The stone statue system tells the story of a hundred years

Few people expected that in the middle of the lowland, there would be rocks weighing several tons, carved with fine art. This unique stone statue system is not only a rare historical document but also traces the life and times of a talented general during the reign of King Le - King Trinh.

Thieu District Police's mark Pham Huy Dinh

Located in the countryside of Dong Tien Hung, Hung Yen province, Tu Vu relic is the resting place of Thieu district of Pham Huy Dinh (1726 - 1775). He was born into a family of poplar trees in Cao Mo village, and soon revealed his unusual qualities: Smart, prestigious, both good at literature and master of martial arts.

After receiving his bachelor's degree at a young age, Pham Huy Dinh was recruited to the court of Tinh Vuong, then promoted to the rank of General, the highest position in the dynasty. Under his reign, the people still passed on that "Quan Thieu Quan Cong" was an honest person, devoted to the people, taking the interests of many people seriously.

That stature and virtue were engraved by later generations on two precious stone steles at Tu Vu relic, composed by the famous people of the label Le Quy Don and Dr. Nguyen Nghiem, father of the great poet Nguyen Du. In it, both praised Pham Huy Dinh as a "mental, great-powerful, great-grand tree in life".

It was because of that respect that in the year of Canh Hung 33 (1772), the villagers together built Tu Vu village, a solemn temple in the rice fields, to commemorate the honest and kind son that they have worshiped for centuries.

Architecture and scale of "shrinking communal houses" in rice fields

Tu Vu relic or Pham Huy Dinh tomb is not only unique in materials but also in scale and decoration, creating a sacred and ancient space. Tu Vu relic was built on a large scale, including a three-compartment temple, five-compartment worship hall, with a gate outside as a gate, surrounded by a surrounding wall.

The entire relic site is located on an area of nearly two types of land, with a calm peninsula lake in front, reflecting an ancient shadow, and behind it are tombs built of solid stone. Each block of honeycomb stone transported from the remote Bat Bat (Son Tay) area, packed tightly to the point that the joint was connected directly like a thread, is just a construction technique that is still a mystery.

The most unique feature of the relic is the large-scale stone statue system decorated in the main yard of the road. The entire 14 statues from elephants, horses to soldiers are carved from solid blue stone taken from Thanh Hoa mountains, bearing a majestic and vivid appearance. First of all, the two stone elephants and stone horses are wrapped in the front, with broken bodies, raised tendons, and deeply carved eyes, creating a feeling of both gentleness and majesty. Despite many changes, the elephants still maintain their strong charisma, with just a few scratches on their bodies making viewers feel the traces of time even more clearly.

Next are 3 pairs of servants lining up along both sides of the main hall, holding hoes and knives, vividly depicting faces, each with its own charisma. Outside the temple gate and on the other side of the moon lake, there are other pairs of military dogs, creating a sacred "protection circle" for the worship space. In total, 10 statues exude the solemnity and trung piety of the feudal media.

Most notably, the two round stone pillar steles are over 2m high, with the top and base joined with a block, engraved with the Chinese characters to record Pham Huy Dinh's merits. According to researchers, this is the only extremely rare ancient stone beer in Vietnam. Under the shade of an ancient sugarcane tree nearly 30 years old, steles and stone statues quietly witness the passing of time, telling the story of an honest monk, devoted to the people, and a glorious period of Vietnamese stone sculpture art.

Sculptures serve as reminders of heritage conservation

The stone statue system at Pham Huy Dinh's mausoleum is a vivid testament to the pinnacle of Vietnamese sculpture in the 18th century. Each block of green stone is exquisitely carved, all of which are exuded by the hands of talented and skillful craftsmen to the point of being unbelievable by ancient craftsmen.

However, it is that strangeness that makes relics a "prey" for greed. Many people have believed that the stone stele contains gold, and have recklessly destroyed it to seek for illusion. After more than two centuries, many statues have fallen, the stone stele has rotten, and the ancient sugarcane trees on the mausoleum have also died from the smoke of the nearby blacksmith.

However, every cloudy road, every moss stack still quietly tells the story of time, of people and of the respect for ancestors. In the midst of the modernist spiral, that Stone Monument System not only needs to be preserved, but also needs to be listened to as a echo from the past reminding us how to preserve the memories of our homeland.