Overview
Dau Pagoda was built at the beginning of BC. The first Indian monks have been here. At the end of the 6th century, a monk from China came to this temple and established a Zen faction in Vietnam.
An overview of Dau Pagoda
Dau Pagoda was built in 187 and completed in 226, is the oldest temple and related to the history of Vietnamese culture and Buddhism, ranked by the State on April 28 in 1962.
The pagoda is associated with the area of the Buddha's Lady Temple at the Temple in Men Man Xa village, about 1 km from Dau Pagoda. The pagoda was rebuilt in 1313 and restored many times over the following centuries.
Dau Pagoda
King Tran Anh Tong asked Mac Dinh Chi about to construct Dau pagoda into a hundred space pagoda, nine-story tower, and nine-span bridge. Currently, in the upper court, there are only a few pieces left to be carved during the Tran Dynasty and the Le Dynasty.
The architecture of Dau Pagoda
One of the highlights in the pagoda is the worshiping statues. In the middle of the pagoda, there is the majestic, bronze-colored statue of Dau Lady, or Phap Van goddess, nearly 2 m high, placed in the middle space. The statue has a beautiful face with a big mole in the forehead, reminiscent of Indian dancers, coming to the homeland of Xicheng. On the two sides are the statue of Kim Dong and Ngoc Nu. Because Dau Pagoda (Bac Ninh) was destroyed by the French colony, Dau Lady (Phap Vu) statue was also taken to worship at Dau Pagoda.
Dau pagoda
In the middle of the courtyard, there is Hoa Phong tower. The tower is built of large-sized bricks, hand-crafted to the level of the darker color of the earthenware. Time has taken six upper floors of the tower. It now has only three lower floors, about 17 m high but still majestic. The front of the second floor has a stone sign engraved with the word "Hoa Phong Thap."
The tower foot is square, nearly 7 m each. The lower floor has four arch doors. In the tower, there is a bronze bell made in 1793 and a cast made in 1817. There are 4 1.6 m tall Uranus statues at four corners. In front of the tower, on the right, there is a square stele erected in 1738, while on the left, there is a 1,33 m long and 0.8 m high stone statue. This statue is the only trace left over from the Han Dynasty.