Rong Temple is the place to worship Ly Chieu Hoang, the first and only empress regnant in the feudal history of Vietnam.
The Rong Temple is located in Dinh Bang ward, Tu Son city, Bac Ninh province. The main hall worships empress regnant Ly Chieu Hoang, the 9th and last emperor of the Ly dynasty. The temple was built in the late 13th century, under the Tran dynasty. After that, the temple was destroyed many times and restored, the most recent time was on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long, Hanoi.
The entrance of the temple.
According to some documents, Ly Chieu Hoang was considered to be the one who could not preserve the Ly dynasty, so she was not worshiped at Do Temple with other 8 emperors of the Ly dynasty. Ly Chieu Hoang was only worshiped in the west of Do Temple, in the village called Long Vy – means the tail of the Dragon, from which the temple was named Rong (Vietnamese: Rồng) or Dragon.
Currently, the temple grounds are considered spacious and well-appointed, including: the main hall, the front hall, the Mother Goddess worshiping room, the guest house, the court yard…
The incense burner is placed in front of the front hall for visitors offer incense when coming to pay respect to Empress Ly Chieu Hoang.
According to history, Ly Chieu Hoang was born in 1218, the daughter of Emperor Ly Hue Tong and the Empress Tran Thi Dung. When she was born, the Ly Dynasty was in decline. Empress Chieu Hoang’s real name was Phat Kim, later changed to Thien Hinh. Because Emperror Hue Tong had no son, he established Thien Hinh as the crown prince to inherit the throne.
The painting on the wall depicts the scene of Empress Ly Chieu Hoang holding court
According to official history, she died in 1278)in her hometown of Co Phap (now Tu Son, Bac Ninh), at the age of 61. Her tomb is located next to Bang forest in Dinh Bang land, commonly known as Cua Ma tomb.
Inside the main hall, the statue of Empress Ly Chieu Hoang with a majestic demeanor, wearing a crown, a dragon robe, sits on the throne in the shrine, surrounded by sacred and splendidly decorated horizontal lacquered boards and parallel sentences.
The altar of Empress Ly Chieu Hoang
The Rong temple relic site is regularly cared for and maintained by the elders in Long Vy village. Every day there will be some people in charge of cleaning, welcoming visitors come to visit and worship.
The temple attracts the most visitors in the spring because after the ceremony at Do Temple, visitors will come to Rong Temple as a complete visit to the Ly Dynasty emperors. However, every year on the 23rd day of the 9th lunar month, villagers hold a festival at Rong Temple to commemorate the death anniversary of Empress Ly Chieu Hoang. This is also an occasion that attracts many visitors to the temple.
Source: collected by An
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