XA DAN PAGODA (KIM YEN PAGODA)

Xa Dan Pagoda (official name Kim Yen pagoda) is located in Xa Dan 2 alley, Nam Dong ward, Dong Da district, Hanoi city.

Xa Dan pagoda is a Buddhism architectural work which was built to satisfy the demand of cultural-religious activities of the local resident community. Besides the Buddha, the pagoda is also the place for worshiping the Tutelary God of Xa Dan village, who is Bao Hoa Princess. According to folk legend, Bao Hoa princess was elder sister of Ly Thuong Kiet Highest Military General – the National Hero living in 6th Century. She, together with Ly Thuong Kiet, defeated the Song army and quelled the Champa empire to protect the Ly Dynasty’s country. After her death, to commemorate her merits, Xa Dan villagers titled here as the Tutelary God of the village and worshiped her in Cay Si temple. After the temple was destroyed, she was worshipped in the Mother Goddess House of Xa Dan pagoda. At the moment, the pagoda still preserves a Conferring edict dated to 4th Year of Canh Thinh Reign (1796) bestowing her with the title: “Bao Hoa Princess”. On 2nd February of Lunar calendar every year, the villagers celebrate death anniversary to commemorate her.

Legend has it that Xa Dan pagoda was built in Ly Dynasty, in the same time with the Xa Tac Offering Tower to kowtow the God of Earth and the God of Agriculture. Remaining traces of the pagoda include a marble pillar of over 1 meter length in the well of the pagoda. The pillar has the same shape with that of the One-Pillar Pagoda which, according to researchers, was only created in Ly Dynasty. The book “Việt Sử Thông Giám Cương Mục” (Annotated Text Completely Reflecting theHistoryof Viet) of Nguyen Dynasty said: “During the Thang Long Citadel building process, in 1048, under the Reign of Ly Thai Tong, Xa Tac Offering Tower was built in the South-west of the capital, traces of which now can be seen clearly right besides Xa Dan pagoda”.

Through the time, the pagoda was repaired, restored in 5th year of Quang Thieu reign (1520), Vinh Tri year (1676), 20th year of Chinh Hoa (1699), 30th year of Tu Duc (1877), 14th year of Thanh Thai (1902). Later on, the pagoda continued to receive attention for embellishment. Current architectural works of Xa Dan pagoda consist of Entrance Gate, AvalokiteshvaraHouse, Front Hall, Main Hall, Patriarch House, Mother Goddess House, Tower tombs garden, and auxiliary works.

Entrance gate of Xa Dan Pagoda is quite big with three doors, built with two storeys, two roofs with one overlaying the other and 8 roof sides altogether covered with pseud tube-tiles. At the middle of the roof centerline, there are a pair of dragons flanking to the Dharmachakra (Wheel of Law) with the Swastika (卐) character inside. The two side doors are ornamented with dragons flanking to the sun. The tips of roof sides have stylized dragon figures. Below the roof, there is a horizontal lacquered board with 3 characters saying “Kim Yen Pagoda”. There are 4 bronze columns to link the doors to each other. The columns are ornamented with stylized Cape jasmine fruits, flanking “Nghe” (lion-like supernatural creature); their bodies have parallel sentences in Chinese characters.

AvalokiteshvaraHouse is built with green marble in form of two storeys, two roofs with one overlaying the other and 8 roof sides altogether; 8 corners of the roofs are ornamented with sabre tip shapes. There are system of round and square stone columns to support the roof. The columns are sculptured with parallel sentences in Chinese characters and heavenly creatures. In the house, there is a white stone statue of Avalokiteshvarastanding on a lotus throne, with many plants surrounding, creating the feeling of harmonizing and closing to the nature.

The Front Hall consists of 7 compartments, with close brick walls and extending frames at the sides and roof covered with traditional tiles. In the middle of the roof centerline, there is an embarked ornamental ancient scrolled paper book with three characters saying “Kim Yen Pagoda”; at two end of the roof, there are embarked stylized dragon head figures. In front of the compartments, there are 3 green marble footsteps inscribed with stylized lotus petals; the floor is covered with enameled tiles. The front doors of five middle compartments are in form of “Railings in upper, plate in lower”; the two outermost side compartments have round windows with lattice of “Tho” character (, meaning “long-lived”). In front of the side verandas, there are two bronze pillars which are high up to the roof top of the pagoda; the top of the pillars are ornamented with 4 phoenix with grouping tails, forming a stylized Cape jasmine fruit; the lamp cells are ornamented with figures of 4 supernatural creatures, 4 seasons; the pillars bodies are divided into equal ornamental areas, with embarked parallel sentences in Chinese characters. The two bronze pillars are quite beautiful thanks to the flexible and smooth Cape jasmine fruit figures. The phoenix are in formation as if they were about to fly up from the pillars. The symbolic pillars are considered as a beautiful symbol in traditional architecture.

The side frame sets are linked in form of “Gong hanging frame in upper, sculptured wooden boards and diagonal beam in lower” on 4 column rows. Different sections of the beams, boards, and transverse beams of the frame system are ornamented with figures of dragons, clouds, sealed characters, leaves, and lotus. Especially, there are green marble veranda columns arranged throughout the 7 compartments, inscribed with water sweeping dragons, flowers, rosette, sealed characters, pine tree, small bamboo, and daisy plant, apricot plant which are very lifelike and marked.

The Main Hall consists of 4 longitudinal compartments in form of “Gong hanging frame in upper and sculptured wooden boards and beams in lower” sitting on two column rows. The side frames of the Main Hall are mainly planed without inscription.

The Mother Goddess House consists of 3 main compartments and two auxiliary side compartments. This is a combined area for worshiping the Tutelary God of Xa Dan village (Ngoc Hoa Princess), the 3 Mother Goddesses, Queen of Mountain Farm and Saint Tran Hung Dao.

The Patriarch House is in Dinh (丁) character layout, consisting of 3 compartments of Front Hall and 1 compartment of Back Palace in traditional formation. The house frame is linked in form of “Overlaid beams and Gong hanging frame in upper and diagonal beam in lower”, decorated with figures of 4 supernatural creatures, 4 seasons, sealed characters, giving the architecture the feeling of light and flowing.

In the backyard of the pagoda, there is a semicircular well. According to folk legend, this place gathers the good fortune and water of the vestige. The surrounding of the well are embarked completely with stone. Behind the well is the Tower tombs garden, which adds quiet and pensive atmosphere to the pagoda landscape.

Xa Dan Pagoda preserves many precious objects which reflect the formation and development of the vestige, including the marble pillar in the same form with the pillar dated to Ly Dynasty of One-Pillar pagoda, some bricks of old time dated to 15th-16th Century, 5 stone steles dated to 16th-17th-18th-19th Century, 1 feudal Conferring edict dated to Tay Son Dynasty, and the statues of Buddhas, Patriarch, Mother Goddess, Tutelary God of the village, which confirm the continuous development of Xa Dan pagoda in the history. These relics not only provide us with precious materials of historic, cultural, artistic and sculpture aspects, but also are scarce and precious antiques to contribute to enriching the cultural heritage treasure of Thang Long – Hanoi.

In the early days of the National Resistance against the invading French colony, Xa Dan pagoda was not only an important logistics base of the revolution, but also the garrisoning area for the Militia and the Vietnam National Defence Army and an emergency station to transit wounded soldiers from the city to the suburb area.

Xa Dan pagoda was classified as National Vestige in 1990.