Vietnamese Women, vol. 1 chapter 2, part 2: 11 to 20

from: Bao Tang Phu Nu Nam Bo: The Vietnamese Women. Vestiges & Landscapes. The Cultural-Historic (Di Tich Thang Canh Lich Su Van Hoa. Phu nu Viet Nam); Nha Xuat Ban Phu Nu 1999; chapter 2: other remains about Vietnamese women (di tich khac ve phu nu viet nam)

2.11 GIAI OAN Pagoda

YEN TU MOUNT - QUANG NINH PROVINCE

Location where the royal concubines were allowed by King Tran Nhan Tong to stay and to enter into nunhood.

Legend has it that when King Tran Nhan Tong left his palace and went into retreat in a mountain, many of his concubines and ladies in waiting followed him. He ordered them to go back to the nation's capital. To show their faithfulness toward the King, many of them had drowned themselves into the spring. A great number of them had been saved from death, and made their living outside the pagoda. And for those who were dead, the King had a platform erected for their requiem and Giai Oan pagoda built on the spring's bank (p.123).

2.12 GIAI OAN Spring

YEN TU MOUNT - QUANG NINH PROVINCE

Place where legend has it many of King Tran Nhan Ton's concubines drowned themselves after the King left his palace and entered into monkhood (p.125).

2.13 HUONG TICH Pagoda

HUNOG TICH MOUNT - CAN LOC DISTRICT - HA TINH PROVINCE

The pagoda is on Hong Linh Mount. It came to existence since the Tran dynasty, but legend has it to be connected to a story in the remote past. It was told that the daughter of King So Trang Vuong (China) named Mau had taken a long journey and remained here to enter into nunhood - King So Trang Vuong had also come here to pay a visit to her and had the pagoda reconstructed on a bigger scale.

From the pagoda going up to mount's top, the mountain path is tortuous, crossing streams. It was told that during spring time, if we go to the pagoda, as we approach it, it gives a pervasively good smell, thus it was called the Huong Tich pagoda. The mountain was named after that of the pagoda. In front of the pagoda, there is a fall with water flowing year round. Behind the pagoda, there is a small pagoda of white rock called Tanh Mau small pagoda (Holy Mother small pagoda). An area full of beautiful and green pine trees and bamboo, gorgeous landscapes of mountain and river are focused into our sight, this can be considered the most scenic spot of Hoa Chau (p.127).

2.14 QUANG UYEN THAN Temple [for lady Nguyen Thi Nien]

VUC VONG Temple

TRUONG YEN VILLAGE - HOA LU DISTRICT - NINH BINH PROVINCE

This temple is for the worship of lady Nguyen Thi Nien, the wife of Duke Bui Van Khue. her husband was killed by Duke Phan Ngan. She devised a ruse for avenging her husband's death, but her plan failed. She killed herself in the Chi Phong river (an effluent of the Hoang Lam river).

2.15 Lady MI-Ê Temple

LY NHAN HAMLET - PHU PHUC VILLAGE - LY NHAN DISTRICT - HA NAM PROVINCE

The worshipping place to Lady Mi-Ê. Sa Dau's wife, King of Champa.

Lady Mi-Ê was a royal concubine of King of Champa. In [the] year [of] 1044, King Ly Nhan Tong brought his troops to fight the Champa kingdom, captured the Champa King Sa Dau and his wife. The history ws that after killing the Champa King, King Ly ordered Mi Ê to come to his royal ship, but she determined to remain loyal to her husband, so she covered herself with [a] blanket. Then drowned herself into the river. The King has praised her chastity and conferred upon her the title of "Lady Hiep Chinh Huu Thien" (p.132).

2.16 Lady CHE THANG Temple [for lady Nguyen Thi Bich Chau - concubine of King Tran Due Tong]

Lady KHAU Temple

KY NINH VILLAGE - KY ANH DISTRICT - HA TINH PROVINCE

This place is for the worship of Lady Nguyen Thi Bich Chau - a royal concubine of King Tran Due Tong who volunteered to sacrifice herself at Ky Hon estuary in order to calm the soldiers on their way to fight against the Champa Kingdom.

Nguyen Thi Bich Chau, a beautiful royal concubine of King Tran Due Tong, had talent in music and literature. When the Tran reign became weaker, the dishonest mandarins usurped, Bich Chau submitted to the King her "Ke Minh Thap Sach" (ten strategies at cock crow time) to outline plans for consolidating the country. This plan was praised as clever and right but unable to carry out because the King was versed in feat of arms rather than political skills.

[Battle against Champa Kingdom - Bich Chau sacrificing herself to the sea deity]

When the King brought his troops to fight against the Champa Kingdom, the high level mandarins at the Royal court and Bich Chau tried to prevent him from doing it but in vain. When marching to war, the King took her along, when they arrived at Ky Hoa estuary a heavy storm was browing, the warships could not move up any longer. Someone had told that the Sea deity demanded some offerings and Bich Chau had volunteered to jump into the sea as an offering to the Sea deity (according to the locally ancient custom) to pray for the safety of the soldiers (1377). The King also died in that battle. Having felt a gratitude to her, the people set up a temple at the place where she drowned herself. The "Hai khau linh tu" story written by Doan Thi Diem, also based on that historical vestige and that fact (p.134).

2.17 Chua NGOC HO (Chua Ba Ngo) - NGOC HO Pagoda (Lady Ngo Pagoda)

NO. 128 NGUYEN KHUYEN STREET - HA NOI

According to legend, King Lê Tanh Tong met a fairy here and he had a pagoda built to commemorate the event.

According to another legend, during the Mac Dynasty, a rich Chinese man married a girl, the native of this village, who had the pagoda rebuilt. When she died, villagers set up the altar to worship her on the left side of the pagoda, so it also called Lady Ngô pagoda (p.137).

2.18 Dinh HOI VU - HOI VU Dinh

PHU DOAN STREET - HOAN KIEM DISTRICT - HA NOI

Place worshipping a Lady Saint known as Princess Mai Hoa. Legend has it that she saved people from epidemic (during the reign of Lê Canh Hung 1740-1786). (p.138)

2.19 Nui PHU THAI - PHU THAI Mountain

TINH THANH HOA - THANH HOA PROVINCE

Phu Thai mountain

There is a story that a pregnant woman using her body to prevent waves from coming and saved villagers from natural calamity. When she died, her corpse had been transformed into the Phu Thai mountain range. Her son became a famous one legged genie known in the area as very strong and very responsive to the prayers of the living in the area (p.139).

2.20 VAN PHUC Pagoda [a girl stealing a peony flower]

Phat Tich, Tien Du Pagoda

PHUONG HOANG VILLAGE - TIEN SON DISTRICT - BAC NINH PROVINCE

The pagoda had been rebuilt on the ground site of the old one (built in 1686) with the money contributed by Queen Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh of the Restored Lê dynasty. At this place there was the story of Tu Thuc giving his mandarinal costume for buying back the infraction committed by a girl who was the fairy Giang Huong stealing the peony flower from the pagoda (p.141).

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