GREAT CAO DAI TEMPLE
A temple whose walls are richly decorated with frescoes, those in the entrance hall depict the guided spirits
Built from 1933 to 1955, this temple is an architectural mixture of all styles, a kind of mosaic made of different pieces of pagodas, churches and castles model Disneyland. One enters through a side door into a room where portraits of Victor Hugo, Nguyên Binh Khiêm (1491-1585, poet and sort of Vietnamese Nostradamus) and Ton Dat Tien (Chinese revolutionary) hang. A small staircase leads to the first floor, where the nave opens into a gallery designed for musicians. From here one has a general view of the temple with, in the centre, the divine eye painted on a sphere. The Taoist octagon that surrounds it symbolizes Creation. One recognizes the symbolic animals: the dragons signify strength and intelligence; the tortoise, longevity; the phoenix and the unicorn, peace... On the altars are placed the tablets of the cult of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives to the sect. The thrones of the pope (Giao Tong) and of the clergy dignitaries are placed in a circular verandah.
The rest of the temple is divided by the 18 columns into 9 degrees, each degree being intended to accommodate a different hierarchical rank: the pope, the elder brother corresponding to the eighth degree. If all the decorations are symbolic, the place devoted to each object is also symbolic: the throne of the pope is placed just below the eye, that of Ho Phap (the master of ceremonies) is on the upper floor. The walls are richly decorated with frescoes, those of the entrance hall representing the guided spirits.
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