DÂU PAGODA

Phú Thị village is 17 km from the centre of Hanoi. It is the starting point of Road 182, at Milestone N°3 of which is Keo Market. Beside Keo Market is Keo Pagoda having some beautiful statues. At Milestone N°25 is Dâu Village, in Thanh Khương Commune, Thuận Thành District, Bắc Ninh Province. This is a very ancient region. Around the 1st and 2nd centuries, this land called Luy Lâu1 was where the Chinese invaders established their administration centre for ruling the whole Giao Chi region (which is roughly speaking, the present North of Vietnam). The Chinese appellation “Luy Lâu” may be connected with the Viets’ pronunciation “Kẻ Dâu” at that time.
At that time, Kẻ Dâu region was a Buddhist centre well-known both domestically and abroad. Dâu Pagoda is believed to be constructed at the end of the 2nd century and connected with the legend of Man Nương, a native girl of Mãn Xá, a sub-region or. the Southern bank of the Đuốns River. At 12, she was sent by her parents ÎO Linh Quang Pagoda on the Northern bank to be educated about Buddhism by Khâu Đà La, a bonze from Thiên Trúc (India). One night, as he returned late from a religious ceremony, he accidentally stepped over Man Nương who was steeping on the

ground. After this she became pregnant. She had to go back home, and one year and two months later, she gave birth to a girl (at noon of the 8lh day of the 4lh lunar month). She brought the child to Khâu Đà La's pagoda. He carried the bady to a banyan tree on the river bank; he had the trunk of the tree split by saying a few mantras and striking it with his crosier. Then he put the baby into the opening in the tree which miraculously closed again and sent out a pervasive fragrance. He gave his crosier to Man Nương and told her that if she planted it into the ground and said her prayers in case of draught, lit would rain. Some time later, a severe drought occurred which caused the rice fields everywhere to be cracked and the whole population to become stricken by poverty. Man Nương did as she was told with the crosier and the miraculous rain occurred. One day, after a spell of stormy and rainy days, the tree which had received her child was uprooted, fell on the river and floated to Dâu Village where it stopped. The villagers tried to pull the trunk towards the bank but in vain. Man Nương who happened to wash her clothes nearby, threw oul her bodice towards the trunk which followed the former to the bank. At the same night, a deity appeared in the villagers' dream and advised them to carve statues out of the tree trunk for worshipping. This could bring them happiness and good luck. The villagers took the deity’s advice and was able to carve four statues out of the trunk: Pháp Vân (or Lady Dâu worshipped at Thiền Định Pagoda), Pháp Vũ (or Lady Đậu, Thành Đạo Pagoda), Pháp Lôi (or Lady Tướng, Phi Tướng Pagoda), Pháp Điện (or Lady Dàn, Phương Quan Pagoda). Man Nương, after her death, was also worshipped at a pagoda erected on the old foundation of her house in Mãn Xá Village. The most famous of five above pagodas is the one dedicated to Pháp Van's cult. It has different names: but the most popular name is Dâu Pagoda, because it is built in Dâu Village. The architectural composition of the Pagoda as it appears now results from the reconstruction in the 14th century and many reconstructions after that. The principal architectural complex includes three buildings: the anterior
compartment, the incense burning hall, and the main temple. Besides, there is Hòa Phong Tower surrounded by four blocks of long houses disposed in the shape of a rectangle. In front of the Pagoda, there is a large ground stretching to the bank of the Dâu River. It was formerly a big river but is now not bigger than an arroyo. The Pagoda used to have a big three-entranced gate with two levels of curved roofs near the river. Now it no longer exists. The main temple is built on a high foundation. It has four roofs decorated with curved comers like scimitars, covering the four large surrounding verandas. The roofs are supported by 16 big columns and a system of bars and rafters, many parts of which are adorned with sculptures carved after the Lý period style (11th-12th century). The statue of Pháp Vân, 2 m high, is placed in the middle compartment. Pháp Vân is presented sitting on a lotus beside Ngọc Nữ (Maid Servant) and Kim Đồng (Page Servant). With a round face and a slender stature, Pháp Vân statue is considered one of the most valuable master-pieces of the treasure of Vietnam’s ancient sculptures.
In the compartment on the left hand side, there is a statue of Mạc Đĩnh Chi1, who had the Pagoda rebuilt in the 14th century.
Hòa Phong Tower stands out in the dark brown colour of the Pagoda’s roofs, attracting tourists’ attention from afar. It was built with plain large-sized bricks. Formerly, it had nine storeys; now there remain only three storeys with a total height of about 17 m. The first square floor looks like a large house, seven metres long each side. Its four walls with four vaulted doors are very thick. The two main entrances (East and West), 3 m high and 2 m wide, can be reached by two staircases each flanked by two stone squirrels in a downward creeping posture. At the front of the second floor is a stone plate bearing the inscription "Hòa Phong Tháp" (Hòa Phong Tower), saying that the Tower was erected in 1737. In the Tower is hung a bell cast in 1793. Hòa Phong Tower, constructed with plain raw materials in particular architecture, is endowed with a simple and antique beauty. Hòa Phong represents the people's wish for favourable weather.