Hanoi (VNA) - “Con Son suoi chay ri ram/ Ta nghe nhu tieng dan cam bentai” (Con Son’s streams are babbling/ As music from a stringed instrument)

The beauty and serenity evoked in this line from15th-century poet Nguyen Trai’s Con Son Ca (Con Son Ballad) stillcome to mind when visiting the Con Son-Kiep Bac Complex today.

The complex of pagodas and temples nestlesamidst forested mountains in the Con Son area’s Chi Linh district, Hai Duongprovince.

The most prominent structures in the complex arethe Con Son Pagoda and the Kiep Bac Temple, havens of peace and quiet, some 80kilometres from central Hanoi. 

The sacredness of the pagoda, believed to havebeen built in the 13th century, is encapsulated in the famous saying: “Con Son,Yen Tu, Quynh Lam/ Neu ai chua den thien tam chua danh” (Those who haven’t beento Con Son, Yen Tu and Quynh Lam haven’t completed their pilgrimage).

Con Son together with Yen Tu and Quynh Lampagodas, in Quang Ninh province, are three major centres of Trac Lam ZenBuddhism in Vietnam.

All three founders of Truc Lam Zen – King TranNhan Tong, Venerable Phap Loa and Venerable Huyen Quang – have been to the ConSon Pagoda to offer teachings on Buddhism, making it a major institution oflearning under the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400).

About five kilometres from the Con Son Pagodastands the Kiep Bac Temple, dedicated to one of the most accomplishedcommanders in the nation’s history, Tran Hung Dao, who commanded the country’sarmies to repel three Yuan-Mongol invasions in the 13th century. He is honouredas a saint in Vietnam.

After the first victory over the invaders, TranHung Dao chose the Kiep Bac area as a military base. In 1285, he gathered morethan 20,000 soldiers, more than 1,000 fighting ships and achieved the secondvictory here.

The temple was to honour the commander’s valourdedication in 1300. The structure was damaged during subsequent wars and thewear and tear of time. It was reconstructed in the late 19th century.

Archaeological excavations have affirmed thatKiep Bac used to be a military base in the 13th century that included templededicated to a living person, a sail workshop, rice barns, caves and ponds.

In a 2013 archaeological excavation at the ConSon Pagoda, a diverse range of artefacts were found, including buildingmaterials (bricks, tiles, terracotta decorative items with different motifs);and porcelain (bowls, plates, vases) made in Vietnam and China. Most of theartefacts belonged to the Tran Dynasty in the 14th century and the Le Dynastyin the 17th century, confirming the pagoda’s importance as a Buddhist relic inVietnam under the two dynasties, according to the management board of the ConSon-Kiep Bac relic.

The excavation also unearthed vestiges of anine-storey lotus tower for the first time, providing a reliable foundation forreconstructing the tower in 2014. 

Century old festivals


Every year, the complex hosts two major events –the Spring and Autumn festivals. The spring festival is held on the first lunarmonth, commemorating the death anniversary of Venerable Huyen Quang, one of thefirst three patriarchs of Truc Lam Zen Buddhism.

The autumn festival, which pays tributeto Tran Hung Dao, is held in the eighth lunar month. Thefestivals feature a range of rituals including the floating of colourfullanterns, a water procession, a Buddhist ritual that prays for the nation’speace and security. Thousands of Buddhists and other people participate inthem.

Wrestling contests and banhchung (square sticky rice cake) making competitions, boat races,water puppetry performances and folk games are also organised.

The Con Son-Kiep Bac complex was listed as anational relic in 1962 and as special national relic in 2012. The festival wasrecognised as a national intangible heritage in 2013.

The complex is among more than 3,400 nationalrelics. Of these more than 1,000 are communal houses, nearly 800 pagodas andaround 600 temples, according to the Institute for Conservation of Relics.

“There is hardly any religious relic where allthe original elements are preserved till today. Meanwhile, to ensureconservation and continuation of its initial function (a place for religiouspractice), a relic must be in full and intact state. Thus, restoring the lostitems of relics is an imperative, urgent task,” said Dr Hoang Dao Kinh, anarchitect from Hanoi who specialises in the restoration of heritage structures.

He said: “The increasing demand for relicrestoration poses a big question – what are the factors and sources should werely on to carry out conservation work?”

Science and tradition

The Cultural Heritage Law of Vietnam regulatesthat "conservation of a relic must preserve the original elements of astructure as much as possible".

Researchers agreed that a scientific approachwas needed to ensure the authenticity and integrity of a relic when attemptsare made to conserve or reconstruct it.


“We need to preserve the value of the relic aswell as the cultural message that our ancestors wanted to pass down to us. Thepagodas and temples serve as vehicles transporting the historical memory andcultural message to the present,” said Dang Van Bai, vice chairman of theNational Heritage Council.

Backing him, history professor Tran Lam Bien,who has 60 years of experience in conservation, added: “Every element in aBuddhist structure has its own meaning. Therefore, conservation of relics mustbe done in consultation with scientists and researchers. We can do goodconservation work only with profound understanding of the relic.”

Elaborating on this, Luu Tran Tieu, chairman ofthe National Cultural Heritage Council, said: “Each historical and culturalrelic is a witness to development stages in the nation’s history, on whichhistorical, cultural and aesthetic values are imprinted. Therefore, the mostsignificant requirement of conservation work is to preserve the relic’shistorical and cultural authenticity.

“Original elements can be preserved for a longterm by various techniques including preventing termite damage, periodicmaintenance, upgrading (reinforcing, mending, adjacenting); repairing damagedelements or replacing them with new ones based on research and comparison withexisting features of the relic or comparison with other architectural relics ofthe same age in the neighbourhood.

“In case the relic has deteriorated seriously, adismantlement plan (recording, numbering, drawing, photographing the elements)is necessary. After maintenance work is conducted, the structure must bereassembled in a precise manner.

“Reconstruction is justified only in exceptionalcircumstances and then it must be done based on scientific documents,” saidTieu.

Scientific documentation includes writings aboutthe relic, its foundation; the decorative architectural artifacts found duringexcavation; and photographs of the relic before it was damaged.

Model work

Since 2010, Hai Duong has carried out severalconservation projects, including that of the Kiep Bac Temple, reconstructingthe  nine-storey lotus tower and maintaining some compartments as well asthe bell tower of the Con Son Pagoda.


The restoration of the tower and conservation ofother elements in the Con Son Pagoda were done after intensive and extensivestudy of historical documents and existing architectural peers in the region,said Nguyen Khac Minh, head of the Con Son-Kiep Bac Relic Management Board.

Last year, the nine-storey tower was inauguratedduring the Con Son-Kiep Bac festival. The original tower was built byVenerable Huyen Quang during the reign of the Tran dynasty and lost after theLe dynasty took power.

The tower, which symbolises nirvana, the stateof enlightenment that Amitabha inhabits, has a statue of Amitabha on the topfloor and more than 200 other Buddha statues.

“The Con Son-Kiep Bac Complex can be consideredas a model for how we should treat our relics,” Bai said.

It’s only two months till the 2018 springfestival opens (the 16th day of the first lunar month), and the complex willwelcome thousands of visitors and Buddhists from all over the country. 

Locals are the most excited, of course.

Hoang Thi Mai, a native of Chi Linh district,said: “The festival season is always an important and fun time of the year forus. I am proud that I will play a role in the water procession.”-VNA