THE BELL OF AN XA PAGODA, LONG BIEN, HANOI

Abstract

The bell of An Xa pagoda, Co Xa village, now Ngoc Thuy ward, Long Bien district, Hanoi city, was cast in the 11th year of Chinh Hoa (1690) of the Le dynasty. This is a temple bell, but it was etched on several Lord’s Palace edicts in the 17th and 18th centuries, exempting local people from tax collection in exchange for giving up land in the inner palace so that the Ly dynasty could build and live in Thang Long fortress. There are no agricultural fields beside the river. This is one of the few ancient bronze bells that have survived in Vietnamese villages, and the content of the documents inscribed on it is incredibly rich in terms of historical and cultural worth.