NAM DONG PAGODA (CÀN AN TỰ - CAN AN TEMPLE)

Nam Dong Pagoda has the pen name of "Càn An tự", located at 32, Lane 64, Nguyen Luong Bang Street, Nam Dong Ward, Dong Da District, Hanoi City.

According to legend, the pagoda was built in the Year of the Rooster (1141), the second Dai Dinh year in the King Ly Anh Tong Dynasty. During the TheSouthern and Northern Dynasties (1527-1595), the pagoda was devastated by war. Later, with the contributions of the local people and visitors, the pagoda was restored and embellished many times.

The stele named "Càn An tự bi ký" (the inscription of Can An Temple) which was installed in the third Vinh To year (1621) at the pagoda shows that "Previously, during the time of fire and sword, the pagoda was long collapsed for a long time. In the Year of the Mouse (1612), the Sangharaja Nguyen Nhan who had the pen name of Phap Tang, the official name of Duc Thieu and was the head monk of the pagoda mobilized the contributions to rebuild the pagoda”. In this repair, the pagoda was expanded and had more Buddha statues, making the pagoda become magnificent: “Columns and four sides in the corridor are decorated, everywhere has magnificent look and golden statues are places in all compartments etc.”

In the Year of the Ox (1697), the 18th Chinh Hoa year, under the reign of King Le Hy Tong, the pagoda was renovated again. This restoration had rebuilt Main Hall, Three-Door Gate, Bell Tower. Can An Pagoda became the Buddhist center of Thang Long at that time.

To be existed until this day, Can An pagoda has undergone many renovations and embellishments. The current architectural scale is the result of the major restoration in the Nguyen Dynasty and recent years. The current architectural works include: Three-Door Gate, Front Hall, Main Hall, Mother Goddess House, Patriarch house, Tomb Garden and auxiliary items for religious - belief activities at the relic.

The Three-Door Gate of Can An pagoda is a massive structure, consisting of 3 gates built with the arches in the form of a stack of matchboxes with two floors and 8 curved roofs. The middle of the roof is decorated with the pattern of the sun and the roof ends are decorated with the image of stylized dragon head. The top of the gate is decorated with the patterns of tigers, dragons, clouds. The three gates are linked by 4 pillars and mezzanine walls decorated with the patterns of cape jasmine, young lions, the four supernatural creatures, the four seasons, flowers, leaves that all together create the architectural block of majesty, serenity and closeness with nature.

The main pagoda is located in the South and built with the “丁” shaped structure and includes Front Hall and Main Hall. The Front Hall consists of 5 compartments and 2 lean-tos, built in the style of gables wall, traditional tiled roof. The center of the roof is decorated with the curved letter board consisting four Chinese characters of “Càn An cổ tự" (Ancient Can An Temple), the below is opened with the system of wooden doors in the style of "Bars on top and wooden flank at bottom”. The decoration on the upper architecture focuses on the wooden decoration boards, Ti-beams, planks, edge lines with the features of leaves, cloud, dragon, seal, 壽 etc. bearing the artistic style in the Nguyen Dynasty.

The Main Hall is a longitudinal house consisting of 4 compartments, built in the form of gable walls and traditional tiled roof. Structure of the wooden beam sets is in the style "Overlaid beams and Gong hanging frame in upper and sculptured wooden boards in lower" on 4 rows of columns. The decoration of upper architecture is simple and mainly consists of plain and smooth planning and combined with edges, lines to ensure the durability.

In addition to the main architecture, Can An pagoda also has the 5- compartment Patriarch house, 3-compartment Mother Goddess House. This house is built in the traditional style to create harmony between the different architectural works of the ancient pagoda.

Within the pagoda campus, there is the area of Tower tombs garden. Tombs are built with thin and flat bricks without finishing. Tower tombs garden is an architecture that makes the meditation space of the pagoda more serene and quiet.

At Can An pagoda, there is a area for worshiping from a distance Xa Tac De Quan which was newly renovated in recent years in the form of a "Phương Đình" (Square pavilion) with 2 floors and 8 curved roofs. The four roofs are supported by four round stone pillars on the first floor and four wooden pillars on the second floor. In front, there is a screen with 4 letters of “Xã Tắc niên trường” (it means Xa Tac is forever), and the surroundings are decorated with the patterns of dragons looking at the sun, bats holding the letter 壽 in the mouth, blooming chrysanthemum, string flowers, lotus, tiger, pine tree, chrysanthemum etc. Especially, the objects kept here are all made of stone and carved sophisticatedly with high art value to make the pagoda unique.

Experiencing many ups and downs of history, Can An pagoda still retains many valuable objects that have evidenced the existence of the relic; in which, the most interesting is the statue of Amitabha Trinity. The statue of Amitabha is carved on the lotus throne with quite large size. The statue has the height of 2m20cm with the gentle and kind face; balanced body who is wearing two-layer monk’s robe with the letter “卐” opened on the chest that denotes The FourBrahmavihāras of Buddha. The statue base is beautifully and meticulously carved, divided into three layers: The upper layer is embossed with chrysanthemum, lotus and cloud representing the sky, cloud, water; the middle layer is decorated with a chrysanthemum on the leave foundation with many stylized clouds and the side faces are carved with clouds, horses running on the great water; the bottom layer is slightly indented backward and is decorated with the broken lines and lotus etc. that are very close to the art of the early 17th century; The two sides of the statue of Amitabha are the statues of Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta in the standing posture with very beautiful details. In general this is the most beautiful set of statues in Can An Pagoda at the present.

The pagoda also preserves many steles, proving the beautiful scenery, the scale as well as the restoration and embellishment times of the relic. Especially, two steles of “Càn An tự bi ký” (The inscription of Ancient Can An Temple) which were installed in the third Vinh To year (1621) and the "Giáp Đông hưng công tạo" stele installed in the 18th Chinh Hoa year (1697), these are two rare and valuable documents with the historical, fine art and sculptural value which were selected by the Social Science Committee to print in the publication “Tuyển Tập Văn Bia Hà Nội” (Collection of Stone Steles in Hanoi) published by the Social Sciences Publishing House in 1978.

Since the past, Can An pagoda has always been a famous place of the city capital and a place to visit and study about Buddhism with the contributions of the monks, intellectuals and people in the area. The pagoda is a familiar symbol of every Vietnamese village, preserving the beautiful traditional cultural values ​​to guide people to the good things in life.

With such values, Nam Dong Pagoda (Càn An tự) was classified as a national relic in 1992.