BOC PAGOD

On the busy commercial street of Dong Da district, there is a relic that used to be a fierce battlefield, burying 29,000 Man Thanh invaders on the 5th of the Year of the Rooster (1789) in Dong Da battle, the history of the Tay Son insurgent, which is Boc pagoda, whose name is "Sung Phuc Pagoda" or "Thien Phuc Pagoda". The temple is located at number 25 Chua Boc Street, Quang Trung Ward, Dong Da District, Hanoi City. The pagoda was originally built to worship Buddha, but because it is located in Dong Da mound battlefield, the temple also worships both King Quang Trung and the ghosts of the Thanh soldiers who died in the past. The name "Boc" implies that this is the battlefield for exposing soldiers’ body of Man Thanh invaders in 1789.

Legend has it that the pagoda was started very early with the name "Sung Phuc Pagoda". By the middle of the 17th century, the pagoda was spaciously renovated. This remodeling was recorded in the "Restoration of Sung Phuc Pagoda" stele, the original Vinh Tri period (1676). In the 7th year of Chinh Hoa (1686), the Buddha statues and bronze bells were remoulded. At the end of the 18th century, in the historic Dong Da battle, the pagoda was ruined and abandoned. In the fourth year of Quang Trung period (1792), it was remodeled and changed its name to "Thien Phuc Pagoda". The stele "Reconstructing Sung Phuc Pagoda and Buddha statues" erected in January of the Year of the Rat - the fourth Quang Trung reign (1792) shows that the pagoda was built and a Buddha statue was rebuilt and repaired by a Zen monk Thong Le Dinh Luong, named Duc Truong and the priest Vu Viet Hoa and the people of Khuong Thuong camp.

In the 19th century, the pagoda continued to be restored with the carved steles, carved statues, becoming more spacious and more complete. At present, Boc pagoda has a superficial architectural scale compared to many other pagodas in the region. From outside, it must be passed through two layers of Tam Quan gate, an elephant bathing area and a large brick yard to Tien Duong, Thuong Dien, Ancestral Area, Corridor, Guest House, Tower Garden and Thanh Mieu.

The main pagoda is made of "Dinh" style including Tien Duong and Thuong Dien. Tien Duong Building has a superficial scale, including 9 compartments, built a wall with “raising the side wall to the gable” style, two roofs with shoe-tip tile, a big sun in the middle of the roof, Makara with twisted tail flanking into the middle of the roof are made at two gables. There were two large copper pillars in front of the gables, with four phoenixes stomping their tails together in a zig-zag style on the top, the pagoda cage is decorated with four holy animals and four noble trees. The body of the pillar are embossed with parallel sentences complementing the beautiful scenery of the monument, the base of the column is narrowed at the center.

The frame made of wood consists of sets of the stacked structure creating traditional patterns such as: Flip leaves, vivid Chinese seal script.

Within the pagoda grounds, there is still a small temple - called Thanh Mieu - which is the place to worship Thanh army’s ghosts who died in the battle of Dong Da in the past; built in the form of "Dinh", including Tien Te and Hau Cung. The pagoda also has a garden of 5 towers built with bricks, plastered, with a square section, consisting of 3 layers overlapping each other. This is the resting place of passed away abbot monks. The towers date back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Like many existing ancient Vietnamese pagodas in the Northern Delta, Boc pagoda still retains a full range of beautiful, delicate and highly sculptured statues, with high sculptural and artistic values. Typical: The Three Buddha statues are made quite sophisticatedly by jack-wood; In addition, there are also Shakyamuni statue sitting cross-legged with the Bodhisattva, the statue of Maitreyan and the two Arhat, the statues of Cua Long and Nam Tao - Bac Dau, the statues of the Ten Kings of Netherworld , the statue of Monsignor – Tang God, Khuyen Thien – Trung Ac, Ancestor statue, Mother goddess statue ... with a balanced layout, soft lines, flexibility, reflecting the steps of art history through each period. These statues mostly date to around the 19th-20th century.

It is worth noting that the statue of Monsignor in the pagoda is said to be the statue of Emperor Quang Trung, because there is a 4-word horizontal lacquered board "great majesty" above the altar, a distich below:

The gate has no underworld vibe, the great mountain is still great

Quang Trung becomes Buddha, small natural world changes to wind and cloud

Provisional translation:

The cave gate is dust-free, with its pillar still standing in the middle of a vast mountain

Kindness transformed into Buddha, the cloud and the wind change all the underworld.

Boc Pagoda is a valuable historical and cultural heritage of Hanoi capital.

The value of the pagoda implies historical value, artistic architecture value, landscape - space value, relics value, festival value and intrinsic values ​​... that make the monument become Sight and contemplation of tourists from every cross coming to Thang Long Hanoi.

Every year, on the 5th day of the lunar new year, along with the festival at Dong Da mound, they also commemorate Quang Trung King at Boc pagoda and pray for the souls of the Thanh soldiers who died in Thanh Mieu, bringing the merciful, humane spirit of our people toward the defeated invaders, at the same time reminding the present generations to appreciate the values ​​of peace. Boc Pagoda was recognized as a national historical monument on January 13th, 1964.