Báo Thiên Pagoda

Báo Thiên Pagoda (chữ Hán: 報天寺), with the full name Sùng Khánh Báo Thiên Pagoda (崇慶報天寺), was once an ancient, magnificent, and grand pagoda, among the most splendid in the history of Vietnam. Built in 1056, during the reign of Emperor Lý Thánh Tông, the pagoda housed the Báo Thiên Tower, one of the Four Great Treasures of An Nam.

The pagoda was located in Tiên Thị village, Thọ Xương district (formerly known as Báo Thiên ward), near Lục Thủy Lake (Hoàn Kiếm Lake), outside the walls of Thăng Long citadel. This area is now Nhà Chung street, where the Hanoi Cathedral, the former Apostolic Delegation, and many other Catholic institutions are situated.

Emperor Lý Thánh Tông, upon ascending the throne, ordered the construction of the pagoda in the 4th year of Long Thụy Thái Bình (1057), and had a great bronze bell cast weighing 12,000 ta (7,260 kg) to be placed in the pagoda. The pagoda had the Đại Thắng Tư Thiên Tower (大勝資天塔) (also called Báo Thiên Tower), with its topmost storey gilded with bronze, built one year after the pagoda was completed.

Throughout nearly 400 years of the Lý and Trần dynasties, Báo Thiên Pagoda was a renowned national pagoda of the Thăng Long capital.

In 1427, during the Ming occupation, when Ming troops were besieged in Thăng Long citadel and holding out for reinforcements, they came to the pagoda, stripped the bronze spire from the tower, melted down the great bell and everything made of bronze to make weapons against the Lam Sơn insurgent army.

Along with the Quy Điền Bell, Phổ Minh Cauldron, and the Buddha statue of Quỳnh Lâm Pagoda, the Báo Thiên Tower in the pagoda was considered one of the Four Great Treasures of An Nam (the four treasures of the land of Nam). Some sources state that the Báo Thiên Tower was destroyed during the Ming occupation to make cannons; two of the other Four Great Treasures, the Quy Điền Bell and Phổ Minh Cauldron, are confirmed to have been destroyed by the Ming general Vương Thông to obtain bronze for casting weapons. Of the Four Great Treasures, only the statue of Quỳnh Lâm Pagoda remains.

During the Lê dynasty, in 1443, King Lê Thái Tông had the pagoda extensively restored. As for the Báo Thiên Tower, which had been destroyed, it was replaced by a raised altar at the site now occupied by Hanoi Cathedral. At Lý Quốc Sư Pagoda today, there is still a brocade decree from the Cảnh Hưng era (King Lê Hiển Tông, 1740–1786) referring to this event.

Up until the 19th century, Báo Thiên Pagoda was continually restored and preserved, serving as the venue for Buddhist rituals praying for national peace and favourable weather.

According to Đại Nam nhất thống chí, after taking office in 1849, Hà Ninh governor Tôn Thất Bật had the pagoda repaired.

According to Non nước Hà Nội by Quảng Văn, towards the end of the 19th century, Báo Thiên Pagoda suffered a major fire, and the monks relocated elsewhere, awaiting restoration by the court.

In 1873, Francis Garnier captured Hanoi for the first time, handing the entire pagoda over to Bishop Paul-Francois Puginier as a temporary residence and workplace when the Bishop returned to Hanoi to act as interpreter and adviser to Garnier. At that time, Bishop Puginier erected several wooden houses in the pagoda garden for living and working near Garnier, who was stationed at Trường Thi nearby, while the Bishop’s Palace (then called the Western Bishop’s Palace of Đàng Ngoài) remained at Kẻ Sở (now Kiện Khê, Hà Nam).

Afterwards, F. Garnier was unable to hold Hanoi for long, being killed by the Black Flag Army; the French withdrew to the South, returning Hanoi to the Huế court under the Treaty of 1874. The Bishop returned to Kẻ Sở, but at that time, although Báo Thiên Pagoda had not yet been destroyed, the temporary wooden buildings erected by the Bishop had become a Catholic church overseen by Vietnamese catechists.

"The newly built house resembled an East Asian temple, with a wide central hall and many ironwood pillars..."

In 1882, Henry Riviere captured Hanoi for the second time.

In 1883, the Black Flag Army attacked French-occupied locations. At this church site, a French squad (along with some armed Catholic laymen acting as guards) was stationed. On the night of 19 May 1883, these troops were attacked and the church was burned down. Three Western priests (Landais, known in Vietnamese as Father Lan; Rival—Father Mỹ; Bertrand—Father Phước) led their followers to take refuge at the neighbouring Bà Đá Pagoda, where the abbot concealed them, so they were not killed (this is mentioned by Chu Thiên in Hùng khí Thăng Long).

When the French received reinforcements and recaptured the area, the church had been burned down—"the wooden buildings were reduced to ashes, and the remaining parts of Báo Thiên Pagoda were left as ragged, ruined debris." By 1883, the pagoda’s architectural structures were completely destroyed.

In 1883, at the request of Resident Bonnal, the Northern Governor-General Nguyễn Hữu Độ handed over the pagoda site to Bishop Puginier, who demolished the remaining structures to build Hanoi Cathedral.

The demolition of Báo Thiên Pagoda in 1883 was described by missionary Joseph Villebonnet as follows:

The Báo Thiên Tower was a component of the overall pagoda complex (including Báo Thiên Tower, tam quan [triple-arched entrance gate], ancestral hall, patriarch’s stupa, guest house, monks’ quarters, etc.).

In the past, the pagoda courtyard featured a 12-storey stupa named Đại Thắng Tư Thiên Bảo Tháp (大勝資天寳塔), commonly called Báo Thiên Tower (報天塔). The tower was several dozen trượng high (about 80 metres), comprising 12 storeys, and was adorned with many exquisitely carved stone statues.[1]

The Báo Thiên Tower had a bronze spire, constructed one year after the pagoda was completed. Within the pagoda and tower were many bronze objects such as Buddha statues, monks’ staffs, and ritual swords of Buddhist guardians. Therefore, in 1426, when the Ming invaders arrived, they pillaged the pagoda ruthlessly: stripping the bronze spire from the tower, melting down the great bell and all items made of bronze or metal.[2]

The tower was ranked among the Four Great Treasures of An Nam, the four national treasures, the other three being the Buddha statue of Quỳnh Lâm Pagoda, the Phổ Minh Cauldron, and the Quy Điền Bell.

The Trần dynasty poet Phạm Sư Mạnh also praised the Báo Thiên Tower:

"Trấn áp đông tây cũng đế kỳ. Khung nhiên nhất tháp độc nguy nguy. Sơn hà bất động kinh thiên bút. Kim cổ nam ma lập địa chùy. Phong bãi chung linh thời ứng đáp. Tinh di đăng chúc dạ quang huy. Ngã lai dục tủy đề thi bút. Quản lãnh xuân giang tác nghiễn trì."

(Guarding east and west, upholding the imperial capital. Alone, the lofty tower stands in majesty. Pillar propping up heaven, the land’s steadfast support. For a thousand years, a solitary hammer-shaped peak. Bells and chimes answer each other in the wind. Lanterns and stars shine brightly through the night. Arriving here, I wish to leave my name. Grinding ink by the spring river to compose a poem at random.) [3]

How the tower was damaged is described differently in each source:

- According to Sổ tay địa danh Việt Nam by Đinh Xuân Vinh (Labour Publishing House, Hanoi 1996, p. 42): "...12 storeys high, one of the Four Great Treasures of An Nam. In 1258, during the reign of Trần Thánh Tông, a strong wind toppled the tower’s spire; in 1322, under Trần Minh Tông, lightning struck and destroyed two more storeys; in 1406, the Báo Thiên Tower’s pinnacle broke. In 1884, it was abandoned and fell into ruin."

- According to Hà Nội nghìn xưa by Trần Quốc Vượng and Vũ Tuấn Sán (Hanoi Publishing House, 1979) and Hà Nội nửa đầu thế kỷ XX by Nguyễn Văn Uẩn (Hanoi Publishing House, 1994, vol. II, p. 543): "...During the Ming occupation, the enemy general Vương Thông, besieged by the Lam Sơn insurgents in Đông Quan citadel, destroyed pagodas and seized bronze bells and chimes to cast weapons against our forces. The Báo Thiên Tower and pagoda were severely damaged, and the Báo Thiên Bell was lost."

- Page 544 adds: "In the year Giáp Dần 1434, King Lê Thái Tông expanded the Hoàn Kiếm Lake area, ordering skilled craftsmen to rebuild Báo Thiên Pagoda, but the collapsed tower could not be rebuilt. The old tower’s foundation remained only as a high mound... becoming a marketplace for the people of Báo Thiên ward, and sometimes used as an execution ground for criminals."

Thus, it can be affirmed that the Báo Thiên Tower existed only until before Lê Thái Tổ’s accession (1428). However, the reason for its collapse remains uncertain, as researchers Trần Quốc Vượng, Vũ Tuấn Sán, and Nguyễn Văn Uẩn believe it was destroyed by Vương Thông, while Đinh Xuân Vịnh attributes it to strong winds and lightning strikes...

The remaining relic of Sùng Chính Báo Thiên Pagoda (Báo Thiên Pagoda) is the ancient stone well.

This stone well is located in the alley of a private house on Nhà Chung street, on land belonging to the church and inhabited by Catholic residents. In 2002, the well was filled in with earth and sand by local residents. The incident was discovered and reported in the press. Thanh Niên newspaper (issue 288, 14 October 2004) published the article: "A Need to Protect an Ancient Stone Well", and Giác Ngộ monthly (issue 104, November 2004) published: "The Ancient Well of Báo Thiên Pagoda"... After the news reports, the authorities of Hanoi Cathedral had the ancient well excavated and moved to be placed in front of the grotto within the cathedral grounds.