Ha Noi, the capital of Vietnam (2/3)

The Khue-Van Pavilion (Van-Mieu)

(cont.)

7. Quan-Su Pagoda (The Ambassadors' Pagoda):

- In the 15th C. it was the site of a Guesthouse for ambassadors coming from buddist countries, with a small pagoda close by. Rebuilt in 1936 - 1942.

8. Ba-Da Pagoda (The Pagoda of the Stone Lady):

- While the soil was being dug for the building of the citadel of Thang-Long (ancient Hanoi), the stone statue of a woman was unearthed. Hence the name of the pagoda.

9. The Temple of the Two Ladies:

- The Trung sisters (1st C.) rose against the Chinese Han invaders. They became queens but were in the end defeated.

10. Quan-Thanh Temple (Tran-Vu Temple):

- Built under the Ly (1010 - 1225); later rebuilt. Tran-Vu was the god of the North. (attributes: a Tortoise and a Snake). Bronze statue (1677): 3.7m in height, 4 tons in weight.

11. Tran-Quoc Pagoda:

- Built probably on the site of an old royal Summer Place. A stele (1639) on its history.

12. The Literature Temple (Van-Mieu):

- Built in 1070; later rebuilt. Dedicated to Confucius. Also the first University in Vietnam. Portico, Khue-Van Pavilion, 82 stone steles bearing the names of the laureates of "Tien si" royal examinations (1484 - 1789).

13. The Temple of the Kneeling Elephants (Voi-Phuc Temple):

- Built under Ly-Thanh-Tong (1054-1072) and dedicated to Ling Lang who used his war elephants to defeat the Chinese Song aggressors. Thu-Le 200 park and lake.

14. Lang Pagoda:

- First built under the Ly dynasty (1010-1225). Statues of the Monk Tu-Dao-Hanh and King Ly-Than-Tong - re-incarnation of Tu-Dao-Hanh - Stone stele (dated 1656).

15. Ngu-xa Pagoda:

- The biggest bronze statue of Buddha in Vietnam.

16. Co-Loa Citadel (Spiral-shaped Citadel):

- In Dong-Anh suburban district. The remains of a fortness with walls arranged in a spiral, built in the 3rd century B.C to serve as capital for King An-Duong-Vuong. Temple to him and Princess My-Chau whose love for her husband caused the fall of the Kingdom.

(to be continued...)

(A Handbook for the English Language Translator - Hữu Ngọc et al.)