The Bagua is one of the important figures in Eastern culture. It is expressed in many aspects of life, most of which are put into combat, construction, and feng shui. This article will introduce readers to the largest bagua architectural model in Saigon. This is a Kham Chi Hoa Clinic. Let’s find out together.
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Kham Chi Hoa Clinic – Biggest Bague – Buiding in Saigon
In recent times, it has once known that Saigon has 3 famous architectures designed in the shape of a bagua. This is including the Turtle Lake; the Vietnam History Museum; and the Gazebo in the left corner of the Independence Palace (now renamed the Reunification Palace). However, the largest and most famous bagua architecture is the Kham Chi Hoa Clinic.
Chi Hoa Clinic has located at 324 Hoa Hung, Ward 13, District 10. This prison had built by the French in 1943.
The special architecture of this prison had designed and built by a Japanese architect. It’s according to the five elements of the bagua. It is three floors, and has an octagonal shape with 8 equal sides, and 8 corners A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H, representing the 8 sortileges in the I Ching (Book of Changes). There is also an opinion that this architecture has based on the bagua map of Khong Minh, corresponding to 8 battle gates: Huu – Sinh – Thuong – Do – Canh – Tu – Kinh – Khai.
Almost all materials such as cement, iron, and steel had transported from France. Therefore, this work has harmonized the basic features of French architecture: solid, discreet, and cool, while bringing the mystery of yin and yang of the five elements of the East. Chi Hoa Prison has 3 floors, 238 rooms, and a total area of 7 hectares, including two blocks of houses for female prisoners.
Some interesting thing about Kham Chi Hoa Clinic
Each side of the Bagua is an area. The back had sealed on the outside and the inside is full of iron bars. Chi Hoa Prison has only one entrance, it has said that it is the “Tu” (Death) door. Through that door is a system of tunnels, the way inside has designed according to the palace, if there is no guide, a person who goes there will lose their lives. Running out of direction is like entering a maze with no way out.
In the middle of the Bagua has a large octagonal courtyard divided into 8 small triangular areas. There are a lot of trees here, the lawn is clean and airy. In the center of the Bagua, there is a water pump station, with a section of the bulging water tank seen from above with the image of a sword plugged into the ground. It has heard that this sword has called: “Tru Tien Kiem”.
This is the sword town, the criminals no matter how cunning, when here all their tricks are also neutralized by this “spiritual” sword. This sword is the “heart” of the building. If this sword has pulled up, the whole “battle” does not need to be broken but will break by itself.
Kham Chi Hoa clinic is one of the most famous prisons in Saigon with a long history. It’s going through many different political regimes. Nowadays, it is also a famous prisoner prison in the middle of Saigon.
Author: Tue Lang
Translator: Fito Thinh
Note:
Bagua: also known as Pa Kua, is a Chinese philosophical and cosmological concept that refers to the eight trigrams used in Taoist divination practices and the eight basic principles of reality. It is also the name of a martial art and a feng shui practice. That uses an octagonal grid (bagua map) to map out the energy flow of a space and determin. Thus, how it can be optimized for the well-being and success of its inhabitants.
I Chinh: Also known as the Book of Changes, is an ancient Chinese divination text and philosophical classic. It is one of the oldest of the Chinese classics and has been in continuous use for over two thousand years.
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