What Is Thang Long Tu Tran?
Thang Long Tu Tran is the name for four temples worshipping four deities regarded as guarding the east, west, south, and north of the old Thang Long capital, now within present-day Hanoi. The four temples are: Bach Ma Temple in the east, Voi Phuc Temple in the west, Kim Lien Temple in the south, and Quan Thanh Temple (worshipping Tran Vu Dai De) in the north. Each temple honours a different deity, linked to its own legend and its own specific location. The ancients believed these four deities could block natural disasters, enemy threats, and harmful influences from entering the capital, so the people could live in peace.
Two layers must be kept apart: first, the temples are real, built and worshipped across many dynasties; second, the term "Thang Long Tu Tran" bundles those four temples into one system. The second layer appeared much later than the first.
The Four Temples Guarding the Four Directions: Who Is Worshipped, and Where?
According to the text recorded in Thang Long co tich khao tinh hoi do by Dang Xuan Khanh, printed in 1956, the four temples are listed as follows:
| Guarding direction | Temple name | Deity worshipped | Current location |
|---|---|---|---|
| East | Bach Ma Temple | Bach Ma Dai Vuong (the deity Long Do) | 76 Hang Buom Street, Hoan Kiem District |
| West | Voi Phuc Temple | Linh Lang Dai Vuong | Voi Phuc mound, Thuy Khue Ward, Tay Ho District |
| South | Kim Lien Temple | Cao Son Dai Vuong | Kim Lien Ward, Dong Da District |
| North | Quan Thanh Temple (Tran Vu Quan) | Tran Vu Dai De | Thanh Nien Street, Ba Dinh District |
The Han-character text that Dang Xuan Khanh recorded has these lines: "Thang Long Tu Tran. East guard Hang Buom Bach Ma Dai Vuong tu. West guard Thu Le Linh Lang Dai Vuong tu. South guard Kim Lien Cao Son Dai Vuong tu. North guard Tay Ho Tran Vu Dai De tu." Earlier, a Nguyen-era text, Ha thanh linh tich co luc, also used the term "Tu Tran tu" with a similar list, differing only in a few details of place names and titles. Quan Thanh Temple was then called Chan Vu Quan.
Why Was Each Deity Placed in That Direction?
The allocation of deities to the four directions was not random. Each deity is tied to a specific legend and function that matches the direction it guards.
Bach Ma Temple in the east worships Long Do, the deity governing Dai La citadel (the old name of Thang Long). Legend says that when King Ly Cong Uan moved the capital and built Thang Long, the wall kept collapsing wherever it was built. The king prayed to Long Do; the deity appeared as a white horse, and when the king followed the horse's hoofprints, the wall held. After the wall was finished, the king conferred on Long Do the title Quoc do Thanh hoang Dai Vuong, the tutelary deity protecting the capital. Bach Ma Temple is regarded as the oldest in the four, worshipping the most important deity of the old capital.
Voi Phuc Temple in the west worships Linh Lang Dai Vuong, a deity linked to helping the court defeat invaders. Historical records show that King Le The Tong (reigned 1573-1599), upon ascending the throne, conferred a title on the deity and called Linh Lang Temple a guard protecting the capital. Each year, at the start of spring, the court sent officials to perform rituals there.
Kim Lien Temple in the south worships Cao Son Dai Vuong. This temple does not appear in the Hong Duc map, but according to documents kept at the temple, it can be confirmed that by 1772 at the latest the temple existed at its present location. A stele inscription dated 1510 is considered weak evidence for an earlier presence.
Quan Thanh Temple in the north worships Tran Vu Dai De. In the Hong Duc map, Tran Vu Quan in the north of the citadel is clearly noted as guarding the north. This deity originates from the worship of Huyen Thien Tran Vu, regarded as the guardian of the north in the five-directions system.
When Did the Term "Thang Long Tu Tran" Appear?
This is a little-known but important point. According to research by Dr. Nguyen Doan Minh, the term "Thang Long Tu Tran" appears in a very late text, in 1956, in Thang Long co tich khao tinh hoi do by Dang Xuan Khanh. Earlier, the term "Tu Tran tu" had appeared in Ha thanh linh tich co luc, dated to the Nguyen era. Based on texts alone, the four temples were fully structured at the four cardinal points of Thang Long very late.
However, the four-guard structure may be much older. The Hong Duc map, commissioned by King Le Thanh Tong and completed in 1490, covers 13 thua tuyen, including a map of Trung Do (the Thang Long capital). This map records place names such as Kinh Thien Palace, Doan Mon, Dong Cung, Thai Mieu, Phung Thien prefecture, Hoan Kiem Lake, Quoc Tu Giam, Nam Giao altar, West Lake, Khan Son mountain, Giang Vo, Bao Khanh gate, and To Lich River. Notably, three temples, Bach Ma, Linh Lang (Voi Phuc), and Tran Vu Quan, were already positioned in the east, west, and north of Thang Long respectively. Thus, at least three of the four temples appear in the map from the late 15th century.
Why Did the Ancients Create the Four-Guard Model?
According to Dr. Nguyen Doan Minh, "Tu Tran Thang Long" or "Thang Long Tu Tran" is an "invention/construction of tradition." The "Tu Tran tu" tradition was constructed by Nguyen-era Confucian scholars against the historical backdrop of Hanoi under the Nguyen dynasty, Vietnam's last feudal dynasty, then in decline, losing the country and under the oppression of French colonial invasion.
Alongside that political context was the struggle, conflict, and tug-of-war between two cultural streams, old and new, East and West, conservative and reformist. So the "construction of tradition" of "Tu Tran Thang Long" meant creating a sacred space specific to Hanoi, and it was mainly political. The construction aimed to recall the Thang Long capital with its prosperous dynasties, a Thang Long capital with four guards that had never lost the country, in a context where Confucian scholars were witnessing the loss of the nation.
Four factors underpin this construction:
- First, the "sacred space" of Thang Long had been established about 800 years earlier.
- Second, the deities at the four temples all had merit in helping contemporary dynasties defeat invaders, expel evil, and consolidate the throne.
- Third, evidence related to the formation of the "four guards" concept already existed, such as the Hong Duc map, King Le The Tong's conferral on the deity and his calling Linh Lang Temple a guard protecting the capital, and Tran Vu Quan in the north of the citadel guarding the north.
- Fourth, belief in the phong thuy of the Thang Long capital. Each time the capital moved away from Thang Long, the country fell into dependency and lost sovereignty. In the 15th century, Ho Quy Ly moved the capital to Thanh Hoa, then the country fell to the Ming, and the people suffered for 20 years. In the late 18th century, the Tay Son dynasty had a short fate when the capital was not set here. In the 19th century, King Gia Long moved the capital to Hue, and the country gradually became a colony of the French.
The Number 4 in Folk Consciousness and the Four Guards
In the view of many Vietnamese, the number 4 is read "tu," close to "tu" meaning death, so it is not auspicious. Yet the number 4 carries many good meanings. Four is the formation of two pairs, symbolising durability and fulfilment. A year has four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, winter; the land has four directions: east, west, south, north. Four creates a square, symbolising solidity, stability, and peace.
According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Oanh, Head of the Faculty of International Relations at the Academy of Journalism and Communication, the number 4 represents the best things, used by ancestors quite often in natural and social matters as a balance, a fullness of heaven and earth. Without the number 4, harmony would be lost, and yin-yang and the five elements would lose balance, mutual generation, and mutual overcoming.
Dr. Nguyen Doan Minh also points out that Vietnamese social culture has many structures of four: Tu bat tu (the four immortals, four saints who never die, living forever in worship); Tu phu (four palaces worshipping four mother goddesses ruling four regions: Mau Thien, Mau Dia, Mau Thoai, Mau Thuong Ngan); Tu phap (Phap Van, Phap Vu, Phap Loi, Phap Dien, four deities/Buddhist figures symbolising clouds, rain, thunder, lightning); An Nam tu dai khi (the four great Buddhist treasures: the Buddha statue of Quynh Lam Pagoda, Bao Thien Tower, Quy Dien Bell, Pho Minh Pagoda cauldron). If the fours tied to nature reflect natural law and power, the fours tied to human social and cultural life express the wish for durability, permanence, and protection so that human life may be peaceful and happy. The four guards protecting Thang Long carry the same meaning: guarding, blocking, helping the capital avoid natural disasters and enemy threats from outside, thereby helping people's lives stay peaceful. More deeply, the lasting peace and prosperity of the Thang Long capital is the lasting prosperity of the Dai Viet nation, because the old Thang Long capital and today's Hanoi have always been the country's most important political, cultural, and economic centre.
Bach Ma Temple: The "First" Temple Among the Four
Located in the heart of the old quarter, Bach Ma Temple was built earliest among the Thang Long Tu Tran, tied to King Ly Thai To's construction of Thang Long. It worships the most important deity of old Thang Long, the tutelary deity of the capital. The temple still keeps many precious artefacts.
According to documents kept at the temple, the exact construction date was 866, when Cao Bien built Dai La citadel. Later, the temple was rebuilt in 1010 when Ly Cong Uan moved the capital to Thang Long. It was built in the east of the citadel, in Ha Khau Ward, Dong Tho canton, Tho Xuong District, Hoai Duc Prefecture, now 76 Hang Buom, Hang Buom Ward, Hoan Kiem District.
Through historical ups and downs, Bach Ma Temple's architecture bears the distinctive mark of 19th-century style. Despite a modest area, the temple preserves its overall layout and the typical architectural items of an important temple of the past. It is built in the "Tam" character shape, with three parallel buildings, and outside a eight-roofed phuong dinh. The highlight is the crab-shell roof system linking the architectural items. This creates a closed, continuous space, adding area to the relic and creating a rare, distinctive feature compared with many relics in the northern delta.
The temple still keeps many valuable artefacts in late 17th-century artistic style: 18 ancient stone steles recording repairs, 17 sac phong issued by the Nguyen court, and many precious ritual objects. Inside there is a large wooden white horse, symbolising the Bach Ma deity and carried in processions on important occasions. Behind the temple is an ancient well, one of the few old wells remaining in the old quarter.
The Tien Xuan Nguu Ritual at Bach Ma Temple
From its beginning, Bach Ma Temple was tied to the royal element, so its festival activities are highly distinctive. One important rite is Tien xuan nguu (offering the spring buffalo), a rite both courtly and folk in nature. The Tien xuan nguu rite was formerly organised directly by the court. The court held sacrifices at the altar east of the capital. Officials and residents of the wards carried a clay buffalo statue to Bach Ma Temple for the rite. The buffalo statue was placed on a palanquin, and officials and residents of the capital's wards carried it to Kinh Thien Palace to present to the king. Wherever the procession passed, people on both sides burned firecrackers in welcome. Occasionally officials holding mulberry branches whipped the buffalo a few times. On this day people eagerly gathered for the procession, so the rite was a great festival of old Thang Long. It has now been partially reenacted.
Values of Thang Long Tu Tran That Need Preserving
According to researchers, to preserve and promote the historical and cultural values of Thang Long Tu Tran, we need to grasp the basic values of the four temples: historical value; cultural value (including artistic value, festival scripts, and performances); and scientific value (landscape space, architecture, artefacts).
Through thousands of years of history with many ups and downs, the spiritual cultural values of Thang Long Tu Tran remain intact. Each temple worships a different deity, with unique spiritual and architectural features. Walking through each ancient relic reveals the old, quiet yet splendid beauty of the four guards.
Today the four temples remain important spiritual and tourist destinations of Hanoi. Bach Ma Temple, in the centre of the old quarter near important relics such as O Quan Chuong and the heritage house at 87 Ma May Street, with its special origin, is one of the capital's attractive tourist addresses. The other temples also play important roles in the spiritual and cultural life of Hanoians and visitors from elsewhere.
