Thai Lac Pagoda

Thai Lac Pagoda, also known as Phap Van Tu or Ba Ca Pagoda, is one of the three oldest timber buildings in the country, all founded under the Tran dynasty, alongside Dau Pagoda and Boi Khe Pagoda.

It stands on raised ground facing south-east, in the noi cong ngoai quoc plan, its buildings set in balanced symmetry along a north-west to south-east axis: the three-entrance gate, the courtyard, the main sanctuary, the founders’ hall, the Mother Goddess shrine and a garden of stupas.

Beyond the architecture, its greatest value lies in the wood carvings that survive, with human figures and sacred creatures. Carvers cut into hard timber with sharp gouges, making lines that read as if drawn with a brush. In the kneeling figures holding lotus thrones, line still serves the mass. In the climbing flowers, the waves, and above all the celestial maidens and musicians, line itself becomes the language, closer to drawing than to sculpture, fine and free, giving a concise picture of social life and Buddhist art in Dai Viet at the time.

The carvings also show clearly the exchange with, and the influence of, northern and South Asian cultures on the country’s traditional art.