Thiên Cổ – Ancient Temple of Thien Co

Ancient Temple of Thien Co

Duong Street, Duu Lau Ward, Viet Tri City, Phu Tho Province

The Ancient Temple of Thien Co is situated on a small hill along Huong Lan Road, Trung Vuong Commune, Viet Tri City.

This is a place of worship dedicated to the couple, teacher Vu The Lang and his two students, Tien Dung and Ngoc Hoa princess – the 18th Hung King.

Here, the Ngoc Pha script is preserved, written in Chinese characters on thick white paper consisting of 13 pages, compiled by the scholar Nguyen Binh Phung in 1573. The Ngoc Pha clearly states that Vu The Lang’s father, Vu Cong, lived in Mo Trach, Hai Duong, and belonged to the poetic lineage. However, due to the lack of assets and the family’s impoverished conditions, the elderly couple moved to the Van Lang imperial city on the outskirts, seeking a place to teach and make a living. The couple gave birth to a son named The Lang. When he grew up, The Lang sought out acquaintances of his father in Dong Ngan Kinh Bac to marry the second daughter of Mr. Nguyen Cong, named Thuc. The couple returned to Huong Lan to continue their parents’ profession, dedicating themselves to teaching and promoting benevolent deeds.

On the 11th day of the first month in the year Mau Ngo (303 BCE), the couple gave birth to a son named Ro, two years after having twin sons. On the 2nd day of the second month in the year Quy Dau (288 BCE), the couple passed away without illness. The three sons, along with students and local villagers, held a burial ceremony and built a shrine to honor their parents.

Every year, with the spirit of “Respect the teacher and uphold morality,” hundreds of groups of visitors come to visit and offer incense at the temple. Particularly on full moon days, the first day of the lunar month, and before exams, many parents and students not only from the ancestral land but also from all over the country come here to offer incense, considering this place as a sacred site that brings luck and peace.