Great Divine Temple
Tòa Thánh Tây Ninh
View of the Great Divine Temple
Religion
AffiliationCaodaism
Location
LocationTây Ninh province
CountryVietnam
Geographic coordinates11°18′14″N 106°08′01″E / 11.303858°N 106.133525°E / 11.303858; 106.133525
Architecture
Groundbreaking1931
Completed1947
Specifications
Length97.5 metres (320 ft)
Width22 metres (72 ft)

Great Divine Temple, also known as the Cao Dai Cathedral or Tay Ninh Holy Tower (Vietnamese: Tòa Thánh Tây Ninh), is a religious building in the Cao Dai Holy See complex in Tây Ninh province, Southeast Vietnam.[1][2] It is the first and the most important temple of Caodaism in Vietnam.[3][4]

History

Following the establishment of the religion in 1926, 96 acres of forested land at Bau Ca Na in Long Thanh hamlet, previously owned by a Frenchman called Aspar, was acquired for the construction of the Holy See.[5] Groundbreaking took place in 1931, but due to insufficient budget, the actual construction did not start until 1936 and eventually completed in 1947.[6][7]

Architecture

Interior of the Great Divine Temple

The Cao Dai Holy Land is located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of Tây Ninh, the provincial capital, and 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of Ho Chi Minh City. It covers an area of approximately 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi) and has a total of twelve entrances, including a main gate known as Chánh Môn and eleven numbered gates.[3][8] The main gate, however, remains closed and only opens occasionally to welcome valued guests.[9]

The Holy See complex consists of the central Great Divine Temple, the main administrative offices, residences for high officials and adepts working on the grounds, and other major facilities.[10] Overall, the temple has a total length of 97.5 metres (320 ft) and a width of 22 metres (72 ft),[7] consisting of three parts, including Hiep Thien Dai, Cuu Trung Dai, and Bat Quai Dai. The building is oriented east–west direction, with its back (the Bat Quai Dai) facing east and the façade with two towers facing west.[3]

The first and front part, Hiep Thien Dai, has two 27-meter-tall towers on either side, with the left one as the bell tower and the right one as the drum tower.[7] Each tower has six floors whose heights are not the same. A three-floor structure is located between the towers and connects their lower three floors. The ground floor of this structure, immediately behind the main entrance, is known as Tinh Tam Dien. It is divided into three spaces with the main hall in the middle, right side for men and left side for women to enter the central hall.[3]

View of the temple from the back

The middle part of the temple is Cuu Trung Dai. This long space is not flat but rather divided into nine levels from low to high, corresponding to nine ranks in the hierarchy. The fifth level is the area for bishops. On the roof right above this level rises a high tower known as Nghinh Phong Dai. The lower half of the tower has a square shape while the upper part is circular.[3]

The Qian-Kun ball

The last part of the Great Divine Temple is the Bat Quai Dai, which consists of a high octagonal-shaped tower. According to the Caodaists, this is the place of Duc Chi Ton (Jade Emperor), Gods, Saints, Buddha, and Fairies. It is considered the soul of the temple. The eight sides of Bat Quai Dai correspond to a part of Bagua, including Qian, Dui, Li, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Gen, Kun. The floor of Bat Quai Dai consists of twelve levels of staircase, from the outermost, largest and lowest to the innermost, smallest and highest. The center of the space (on the highest level) houses a 3.3-meter diameter cosmos ball, known as the Qian-Kun ball,[7] representing the Jade Emperor's universe. Qian and Kun are the two trigrams in Bagua symbolizing heaven/sky and ground/earth. Caodaism worships the Divine Eye (left eye of God) so the eye symbol can be found anywhere in the temple such as on the flags, window frames, walls. The cosmos ball in Bat Quai Dai is no exception, and in fact, its eye symbol is the biggest among any other. The Great Divine Temple is the only place that has the Qian-Kun ball, since other Caodaism temples are not allowed to have it.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "The Cao Dai Religion". Vietnam Magazine. Vietnam Council on Foreign Relations. VII (8): 7–12. 1974. Archived from the original on 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  2. ↑ "Sect With Eclectic Theology Clings to Life in Vietnam". Los Angeles Times. June 16, 1990. Archived from the original on 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Giang, Ngoc; Nguyen, Thi (2016). "A Study on the Tay Ninh Holy Tower of Caodaism in Vietnam: The Axis Mundi and Cosmic Cross Represented by the Temple". Procedia Engineering. 142: 252–259. Archived from the original on 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2023-11-13 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
  4. ↑ Dodd, Jan; Lewis, Mark; Emmons, Ron (2003). The Rough Guide to Vietnam (4th ed.). Rough Guides. pp. 129–132. Archived from the original on 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  5. ↑ Tran, My-Van (2000). "Vietnam's Caodaism Independence, and Peace: The Life and Work of Pham Cong Tac (1890-1959)". Prosea Research Paper (38). Archived from the original on 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  6. ↑ "Tòa Thánh Cao Đài Tây Ninh". Thánh Thất Thánh Tịnh Cao Đài (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 2022-05-26. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Nguyễn, Zoey. "Revealing the Secrets of Caodaism in Tay Ninh". Vietnam Times. Archived from the original on 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  8. ↑ "A glance at Tay Ninh, the capital of Caodaism". VietnamPlus. June 19, 2017. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Chánh môn Tòa Thánh". Thánh Thất Thánh Tịnh Cao Đài (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 2022-05-17. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  10. ↑ Oliver, Victor L. (1976). Caodai Spiritism: A Study of Religion in Vietnamese Society. BRILL. p. 52. Archived from the original on 2023-04-14. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
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