Quan Thanh Temple, Hanoi河内镇武观（真武祠）

Type: Overseas Daoist Temples
Location: Vietnam · Hanoi · Ba Dinh District · 190 Quán Thánh, P. Quán Thánh; on the southeastern shore of West Lake
Coordinates: 21.0431, 105.8367 Map ↗
First built: Traditionally dated to the reign of Ly Thai To, 1010–1028 (some Vietnamese sources give 1012) · The northern guardian among the Four Sacred Guardians of Thang Long; listed as a national historical and cultural relic on 28 April 1962; elevated to Special National Relic status on 18 January 2022 together with the Four Sacred Guardians of Thang Long
Heritage status: Vietnamese Special National Relic (2022)Vietnamese National Historical and Cultural Relic (1962)

Overview

Quan Thanh Temple (the Zhenwu Shrine) is the Daoist temple guarding the northern quarter among the "Four Sacred Guardians of Thang Long" in Hanoi; tradition holds that it was first built in the early Ly dynasty (1010–1028), and it is dedicated principally to Xuantian Zhenwu Di (the Perfected Warrior), with the Tortoise and Snake attending in subsidiary worship. The bronze seated statue of Xuantian Zhenwu Di within the temple was cast in 1677, during the reign of Le Hy Tong, standing 3.96 meters tall, about 8 meters in circumference, and weighing approximately 3.6 to 4 tons; it was cast under the direction of the founder Vu Cong Chan, and is the second-largest bronze statue in Vietnam — physical evidence that the cult of Zhenwu became localized in Vietnam and reached the scale of state ritual. The surviving building reflects the layout of a Nguyen-dynasty restoration, and the temple also serves as a venue for the teaching of traditional martial arts. The system of the "Four Sacred Guardians of Thang Long," which incorporated guardian deities of the four directions into the defensive structure of the royal capital, derives its conceptual framework directly from the Chinese Daoist notion of directional deities. It was listed as a national historical and cultural relic on 28 April 1962 by Decision No. 313-VH/VP, and was elevated, together with the whole complex of the "Four Sacred Guardians of Thang Long," to Special National Relic status on 18 January 2022.

Highlights

The northern guardian among the Four Sacred Guardians of Thang Long
A bronze seated statue of Xuantian Zhenwu Di cast in 1677
The second-largest bronze statue in Vietnam
Special National Relic (2022)

References