The Le Van Huu Temple Festival.
Visiting Thieu Trung today, one can feel the renewed vitality in this land rich in tradition. It boasts an ancient village with a history spanning over 1,000 years. It is also the cradle that nurtured many renowned scholars, contributing to the glorious history of the nation. Prominent among them is historian Le Van Huu, considered the founder of Vietnamese historiography.
Not only is Thieu Trung known as a land of scholarly achievements, but it is also the cradle of traditional bronze casting. This craft has existed for hundreds of years, becoming a source of pride for many generations. The exquisite products not only serve daily life but are also present in major cultural and religious structures throughout the country. This is also a land rich in revolutionary traditions; during the resistance war against the US, it served as a working and command bunker for the Standing Committee of the Thanh Hoa Provincial Administrative Committee from 1964-1972, and the headquarters of the Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee from 1967-1973, making a significant contribution to the overall victory of the nation.
Currently, Thieu Trung commune has 5 classified historical sites, including 2 national-level sites: the temple dedicated to historian Le Van Huu - Huong Nghiem Pagoda and the Tra Dong Temple (dedicated to the founder of the bronze casting craft), and 3 provincial-level sites. In addition, traditional festivals are still maintained, including the Le Van Huu Temple festival and the village's tutelary deity festival, providing an opportunity for the people to express their gratitude and uphold the principle of remembering their roots. Particularly, on the anniversary of the founder of the bronze casting craft, people still visit the Tra Dong Temple to offer incense, commemorate the merits of the founder, and reaffirm their determination to continue, preserve, and develop the traditional craft village.
One of Thieu Trung's greatest sources of pride is its traditional handcrafted bronze casting, recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2018. The commune currently boasts eight People's Artisans and Outstanding Artisans who have dedicated themselves to preserving the craft. Many bronze casting products from the village have been recognized as OCOP (One Commune One Product) products, including those achieving 4-star ratings such as the Bay Tuyen bronze drum, the bronze painting of carp gazing at the moon, the Toan Linh bronze drum, and the Quy Chau bronze drum. These products not only affirm the value of traditional culture but are also gradually conquering the market, becoming commodities associated with the local brand.
These precious cultural values have formed the foundation for Thieu Trung to develop cultural tourism. In recent years, the locality has welcomed many tourist groups to visit historical sites, traditional craft villages, and learn about bronze casting. This is an opportunity to promote the image of the locality, while linking economic development with culture, and gradually improving the lives of the people.
Alongside preserving and promoting heritage values, Thieu Trung commune also focuses on building a vibrant cultural life at the grassroots level. Cultural, folk art, and sports clubs in the villages are active, becoming places to preserve and promote traditional values, nurture the spirit, and contribute to spreading a civilized lifestyle. Currently, all 34 villages in the commune have performing arts groups and sports clubs that maintain regular activities, creating a competitive spirit and fostering community cohesion. The system of cultural and sports facilities in the area has been comprehensively invested in, becoming a center for political and cultural activities for the people, affirming the role of culture as a solid spiritual foundation for development.
According to Tran Ngoc Tung, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Thieu Trung commune, in the context of new development, the commune focuses on propaganda work and raising people's awareness in preserving and promoting cultural values and building a civilized, modern, and professional locality to meet the requirements of tourism development. This includes focusing on promoting the importance of traditional culture and the advantages of the locality to create consensus and work together to build a brand. Regarding traditional crafts, the locality guides those involved to improve their awareness of protecting reputation and brand, affixing product labels, and aiming for 100% of bronze casting production facilities to have products certified under the OCOP program.
Alongside this, Thieu Trung is also stepping up efforts to inventory, classify, and assess the current state of historical relics, mobilizing resources for restoration and preservation, and promoting heritage values in conjunction with tourism development. The locality focuses on diversifying tourism products, combining visits to historical sites, experiencing traditional crafts, and learning about traditional culture. This approach simultaneously preserves heritage, develops tourism, promotes the land and people of Thieu Trung, and affirms the "brand" of Thieu Trung on the cultural and tourism map.
With its rich heritage and renewed vitality, Thieu Trung commune is gradually developing its cultural resources effectively; making culture a unifying force for the community, a "soft power" to help the locality realize its goals of comprehensive and sustainable development.
Text and photos: Thùy Linh
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/thieu-trung-phat-huy-suc-manh-mem-259652.htm
Comment (0)