Đền Xưa

Đền Xưa (the Ancient Temple) is a temple dedicated to the Great Physician – Zen Master Tuệ Tĩnh, located right in his homeland of Nghĩa Lư hamlet, now part of Nghĩa Phú village, Tuệ Tĩnh commune, Hải Phòng city. This is one of three sites in the Đền Xưa – Giám Pagoda – Bia Temple complex, all dedicated to Tuệ Tĩnh, which were recognised as Special National Relics by the Prime Minister of Vietnam in 2017.

The exact year of the temple's construction has not yet been determined; however, based on artefacts, antiques, and architectural features such as the stone bed, lotus-shaped stone bases, stone crocodiles, and wooden carvings, it can be surmised that the temple was built around the 17th century. The temple underwent two major restorations during the Nguyễn dynasty, in the 2nd year of Thành Thái (1890) and the 3rd year of Bảo Đại (1929).

Đền Xưa was classified as a national relic in 1990. Between 2006 and 2011, the Ministry of Health coordinated with the Hải Dương Provincial People's Committee to invest in the restoration and embellishment of the entire temple complex.

Đền Xưa was built in the shape of the Chinese character 'nhị' (二), consisting of a five-bay front ceremonial hall (tiền tế) and a three-bay rear sanctuary (hậu cung). Between the front hall and the sanctuary is a narrow covered courtyard with a miniature rockery. The system of columns and beams is made of wood, with all the bracket sets and rafters intricately carved with stylised floral motifs, strongly reflecting the artistic architectural style of the Nguyễn dynasty. At the centre of the front ceremonial hall stands an incense altar, a throne, and a wooden statue of Tuệ Tĩnh, 70 cm tall and 30 cm wide. This is an ancient statue that was moved from the sanctuary to the front hall. The temple also preserves 50 valuable antiques, such as a bronze bell cast in the 8th year of Tự Đức (1855), the large horizontal lacquered board 'Tế thế trạch dân' (1838), 'Xuân Đài thọ vực' (1849), and several imperial edicts from various Nguyễn dynasty emperors.

The Đền Xưa Festival is held annually on the 15th day of the 2nd lunar month. The festival features many traditional folk games such as tổ tôm (a card game), tam cúc (another card game), human chess, pot smashing, blindfolded goat catching, and crossing the monkey bridge, all taking place in the temple courtyard, with participants mainly being young and middle-aged people. There are also folk performance activities and cultural exchanges that attract many performing troupes from various places. On this day, compatriots from An Lư commune, Thủy Nguyên city, Hải Phòng city also return to attend. The people of An Lư are originally descendants of Nghĩa Lư villagers who migrated to establish their own village long ago.