Truong Xuan stele, stone, erected in the 14th year of the Sui Ta Yè reign (618), Truong Xuan village, Dong Ninh commune, Dong Son district, Thanh Hoa province
Truong Xuan stele, stone, erected in the 14th year of the Sui Ta Yè reign (618), Truong Xuan village, Dong Ninh commune, Dong Son district, Thanh Hoa province
Truong Xuan stele is one of the two most ancient and precious stele ever discovered in Vietnam. The top is decorated with a pair of back-to-back dragons; the front is a semi-circle engraved with three rows of 12 small seal characters “Đại Tùy Cửu Chân quận Bảo An đạo tràng chi bi văn”. Most of the characters are blurred, but the rest of the text praises Buddhism, Buddhist teaching and tells of the life and work of the chief administrator Le Coc (or Le Ngoc) who supervised the construction of the Buddhist shrine and the erection of the stele. According to the document, he and his children carried out the uprisings against the Tang dynasty’s domination in 618. Thus, Thuong Xuan stele is a precious document which not only proves the introduction and development of Buddhism in our country in the early times but also shows uprising movements against the domination of Chinese feudal dynasties in this period.