Tran Temple of Nam Dinh

Trần Temple in Nam Định stands on ground where palaces once stood. There is one question people should not bring here: what can I ask of this place? The better question is what happened here.

This is the old land of Tức Mặc. The Trần dynasty ruled Vietnam from 1225 to 1400, and this was one of its centers. In 1262, the retired emperor Trần Thái Tông renamed the land the Thiên Trường prefecture. He had two palaces built. Trùng Quang Palace was for the retired emperors. Trùng Hoa Palace was for the reigning emperors, who came to pay their respects.

For nearly two centuries, the Trần made Thiên Trường a seat of power beside Thăng Long, the city now called Hanoi. Retired emperors stayed here and kept their hold on power after giving up the throne. Royal gatherings took place here. And each of the three times the Mongol armies were driven back, this was a firm base in the rear.

Now temples stand where the palaces were. But the story is still here.

The Trần Temple complex today has three main temples, laid out along a line from east to west. Thiên Trường Temple stands in the middle. Cố Trạch Temple is on the east side. Trùng Hoa Temple is on the west. Outside them come the five-door gate, a front yard, a pond and the ceremonial gate. These layers lead the visitor, step by step, toward the worship area at the center.

Just beyond the five-door gate lies the pond. It covers about 1,000 square meters and touches both the front yard and the inner yard. It leaves a quiet pause between the layers of buildings. This is how a traditional sacred site gives the feeling of passing from the noisy world outside into a solemn place within.

Thiên Trường Temple is the most important stop. According to the Department of Cultural Heritage, the building began with just three bays. In 1733 it was enlarged with a front hall of five bays, built of lim wood. The door of the middle bay is carved with two dragons facing the moon. The stone column bases are carved with lotus petals, in the art style of the Trần period, the 13th to 14th centuries. Two layers of time rest on each other in one building.

To the east is Cố Trạch Temple. It honors Trần Quốc Tuấn, known by the title Hưng Đạo Đại Vương. He was the commander who led the defeat of the Mongol armies. Ordinary people named him Đức Thánh Trần, and he is worshipped in many places across the country.

To the west is Trùng Hoa Temple, which honors 14 Trần emperors. It is a good place to recall something very particular to the Trần: the system of retired emperors. A Trần emperor handed the throne to his son early and withdrew to become a retired emperor, yet he still held real power. This kept the succession unbroken and helped the dynasty stay steady for the 175 years it lasted.

One thing people hear most often about Trần Temple is the Khai ấn festival.

It takes place every year on the night of the 14th, running into the early hours of the 15th, of the first lunar month. It is a local ceremony of remembrance, tied to the Trần dynasty and to what it kept safe for the country.

A second festival falls in the eighth lunar month, tied to the death anniversary of Đức Thánh Trần Hưng Đạo. The Nam Định newspaper reports a palanquin procession. It goes from Tức Mặc Communal House, through Phổ Minh Pagoda, to the temple. Incense is offered at Thiên Trường Temple and Cố Trạch Temple. The festival also brings lion dances, dragon dances, wrestling, the game of cờ bỏi, chèo theater and hát văn singing.

Trần Temple and Phổ Minh Pagoda were ranked a Special National Monument by the Prime Minister on September 27, 2012.

Back to the first question, what happened here.

A dynasty lasted nearly two centuries. Three times it held the country against what was then one of the strongest armies in the world. It left its mark on the architecture, art, religion and cultural history of Vietnam, down to today. Every stone column base carved with lotus petals was set down by Trần hands 800 years ago. That history no longer lives only in books. Beyond the five-door gate, where the temple roofs curve upward, it is right here, on the ground where the palaces once stood.