TRUONG HAN TEMPLE – ANH SON

Truong Han temple relic is located in village 3, Tho Son commune, Anh Son district, 35km in the west of Anh Son district center, located on Ta Ngon mountain, facing the Trang Thuong creek, creating a sacred architectural space but very close to nature.

According to the documents being kept at the temple, Truong Han Temple was built in the Later Le dynasty as a place to worship Dukedoom Truong Cong Han - the Thai ethnic headman in Khe Trang village (Muong Phuc, Tho Son commune) has helped Le Loi and Lam Son insurgent troops to maintain their troops and strengthen their forces to attack Tra Lan citadel (the border between Con Cuong and Anh Son districts, Nghe An province) for nearly 600 years ago, contributing to the victory of "Tra Lan region where bamboo splits ash flies " in the history of fighting against the Ming army.

Truong Han, also known as Truong Cong Han, was born around the end of the 14^th century, in Khe Trang village, Tien Ky commune (now Tho Son commune, Anh Son district, Nghe An province). Born and raised under the circumstance of losing the country & breaking the house, our people from the lowlands to the mountains all suffered from slavery under the brutal domination of the Ming invaders. In the middle of the 15^th century, Le Loi pulled the Lam Son insurgent soldiers from Lam Son, Thanh Hoa to Nghe An and defeated Tra Lan. When coming to Khe Trang village, the insurgent soldiers relied on the rugged mountains here as a base. When they heard that the Lam Son insurgent soldiers prepared to attack Tra Lan citadel, the people of the villages and hamlets in the area eagerly responded. The Thai ethnic headman in Khe Trang village - Truong Han, and his two younger brothers, Truong Tam and Truong Tham, joined the Lam Son insurgent soldiers and brought troops, foods to provide soldiers in the days of ambushing the citadel, destroy the enemy. Appreciated by the chivalrous spirit of the Truong Han brothers, Le Loi recruited the martyrs and appointed Truong Han as a pioneer general.

At the end of 1424, Truong Han and his fellow soldiers led the way for Le Loi troops to besiege and attack Tra Lan citadel. Behind, the people of the Muong villages in the area actively transported food and weapons to support the insurgents to besiege and destroy the citadel. When the food ran out, Truong Han ordered the villagers to pick the khau fruit, the khua tree and the Dioscorea persimilis to supply the insurgents. After defeating the Ming invaders, Le Loi gave Truong Han the position of governor of Tra Lan province, entitled to fortune from the temple "Tam Bach Dinh Son", which means governing a large area with 300 mountains.

When he died, considering his great merits, King Le Thai To (Le Loi) granted an ordination and built a temple and posthumously awarded him "Dukedoom" assigned to the people of Ke Trang area to establish temples and organize sacrifices... Every year, descendants and local people make sacrifices at the temple on the occasion of May 16^th in the lunar month. In 1967, due to the destruction of the war, the temple showed signs of deterioration, Truong Cong Duong (a descendant of Truong Han) moved all kinds of worship items at the temple to hide in his house. In 1994, the temple was seriously degraded, old and forced to be demolished, leaving only traces of four pillars on a ground surface area of nearly 20m2 located on top of a Ta Ngon mountain. Some of the temple's worshiping and sacrificial items include: 1 throne, 2 genealogical books (in Chinese characters), 2 ordinations, 1 map written in Chinese characters, 2 drums, 1 treasure sword, 1 magic weapon and some other sacrifices are kept at the house of Mr. Truong Cong Xuan (grandson of Truong Cong Duong) in hamlet 1, Tho Son commune.

At this time, although the temple of Truong Han no longer exists, it still exists in the minds of generations of people in Tho Son commune, Anh Son district. People still often come and burn incense at the old ground of the temple to commemorate the merits of headman Truong Han and consider this a spiritual place to pray for peace and good fortune. According to the wishes of the people, in early 2013, the government and local people in Tho Son commune donated to rebuild the temple on the old ground. Currently, the temple consists of a 3-room wooden compartments, surrounded by walls on 3 sides with a total area of 80 m2. The temple also preserves many original artifacts of historical and cultural value such as palanquins, parasols, altars, knives, swords, ordination (3 types), sacrifice literature, and pedigree in Chinese characters.

With typical historical and cultural values, Truong Han Temple, Tho Son commune has been ranked as a provincial historical relic according to Decision No. 5861/QD.UB dated December 28^th, 2018 of the People's Committee of Nghe An province.