A Sao Temple

At A Sào there is a river landing, an earthen bank and a quiet temple on the plain of the Hóa River. Vietnamese history ties the words Hào khí Đông A to the Trần dynasty. The Trần dynasty ruled Vietnam from 1225 to 1400. The words mean the heroic spirit of that age. It is more than an abstract idea, and A Sào is one of the places where it has a precise address.

The site lies in A Sào commune, in Hưng Yên province. Before Hưng Yên province was enlarged, the area belonged to An Thái commune. That was in the Quỳnh Phụ area of Thái Bình province. Older documents may use either name.

The site is tied to Hưng Đạo Đại Vương Trần Quốc Tuấn, one of the greatest generals in Vietnam's history of resisting foreign invasion. A Sào is described as the center of Hương A Cảo in old times. It lay beside the Hóa River. It was once the estate of An Sinh Vương Trần Liễu, the father of Trần Quốc Tuấn. As a young man, Trần Quốc Tuấn came to A Sào to set up a military post and a store of grain. He made the land an important point in the defense and supply system of the Trần era.

The complex has three main parts: the temple, the communal house and the river landing called Bến Tượng, the elephant landing. According to the Văn hóa Nghệ thuật magazine, the temple is where people hold the traditional rites. The communal house is a place of worship for Quốc Công Tiết Chế Trần Hưng Đạo. The temple is also called Đệ Nhị Sinh Từ, or A Sào Linh Miếu. The name sinh từ has a special meaning. In popular belief, it is a temple that the people built to honor a hero while he was still alive.

The strongest story at A Sào belongs to Bến Tượng. The Nhân Dân newspaper and the Hưng Yên tourism portal both record a legend. It says that the war elephants of Trần Hưng Đạo became bogged down at the Hóa River landing during the third resistance against the Yuan army, in 1288. The Yuan were the Mongol dynasty then ruling China. The legend says that, facing the need to keep on marching, the commander left a vow to fight to the death. Official sources record this legend, and it has not been confirmed independently. It keeps alive the spirit of a time of war. The landing still moves local people and pilgrims, and that is entirely real. They come to remember the spirit of putting the fate of the country above private feeling.

A report from 2012 records Tắm Tượng Lake, Đống Yên mound and the soldiers' camp within the temple grounds. These traces call to mind a military base of the Trần era, still lingering on the ground. In 2016, the Phủ Đệ area was inaugurated on the occasion of the festival's recognition as national intangible cultural heritage. It widened the space for remembering the Great Prince. The whole complex covers nearly 32 hectares, and in 2011 it was ranked a national monument.

The A Sào temple festival is listed as national intangible cultural heritage, by a decision of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It is held on the 20th day of the eighth lunar month and on the 10th day of the second lunar month. Two festival seasons are recorded. One is tied to the death anniversary of Đức Thánh Trần. The other is a celebration of victory. During the festival, folk games such as pháo đất, wrestling, cờ tướng and boat racing are held, depending on the year. Drums and cheers rise beside the Hóa River, at the very place where, the legend says, war elephants waded across more than 700 years ago.

Many schools in the region have chosen A Sào as a place where students can experience history. The site serves not only pilgrims and visitors. It is also a living space for teaching history, where younger generations stand on the very land where their forebears laid the foundation for the resistance.

A visitor who stands at Bến Tượng today and looks at the calm face of the Hóa River can feel what no history book records in full. It is the heavy weight of a decision of life and death, and the lightness of a vow that history has answered.