The temple of General Pham Bach Ho is located in Lanh wharf (May ferry wharf) in Dang Chau land, now Dang Chau village, Lam Son ward, Hung Yen city.
The Temple of General Pham Bach Ho is also known as the May Temple. The temple is built in the shape of the letter “tam”, consisting of 3 buildings: the Front Hall, the Middle Hall, and the Back Hall with many elaborate carvings of high artistic value. Deep inside the Back Hall is the Forbidden Palace, where the statue and main altar of General Pham Bach Ho, his mother and wife are located. In 1992, the temple was ranked as a “Historical and Architectural Relic” by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism). The temple worshiping General Pham Bach Ho is also a typical relic of the Pho Hien National Special Relic Site, ranked by the Prime Minister in 2014.
About General Pham Bach Ho, he was born on 10 January 910. Legend has it that before giving birth, his mother dreamed of Son Tinh and a white tiger, so when he was born, she named him Bach Ho. Since childhood, he was intelligent and upright; growing up, he had a strong body, was good at literature and martial arts, and had talent in water. With his talent, he became the chief of Dang Chau and a talented general of Duong Dinh Nghe. When Ngo Quyen defeated the Southern Han army, Pham Bach Ho had great merit in assisting Ngo Quyen. The Ngo Dynasty was established, with the capital in Co Loa. Pham Bach Ho retreated to Dang Chau to build a citadel to guard this land. At the end of the Ngo Dynasty, he was appointed as Phong At Giao to guard the Hai Dong sea area. After the fall of the Ngo Dynasty, Pham Bach Ho still occupied Dang Chau land, becoming one of the 12 warlords. Later, Dinh Bo Linh suppressed the 12 warlords, Pham Bach Ho quickly gathered under Dinh Bo Linh’s righteous flag, made great contributions to the unification of the Dinh Dynasty and was appointed by King Dinh to the position of Royal Guard General. He died on 16 November 983 at his palace. King Le at that time gave him the title of Dang Vuong; the people built a temple at his palace and honored him as Thanh Hoang. After the temple was built, King Le honored him as “Khai Thien Ho Quoc Thuong Dang Toi Linh Than”.
Currently, the temple still preserves many artifacts of cultural, historical and artistic value, such as Great inscription, Bat Cong palanquin, and 18 royal decrees from different periods. Every year, the temple usually organizes festivals on 3 occasions: 8-10 of the first lunar month every year (the general’s birthday), 16-24 of the 6th lunar month (the general’s mother’s death anniversary) and 12-18 of the 11th lunar month every year (the general’s death anniversary).
