CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · Places & Architecture

One Pillar Pagoda

Historic Buddhist temple in Hanoi, Vietnam, dedicated to the deity Guanyin

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 21, 2026
Entity authorityQ1186292
Source-derived summary

The One Pillar Pagoda (Vietnamese: Chùa Một Cột; chữ Nôm: 廚𠬠榾), formally belongs to an architecture complex called Diên Hựu tự (chữ Hán: 延祐寺) which means 'pagoda of extended blessings'. The pagoda is a historic Buddhist temple in the central Ba Đình district (near the Thăng Long Citadel), Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. The most famous part of this architecture complex is Liên Hoa Đài (蓮花臺) means 'the lotus pedestal' which is a temple with special structure: a building laid on one pillar. The original pagoda was built in 1049, had some additions and was perfected in 1105. It is regarded alongside the Hương Temple, as one of Vietnam's two most iconic temples.

History

Lý dynasty

The temple was built by Emperor Lý Thái Tông, who ruled from 1028 to 1054. According to the court records, Lý Thái Tông was childless and dreamt that he met the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, who handed him a baby son while seated on a lotus flower. Lý Thái Tông then married a peasant girl he had met; the couple had a son. The emperor constructed the temple in gratitude for this in 1049, having been told by a monk named Thiền Tuệ to build the temple, by erecting a pillar in the middle of a lotus pond, similar to the one he saw in the dream.

The temple was located in what was then the Tây Cấm Garden in Thạch Bảo, Vĩnh Thuận district in the capital Thăng Long (now known as Hanoi).

Editorial summary

“One Pillar Pagoda” enters the record as historic Buddhist temple in Hanoi, Vietnam, dedicated to the deity Guanyin. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Pillar, Pagoda and Historic can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1049, 1105, 1028, 1054—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Pillar, Pagoda and Historic.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“One Pillar Pagoda” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Pillar, Pagoda and Historic provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1186292. Authority coordinates are 21.036, 105.833. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1049, 1105, 1028 and 1054.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “One Pillar Pagoda”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow One Pillar Pagoda primary sources, One Pillar Pagoda archive and Pillar research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “One Pillar Pagoda”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from One Pillar Pagoda” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.