Con Son - Kiep Bac Spring Festival 2018 opened

Thứ Hai, 05/03/2018, 16:27

PSNews – The annual spring festival of Con Son – Kiep Bac which is considered one of the national festivals kicked off on March 3, at Con Son Pagoda, in the northern province of Hai Duong. 

Photo for illustration. 

This year-festival commemorates the 684th death anniversary of monk Huyen Quang, who died in 1334 and was the third founder of the Truc Lam Zen sect.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Luong Van Cau emphasized that the historical significance of the site Con Son – Kiep Bac reflects great contributions of the Truc Lam Zen sect as well as monk Huyen Quang to the national construction and safeguard in the past. 

The festival includes many cultural and sport activities such as incense offerings, worshipping rituals at Ngu Nhac Mountain, a mud banger festival (an ancient game involving tossing a large, shaped piece of clay, approx. 30kg and trying to make the loudest bag from it smashing apart), a wrestling contest, and a cake making contest.

On this occasion, the provincial People’s Committee announced the Decision by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recognising the Con Son Tu Phuc Tu Bi stele in Con Son Pagoda as a national treasure.

The Con Son Tu Phuc Tu Bi stele dates back to the Le Trung Hung (16th -18th century) Dynasty under the reign of Hoang Dinh (Le Kinh Tong) (1601-1619). It is a precious material about literature, history and fine art, especially for the study of history of Con Son Pagoda. 

Covering a total area of eight hectares in Chi Linh district, the Con Son-Kiep Bac historical site is entwined with the lives and causes of Tran Hung Dao and the Great Man of Culture of the World, Nguyen Trai. 

The site was a defence line built at the end of the 13th century to protect the Thang Long Imperial Citadel. It witnessed important battles between the Tran dynasty army and the Yuan-Mongol invaders. 

With its special values, the Con Son – Kiep Bac was recognised as a national heritage site in 1962 and a special national heritage site in 2012. In 2013, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism named the Spring Festival in Con Son Pagoda and the Autumn Festival in Kiep Bac Temple as national intangible cultural heritages. 

By Linh Bui