Quan Su Pagoda

It lies halfway along the street bearing the same name and numbers 73. The entire pagoda compound is the ancient village of An Tap. At this place at the beginning of the Lê Dynasty (15th centurv).

A house called Quan Su was built to receive ambassadors from Laos, Chiem Thanh, etc. when thev visited Thang Long. Since these ambassadors were all Buddhists, a pagoda was built near Quan Su for them to practise the religion. Later, Quan Su was destroyed but the Quan Su Pagoda was preserved.

Quan Su Pagoda

At present, there are some stone steles in the pagoda; the most noteworthy one was made in 1842 on which the following paragraph is found: “The pagoda is in An Tap village, Tho Xuong district where the Buddha was worshipped in the front ceremonial hall, and Ly Quoc Su (an erudite Buddhist monk who lived from approximately 1100-1141 and was considered the patriarch of the craft of bronze casting) was worshipped at the back. In the early reign of King Gia Long (1802-1820), the Thang Long Citadel was renamed Bac Thanh (Northern Citadel) and several military stations were built. The pagoda was located next to the Hau Quan Station.”

Quan Su Pagoda

In 1934, the Tonkinese Buddhist Association used this pagoda as its headquarters. In 1942, the pagoda was rebuilt in its current architecture and interior decoration. In 1958, Viet Nam’s United Buddhist Association was founded, making the pagoda its head office.