life, when he realized that he would not survive, he told his children and grandchildren to fly a kite and bury him in the area where the kite fell. The location where the kite fell is now his grave.

The tomb is located in an area near the foot of a mountain with a slope of 30 degrees, the head facing the highest peak of the Minh Tu mountain range, the foot pointing straight to the Truong Son mountain range. In front of this place is the Ngan Pho river, a charming landscape, with "pine trees rustling and wind singing" all year round. 0.6m southwest of the foot of the tomb, there is a small bamboo clump planted, both to make it easier for visitors or descendants to find, and to show the upright and noble temperament of Le Huu Trac.

The annual rituals to commemorate the great physician Le Huu Trac usually take place on two occasions: Buddha's birthday and Le Huu Trac's death anniversary. These activities take place at the tomb, Le Huu Trac's church and Tuong Son pagoda (Son Giang commune, Huong Son).

Located in the cemetery grounds is a statue of Le Huu Trac. The statue is made of marble, 16.91m high, and weighs 350 tons. The statue is located on Minh Tu mountain, a place associated with Hai Thuong Lan Ong's life of practicing medicine and enjoying the scenery of Huong Son mountains and forests.

7km west of the cemetery is the church and memorial site of Le Huu Trac in Bao Thuong village, Quang Diem commune, located close to the banks of the Ngan Pho river. In the past, this was a remote place but had a charming landscape, people lived together in harmony in thatched houses.

This area has a construction area of ^{​​13,500m2} with 18 construction items including: Hai Thuong Lan Ong church; reception house; ceremony yard; stele house; peach garden, fruit garden...

Le Huu Trac Church (the main shrine in the memorial area) is where Le Huu Trac spent most of his life. This is also where he lived, rested, and prescribed medicine to treat and save people.

In the church and memorial area, there is also Gia Mountain and Lotus Lake. Gia Mountain is built about 10 meters high, about 240 meters wide, the semicircular Lotus Lake hugs the foot of the mountain in the Northwest. Gia Mountain and Lotus Lake are where Le Huu Trac used to observe the wind direction, to take the pulse to treat diseases and to store and preserve precious medicines in case of natural disasters and floods. Also on the top of Gia Mountain, Hai Thuong Lan Ong let his descendants fly kites and instructed him to bury him wherever the kites fell.

The Hai Thuong Lan Ong church and memorial site are preserving a number of restored documents and artifacts such as: medical preparation tools, flutes, copies of the Hai Thuong Lan Ong Complete Book of Medicine, the books Y Gia Tam Linh, Hai Thuong Y Tong Tam Linh...

The stele engraved with the biography, career and medical ethics of the great physician Le Huu Trac is located within the church grounds.

The relic complex of the famous physician Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac was ranked as a national historical and cultural relic in 1990. In 2003, the Ministry of Health approved the project to restore and embellish the relic complex and assigned the Le Huu Trac National Burn Institute as the investor. The project started in October 2004 and was completed in February 2013 and handed over to the People's Committee of Huong Son district for management and exploitation.

Tuong Son Pagoda in village 1, Son Giang commune (Huong Son) is also a place associated with Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac. The pagoda was built during the Later Le dynasty, Le Du Tong dynasty (early 18th century), by the great physician's maternal grandmother, Mrs. Dang Phung Hau - wife of the Left Governor, Deputy Governor, Bui Tuong Cong.

The pagoda was built under the direct guidance of two brothers Le Huu Trac and Le Huu Tan with the purpose of cultivating the mind, worshiping Buddha and worshiping the ancestors of the Bui and Le Huu families. During the years 1760 - 1786, Hai Thuong Lan Ong spent most of his time at the pagoda, opening a medical clinic to treat people and completing works such as: Hai Thuong Y Tong Tam Linh (including 28 volumes, 66 books), Y Trung Quan Kien, Y Hai Cau Nguyen, Thuong Kinh Ky Su, Van Khi Bi Dien and many other works.

With its historical, cultural and artistic values, in 1994, Tuong Son Pagoda was recognized as a national historical and cultural relic. In 2010, Le Huu Trac National Burn Institute invested in renovating Tuong Son Pagoda, which was completed in 2013.

On November 30, 2022, Ha Tinh Provincial Party Committee issued Plan No. 127-KH/TU dated November 30, 2022 on Organizing activities to celebrate major holidays and important historical events of the country and the province in the 3 years 2023 - 2025, including the content of commemorating the 300th anniversary of the birth of Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac (1724 - 1791) in 2024.

Currently, Ha Tinh province has deployed the preparation of a scientific dossier to submit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam to submit to UNESCO to honor Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac. The dossier has received high consensus from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. In November 2022, the dossier was submitted by the Vietnamese State to the UNESCO Committee and received consensus and support from 4 countries: Japan, Korea, Thailand and India.

Along with that, the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province has also directed specialized agencies to prepare a dossier to propose the Prime Minister to rank the Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac Relic Site as a special national relic, thereby creating a basis for preserving and promoting the value of this relic site.

Dinh Nhat - Anh Thuy

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/ve-ha-tinh/tham-khu-di-tich-hai-thuong-lan-ong-tai-ha-tinh/250333.htm