This well has been standing there for 600 years. It is near to the pagoda, the communal house and the field of Thich Chung village, Ba Hien commune, Binh Xuyen, Vinh Phuc. The well has witnessed the birth of different generations of villagers. The villagers, when going to the field, pass by the well, a rustic scene with a banian tree, a water well and a communal house. The mouth of most of the wells often has the round shape. However the mouth of the ancient well in this commune is square. It is made by four rectangular slabs of rock which are 1.5m long and 1m wide and joined with each other without mortar.
As said by elderly people in Thich Chung village, the uneven surface of the well mouth is the result of grinding knives and farming tools. Now the people do not grind knives here and this is a sacred well. These Chinese words are “Hong Duc Nhi Thap That Nien Canh Tuat Thap Nguyet Tam Thap Nhat khoi tao”, which means October 15th in the year of Canh Tuat, the 21th year of the Hong Duc dynasty. Recently, the local authorities have invited experts to examine the wells, and they said that the wells were built over 600 years ago, in 1490 under the Post-Le dynasty. The roads in rural area in the Red River Delta, laterite walls, tiled roofs, upright and hospitable people. All these create a lively picture of the Vietnamese countryside.
Every day, the people in Thich Chung village pass by the well. Despite the weather and time, the well is still standing here. Its mysterious beauty cannot be overshadowed by anything, even the modern newly built house of Loi. The ancient well has for generations supplied water for daily activities of the local people. It has a unique structure. Its mouth is made by four rectangular slabs of rock. However, the lower part is in the round shape and made of pebble. All the ancient wells are smaller than village wells in the Red River Delta.
Some ancient wells have the same Chinese words which were carved in 1490 under the Post-Le dynasty. The well in the commune may have been built in the same period. The ancient wells are the treasure of Ba Hien commune. There are 30 ancient wells in Ba Hien commune but 7 ones have been filled. Existing ancient wells are now located in four villages: Thich Chung, Vinh Quang, Thien Chi and Ba Huong. The traces of knife and sword sharpening mark a glorious time of the country.
Over hundreds of years, generations of the villages have used the water taken for these ancient wells in daily life. The wells are associated with many mysterious stories. It is strange that each well has a piece of ironwood, or stone on the bottom. Local people say thanks to that the wells never run dry. No one remembers all the legends and rumors about the wells, but it was great of the ancestors to choose positions to dig the wells so that they will never run dry. This is still a mystery.
Source: VTC10 - NETVIET
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