Phù Dung Pagoda

Phù Dung Pagoda is an ancient pagoda located at the foot of Bình San Mountain, in Hà Tiên Ward, An Giang Province, Vietnam. The pagoda is known not only as a pilgrimage and tourist destination that attracts visitors with its ancient beauty harmoniously blending with nature, but also for the mysterious and controversial stories surrounding its origins.

According to the book 'Research on Hà Tiên', the Siamese call mountains 'Pù'; the Siamese, Khmer, Chăm, and Lao all refer to the Vietnamese as 'Youn'. Thus, 'Pù Youn', which later became corrupted to 'Phù Dung', means 'mountain region of the Vietnamese'.

On the Hà Tiên peninsula, there are many hills and mountains, collectively called 'Phù Dung Vạn Sơn'. It was not until the time of Admiral Mạc Thiên Tích that the mountains were given individual Sino-Vietnamese names, such as Bình San, Tô Châu, Thạch Động, etc.

The name Phù Dung (Pù Youn), which was once used to refer to all the aforementioned mountains, later came to denote the range adjacent to the administrative centre, consisting of three peaks, and later still (when Mạc Thiên Tích's 'Hà Tiên Thập Vịnh' was published), it referred only to the third peak (53 m high), which Trịnh Hoài Đức recorded in 'Gia Định thành thông chí', section 'Sơn Xuyên chí', around 1820:

Phù Dung Mountain: more than 1 li northwest of the administrative headquarters. Here, the caves and hollows are lush and ancient; Phù Dung Pagoda is at the southwest foot of the mountain, the sounds of bells and wooden fish mingling, the chanting of sutras blending with the bustle of the marketplace, truly a scene half monastic, half secular...

Therefore, the author of 'Research on Hà Tiên' jokingly remarked that the pagoda's name does not mean 'lotus flower' or resemble any 'tí ngọ' flower, as some have imagined.

Based on information in 'Gia Định thành thông chí', in 'Monographie de la province de Ha Tiên' (the Hà Tiên local monograph) published by the Indochina Research Society in 1901, and through field surveys, the old Phù Dung Pagoda was located to the southwest of Phù Dung Mountain, while the current Phù Dung Pagoda is to the north of Bình San Mountain, more than 500m from the old pagoda.

Because there have been two pagodas named Phù Dung in Hà Tiên, both of which are ancient temples, for clarity, the earlier one is temporarily called 'Phù Dung (old)' and the later one 'Phù Dung (new)'.

The Phù Dung Mountain mentioned in 'Gia Định thành thông chí' is now called Bát Giác Sơn or Đề Liêm, and the pagoda referred to now only remains as a pagoda foundation and an ancient stupa of Venerable Ấn Đàm, the 36th generation of the Lâm Tế lineage.

According to historical records, from around 1820—the year 'Gia Định thành thông chí' was written—onwards, Hà Tiên Citadel experienced three major upheavals:

Year Quý Tỵ (1833): In the 14th year of Minh Mạng (1833), there was the Khôi Rebellion (Lê Văn Khôi), the citadel (Hà Tiên) fell, was invaded and trampled by Siamese troops, and was only reclaimed after a major military campaign.

Year Nhâm Dần (1842): In the second year of Thiệu Trị (1842), in the second lunar month, the Siamese again invaded, one force via Hà Tiên Province, another via the Vĩnh Tế Canal. The king sent Đoàn Văn Sách by water and Phạm Văn Điển by land, both advancing to repel the Siamese...

Year Ất Tỵ (1845): In the fifth year of Thiệu Trị, the Siamese general Chất Tri ordered Na to devise a plan to capture Nguyễn Bá Hựu... and imprison him. The local Khmer chief Liêm Đột personally went to An Giang to request troops. The king then sent Doãn Uẩn, Nguyễn Hoàng, and Nguyễn Công Hoan, dividing forces to reinforce and eliminate the enemy...

According to researcher Trương Minh Đạt, a native of Hà Tiên, Phù Dung Pagoda was destroyed by Siamese troops around 1833-1834, i.e., during the first upheaval.

In 1969, this site was discovered. The pagoda foundation measures 12m long and 9m wide. With such dimensions, the old pagoda was only a small hermitage. When digging about 30 cm into the ground, many intact artefacts were found, such as a bronze incense burner, many ceramic jars, and a jar still containing rice that had become mouldy... The sudden destruction of the pagoda, with household items left intact, shows that war struck unexpectedly. Next to the pagoda foundation is a stupa 5m high, 1m thick, octagonal in shape (possibly the reason the mountain is called Bát Giác Sơn), built from composite materials (lime, sand mixed with mangrove and molasses), dating to the 18th century. The ancient stupa still bears a stone stele inscribed in Chinese: 'Lâm Tế tam thập lục thế Ấn Đàm Lão Hòa Thượng chi tháp'... This monk lived in the same era as Mạc Cửu.

Nearby (to the southwest) there is still an old well called the Tiêu Pagoda well.

This matches information in 'Monographie de la province de Ha Tiên' by Lê Văn An and Nguyễn Văn Hải, published in 1951. These authors assert that the ancient Phù Dung Pagoda was actually Tiêu Tự, one of the ten scenic spots of Hà Tiên at the time, praised by Mạc Thiên Tứ in his poem 'Tiêu Tự hiểu chung'.

Tiêu Tự hiểu chung (Morning Bell at Tiêu Pagoda)

Scattered, the sky fades with dim starlight,

The distant bell of the pagoda echoes in.

Dreamily, the mundane world and hermits mingle;

Resonating across the trees and rippling waters.

Cranes leave their calls on wind-swayed branches,

Crows send messages to the high moon.

Head resting, waking from a dream-filled night;

The morning cockerel urges on with eager news.

In 1846, after repelling the Siamese, the Governor-General of An Hà, Doãn Uẩn, built a new pagoda at the northern foot of Bình San Mountain, on the site of the former Tao Đàn Chiêu Anh Các, and named the new pagoda Phù Anh (combining 'Phù Dung' and 'Chiêu Anh Các').

During the reign of Emperor Thiệu Trị, 'Đại Nam nhất thống chí', in the section on the Six Southern Provinces, recorded the pagoda's name as Phù Cừ because the word 'Dung' was taboo, being part of the emperor's name. According to the poet Đông Hồ, 'Phù Cừ or Phù Dung are both beautiful names for lotus flowers, differing only in being white or pink.'

Excerpt from 'Đại Nam nhất thống chí':

Phù Cừ Pagoda is at the foot of Phù Cừ Mountain, Mỹ Đức village, Hà Châu district, originally built by Mạc Thiên Tứ; in the sixth year of Thiệu Trị (1846), the local people rebuilt it with tiled roofs, dug a well in front, and constructed buildings along the mountain...

However, according to Mr. Đạt, the translator mistranslated several words in the Chinese phrase 'Tích Mạc Thiên Tích cấu tạo', which should have been rendered as 'An ancient construction by Mạc Thiên Tích' (referring to the old foundation of Chiêu Anh Các). This mistranslation may have led to the story that Mạc Thiên Tứ built the pagoda. The Mạc family genealogy by Vũ Thế Dinh only records that Mr. Tứ established the Tao Đàn Chiêu Anh Các and a Confucius shrine.

In summary, the names Phù Anh and Phù Cừ have never become widespread, so the name Phù Dung from the old pagoda continues to be used by locals for the new pagoda.

After many changes, the site at the foot of Bình San Mountain now features a fairly spacious monastery consisting of a courtyard and two separate worship areas.

The courtyard has a high platform. On the platform stands a large white-painted cement statue of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva (Phật Quan Thế Âm). Next is the spacious Main Hall, arranged solemnly. In the centre is a statue of Śākyamuni Buddha (Thích-ca Mâu-ni), flanked by his two great disciples, Ānanda (A-nan) and Kāśyapa (Ca-diếp). There are also four large bas-reliefs (each 1.3m high, 2.3m wide) illustrating four scenes from the life of Śākyamuni Buddha: birth, renunciation, preaching, and entering nirvana.

Behind the Main Hall is a small courtyard, and further back is a tall sanctuary called Ngọc Hoàng bửu điện, dedicated to the Jade Emperor (Ngọc Hoàng Thượng đế) and the two deities Nam Tào and Bắc Đẩu.

Partly due to the ravages of time and partly because of the instability of the border region, the pagoda has undergone many restorations.

Notably, looking from outside, on the left side of the monastery is a small path along the mountainside. Walking about 20m, one encounters an ancient tomb. The tombstone bears several Chinese characters:

Hoàng Việt

Hiển tỷ Từ Thành Thục nhân Mạc phủ Nguyễn thị chi mộ.

The left side of the stele reads:

Nam Chú erected the stone.

The right side reads:

Long phi Tân Tỵ, mid-spring, New Year's Day.

Next to the tomb is a stone stele with Vietnamese inscriptions erected by later generations, reading: Tomb of Lady Phù Dung-Từ Thành Thục Nhơn-Nguyễn Thị Xuân (1720-1761)- Passed away on the 15th day of the 2nd lunar month- Posthumous name Phù Cừ.

From Monographie de la province de Ha Tiên up to the time of Hà Tiên Provincial Governors Lê Văn An and Nguyễn Văn Hải (1951), there is no record of this story.

It was not until 5 March 1957 that the author Trần Thêm Trung published the Hà Tiên Local Gazetteer, where this story was first recorded in a book.

Subsequently, in 1958, the writer Sơn Nam wrote Hà Tiên đất phương Thành đang for the newspaper Nhân Loại, the poetess Mộng Tuyết wrote Nàng Ái cơ trong chậu úp, the poet Đông Hồ recalled the story in Văn học Hà Tiên, the playwright Kiên Giang Hà Huy Hà wrote the cải lương (Vietnamese opera) Áo cưới trước cổng chùa, the author Mặc Tuyền adapted the script into a novel (1989), and most recently, the writer Anh Động wrote Chuyện tình Chiêu Anh Các, a novel serialised in the magazine Chiêu Anh Các of the Kiên Giang Provincial Association of Literature and Arts...

In all these works and in oral accounts, this female character has many names, such as: Phù Dung, Phù Cừ, Xuân Tự, Nguyễn Thị Xuân, Dì Tự.

According to Hà Tiên Studies by Trương Minh Đạt: "Clearly, this tombstone records all the details of a layperson, that is, a full name, rank, place as wife, children... This stele and tomb are not like those of a monastic. Moreover, the (new) Phù Dung Pagoda was only established in 1846, that is, 85 years after 'Từ Thành Thục nhân' died. The first abbot of the pagoda was Venerable Tiên Giác Bửu Châu, whose stupa and ancestral tablet are still worshipped at the pagoda.

And Mr. Đạt also notes that the poetess Mộng Tuyết, wife of the poet Đông Hồ, wrote the story Nàng ái cơ trong chậu úp based on a casual anecdote, which Mr. Sơn Nam confirmed: "The abbot of Phù Dung Pagoda recounted this in 1958." That was Venerable Kiểu Ngọc (Thượng Phước Hạ Quang), who was abbot here from 1951 to 1964. While still alive, Mr. Trần Thiêm Trung also said he had heard this monk tell the story. The monks were all proficient in classical Chinese, so when they heard the story, everyone assumed it was from a book, but in fact it was only an inference from the shape of Dì Tự's tomb, just behind the pagoda, with a round mound like an upturned basin. The monk recounted: "When alive, she was imprisoned, so when she died, her tomb was built like that." This inference by the monk was later developed into a rather poignant story.

In short, according to Mr. Đạt, the story of Phù Cừ is simply the literary creation of the poetess Mộng Tuyết...

and this is precisely "a case of 'fiction becoming fact' in historical research."

According to the tale that has long been passed down, the pagoda was ordered to be built by Admiral Mạc Thiên Tích (1706–1780) around the end of the 18th century for his concubine named Phù Cừ (1720–1761) as a place for her to practise religion.

Legend has it that the concubine Phù Cừ's real name was Nguyễn Thị Xuân, the younger daughter of a Lê dynasty loyalist named Nguyễn Đình. Later, he and his two children moved to live in Hà Tiên. The son, named Nguyễn Đính, was skilled in swordsmanship and served the Mạc family; the younger sister, talented in poetry and literature, formed a bond with Mạc Thiên Tứ after meeting at the Chiêu Anh Các literary society.

And Phù Dung Pagoda is associated with the legend of the person buried in the aforementioned ancient tomb. Although each person's account differs somewhat, the plot remains quite similar.

Poet Đông Hồ recounts:

This hermitage, this ancient tomb, this lotus pond, all have a rather poignant legend...

It is said: Mạc Lịnh Công had a concubine named Dì Tự. The concubine was very beautiful and highly literate.

Mạc Lịnh Công, captivated by her beauty and poetic talent, went from favouritism to deep affection. Thus, his principal wife, Lady Nguyễn, became jealous and plotted to harm the concubine.

One day, while Mạc Lịnh Công was away inspecting troops, Lady Nguyễn imprisoned the concubine inside an upturned basin, intending for her to suffocate and die. But fortunately, at that moment, a heavy rainstorm broke out. Mạc Công also happened to return home, and seeing the rain, he wondered why the large basin was not upright to catch water but left upside down. He ordered the basin to be lifted, and the beloved concubine was found barely alive, but fortunately, she could still be saved.

Having escaped death, the concubine became disillusioned with worldly affairs and asked Mạc Công to allow her to become a nun. Faced with this difficult situation, Mạc Công had no choice but to comply, building a hermitage for her religious practice.

Beside the hermitage, he had a pond dug and white lotuses planted to commemorate their past love. When the concubine passed away, he had a solid and beautiful tomb built to express his remembrance and love for the beautiful woman who suffered injustice because of him...

This brief and tragic love story has been a source of inspiration for stories, operas, and poetry.

Excerpted introduction:

Looking up at Phù Cừ Hermitage

Pity for the jade maiden who left her palace

Coming here to seek refuge in the monastic place

Her hands fingering prayer beads, wearing away her youthful days.

Old fate no longer binds her heart

Why let worldly dust cling to the lotus branch?

Clear water does not choose to be muddied

The tranquil gate of the monastery, all sorrow cleansed away.

(Anonymous)

And: The Love Story of Phù Dung Pagoda

...Who in the old days, every evening

Would rein in their horse on the hillside

Gazing after the jade maiden's figure

Eyes brimming with emotion.

Who in the old days offered incense

Stepping lightly on the jade temple's threshold

Heart aching with longing

Hearing distant music...

...Oh! What a strange person

Love and sorrow

And love is truly strange

The years do not fade its colour...

Hà Văn Thùy