Dau Pagoda (literally Quang Cung Han) is located in Nhat Tan Commune, Gia Loc District, Hai Duong Province and was built during the reign of King Ly Anh Tong in the year Mau Dan (1118). The pagoda worships Princess Tien Dung, whose real name is Pham Chinh Hien.
The temple has a T-shaped architecture, including 5 front rooms and 3 back rooms. The roof of the temple is decorated with many bas-reliefs with extremely sophisticated and beautiful patterns of scattered clouds, suns, and moons.
Dau Pagoda was built on an area of about 3 hectares, and once had up to 100 houses. However, through war and natural disasters, many ancient architectural items of the pagoda were lost, and now only a few ancient statues, made of wood and gilded with gold, remain.
The most unique and special thing about Dau Pagoda is the Tran Dynasty stele, also known as “Sung Thien Tu Bi”, which is placed right in front of the pagoda yard. The stele was erected in 1331. The content of the stele was composed by monk Hue Van, a monk here, with about 1,180 words. This is a unique work of sculpture.
The stele is about 1.5m high, placed on the back of a rather large stone turtle. The roof of the stele is moderately curved, the body of the stele has a border carved with dragons and vines. The forehead of the stele is decorated with many leaves and lotus flowers, vivid and close to nature. The front of the stele is prominently engraved with large Buddhist characters in cursive script.
Below the word Buddha are two carved images, one side is a standing crane with a burning candle on its head. The other side is a human-shaped demon carrying an incense burner. At the foot of the stele are carved patterns of water waves and mountains. On the back of the stele are carved three Chinese characters “Sung Thien Tu”, below are the names of those who donated fields and money to repair the temple.
Dau Pagoda was recognized as a National Historical Relic by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on January 21, 1992. On December 24, 2018, the Prime Minister signed a Decision to recognize "Sung Thien Tu Bi" as a National Treasure.
Dau Pagoda is the place that marked many revolutionary events in Hai Duong province. Before the August Revolution in 1945, the Viet Minh Front held a meeting at the pagoda to discuss seizing power, destroying the Japanese rice warehouse in Thanh Mien district to distribute to the poor.
In 1945 - 1950, Tay Son troops of Gia Loc district chose the pagoda as a place to open training classes. From here, our troops spread out towards Highway 17 and Highway 20 to conduct ambushes against the enemy during the resistance war against the French in the period of 1949 - 1953.
Mr. Pham Ngoc Minh - Chairman of Nhat Tan Commune People's Committee said that the traditional festival of Dau Pagoda is held on the 8th - 10th of the 8th lunar month every year, attracting a large number of local people and tourists from all over to participate. The festival takes place solemnly with the procession of the palanquin from the pagoda through the fields to the village communal house.
During the festival, many interesting folk games such as bridge crossing, duck catching, cockfighting, wrestling, blindfolded goat catching, and tug of war are also held, creating a joyful and exciting atmosphere.
