VIETNAMESE TEMPLES
 
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Buddhism was introduced into Viet Nam by Indian monks that followed the trade routes around the beginning of the Common Era. Buddhism has since grown and flourished over time to become one of the main religions of Viet Nam. Through Vietnamese history, there were many big and famous temples built by national leaders to commemorate their reign, but the great majority was the shrines and worship halls built by the local people that are present in every villages and cities.

The first Buddhist temple recorded in the historical annals is the Khai Quoc (Founding the Nation) erected by King Ly Bi in the 6th century. From the 7th to the 9th century, as Chinese Buddhism gained more influence, many temples were constructed and then cloistered by Chinese monks. When Viet Nam finally gained independence from the Chinese in 938, Buddhism already had a prominent role in both the spiritual and political life of Viet Nam. The Ngo, Dinh, Le, Ly and Tran dynasties that followed the independence was all ardent supporters of Buddhism. During the Ly and the Tran periods, hundreds of temples were constructed throughout the nation, some of them were of monumental scale such as the Phat Tich (1050) and the Dam (1086) temples which were built on high leveled planes on mountain side. Other temples displayed very high level of architectural originality such as the Dien Huu temple (also known as Mot Cot or One Pillar) built in 1049 in the shape of a blossomed lotus. The large temples of the Ly and Tran periods usually have tall, multiple story towers (12 or 13 stories) erected on two sides of the main building (the Bao Thien, the Phat Tich and the Pho Minh). The interior of the temples and towers was decorated with very fine statues and bas-relief made of stone. These works were decorated with distinctive Vietnamese design motifs such as dragons, elephants, lions, chrysanthemum, lotus and water waves. Few of the sculptures also showed influence of Cham art from the southerly kingdom of Champa such as the sacred Garuda birds or the Aspara dancers.

When the Later Le dynasty was founded in 1428, Buddhist influence had somewhat declined as compared to Confucianism, but it still played a pivotal role in the spiritual and religious life of Viet Nam. The Buddhist temple was no longer just for the worship of Buddha but also the many Saints of the nation. From the 16th century on, Vietnamese society gradually lost its stability due to repeated civil wars between the ruling lords, first between the Trinh and the Mac and then the Trinh and the Nguyen. Buddhism once again flourished as the people was looking for spiritual guidance and support from religion. Numerous new temples were built and existing ones reconstructed. The Mac-period temples are particularly well known for their collection of wooden statues displayed on the altars. A great number of statues of Buddha, national saints and royal personalities (such as the queen-mothers, princesses, kings, etc. were sculpted from jackfruit wood and painted with lacquer. Also displayed was ceremonial pottery such as incense-burners and lamp stands from Chu Dau and Bat Trang, two most famous pottery villages of the time.

When the Nguyen lords established their territory in the South between the 17th and 18th century, they constructed many temples in the newfound colony such as the Thien Mu (1601) and Sung Hoa (1602) in Hue. The Nguyen's march to the South continued with the construction of the Tu An (1752) and Thien Truong (1755) in Gia Dinh province and many more smaller temples in the Mekong delta during the later half of 18th century. After 1802, not many new temples were erected, but a great number of existing ones were continually restored and expanded, especially those located in large cities such as in Ha Noi, Hue and Saigon.

Contact with Western civilization in the early 20th century brought in a new architectural formation of the Buddhism temple, one that is constructed with iron, steel and concrete to take place of the traditional materials. Many of these newly built temples showed sign of design influence from foreign countries such as Japan, China, India as well as Western Europe.



 
The Traditional Architectural Layout of Buddhist Temple
The temple is usually comprised of not a single building but an architectural complex of many buildings standing in line or side by side. The simplest form of architectural layout is patterned after the Chinese letter Dinh ( T ), consisting of the main sanctuary laid in perpendicular to the bai duong (praying hall) in the front. A more common layout is the Cong ( H ) letter where the main sanctuary and the bai duong laid in parallel and linked by a transversal hall called nha thieu huong (incense burning hall) where Buddhist rites are conducted. Another common layout is the Tam letter which includes three buildings, the lower, the middle and the upper building, lay in parallel of each other. The most common layout pattern is called noi cong ngoai quoc which has two corridors linking the front with the rear building forming a rectangular frame around the incense-burning hall located in the middle. Around the main buildings are secondary buildings such as the house of patriarchs, the residence for the monks, the bell tower and the cong tam quan (three-door entrance) served as the entry gate of the temple.

Minh Bui
Reference: Chua Viet Nam, Ha van Tan, Ha Noi, 1993





 
One-pillar PAGODA, Hanoi. The pagoda owes its existence to a dream of King Ly Thai Tong. One night in his dream, Kwan Yin led him to a lotus shine... Waking up, he consulted his officials about the dream. Among them was Thien Tue, a cultivated and respectable monk. Thien Tue advised the king to built a pagoda with a stone pillar amidst a pond and setting the shrine on top of the pillar.
PAGODE à un pied. Hanoi. Bâtie au XI siècle, reconstruite après 1955. Le pilotis situé dans un bassin d'eau est sensiblement moins haut que celui existant à l'origine.

Reference: Danh Lam Nuoc Viet

Chua tap PAGODA, 16-17th century. The pagoda was situated in the vicinity of Thanh Hoa and Nam Dinh provinces. Exterior walls as well as walls inside the front court were erected to separate the evil spirit. A small statue of sitting Buddha and traditional lion were seen in two exterior lateral columns. At interior columns, bas relief of brush and ink-plate indicated that the pagoda has been dedicated to the memory of a famous philosopher and writer.
PAGODE de Chua-tap XVI-XVII siècle. PAGODE de Chua-tap. A proximité de Thanh Hoa et de Nam-dinh. Devant elle, le mur, qúon ne voit pas sur le tableau, de protection habituel que l'on élève soit à l'exterieur soit dans la cour intérieure, en face de l'entrée; ce mur est destiné à écarter les esprits maléfiques. Ses deux colonnes latérales portent un petit Bouddha assis, ainsi que le lion traditionnel. Sur les colonnes du mur intérieur, on remarque un pinceau et un encrier qui indiquent que la pagode fut érigée à la mémoire d'un écrivain ou d'un philosophe répute.

About 11 meter high. Gallery to upstairs in spiral form. SALLE de la "TOUR AUX NEUF ÉTAGES" XVI siècle. But thap Environ 11 mètres de haut. XVI siècle. Temple de But-thap. Derrière les portes ouvertes du faîtage du premier étage, se trouve une galerie conduisant aux étages supérieurs de la tour pivotante.

Chua thap Bac Ninh, 17-18th century. About 10 meter high. The temple was constructed of flat stones, with 5 stories, windows and relief of Buddha were alternated in each story. The pagodas of this style were rare in Viet Nam. PAGODE à stûpas de But-thap (Bac Ninh). XVII-XVIII siècle. Environ 10 mètres de haut. XVI siècle. A côte des salles du temple, se trouvent plusieurs Stûpas, en particulier celle du premier bonze qui célébra les offices dans ce temple. La pagode, construite en pierres plates, possède cinq étages; à chaque étage, alternant avec les fenêtres, des reliefs représentant Bouddha. Les pagodes de ce genre sont assez rares au Viêt-nam.