Long Dong Temple in Long Dong village, Nam Tan commune, Nam Sach district, Hai Duong is a place of worship for the Mac Dynasty's general monks of the Ly and Tran dynasties, Mac Hien Tich, Mac Kien Quan, and Mac Dinh Chi. According to legend, Long Dong Temple was built after the former Ma Dinh Chi status passed away (1463) and was restored during the Le and Nguyen dynasties.
Mac Dinh Chi is a Lan Khe person, Binh Ha district, Chau Nam Sach, Lang Giang road, now in Nam Tan commune, Nam Sach district. He was born into a family with a tradition of studying the tables, but unfortunately his father died early, and the family was poor. When she was old enough to study at Mac Dinh, Chi studied for a dozen years, and had a more intelligent personality. In the general exam in Hung Long 12 (1304) he passed the first prize in the year of the Dragon, or Trang Nguyen.
In 1308, Mac Dinh Chi, with his talent and morality, won the trust of the Tran Dynasty and was appointed by King Tran Anh Tong as an ambassador to the Nguyen Dynasty. With a strong spirit of national pride and talent in poetry, he was in a position to face the great masters of the Nguyen Dynasty, making the Nguyen Dynasty's kings and officials very respectful and majestic in the service of the two scholars of the Nguyen Dynasty.
Long Dong Temple is designed and built, uniquely decorated, with traditional colors and architectural style in the letter "Tam" including 5 front rooms, 3 central rooms and 2 back rooms.
Inside the temple are placed an altar and 3 golden gilded wooden statues. The statues are arranged in the middle as a statue of the Mac Dinh Chi period, on the right is a statue of Mac Hien Tich, on the left is Mac Kien Quan. According to legend, Mac Dinh Chi is a descendant of Mac Hien Tich but is placed in the center of the temple according to the principle of "District of Respect, luxurious Party Fragrance".
Currently, Long Dong Temple still preserves some valuable artifacts from the Le - Nguyen Dynasty such as stone stele, stone incense burner, bronze bell and many other valuable artifacts. During the resistance war against French colonialism, Long Dong temple was a contact point for the army of communes and districts. In 1950 - 2015, the female hero Mac Thi Buoi chose the Long Dong temple relic to operate and serve as a secret letter box to communicate with the revolution for a long time until he heroically sacrificed.
Based on the historical and cultural values, in 1995, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism ranked Long Dong Temple as a national historical and cultural relic.
According to Mr. Mac Van Duc - Head of the temple management department, the Long Dong temple festival is held from the 9th to the 11th of the 2nd lunar month. In addition to the rituals and Thanh Hoang's procession, the festival also included folk games such as chess, catching ducks with closed eyes, catching spurs with closed eyes... attracting a large number of people, especially Mac people from all over the world, to participate and worship the tradition of studiousness of their ancestors.
