In the spring of 1770, a ferocious wild tiger rushed into the hamlet south of Tan Kieng Market (presently Ward 2, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City). The tiger roared fiercely, frightening villagers, who hurriedly reported the beast to the local mandarin. He sent soldiers to catch the tiger. However, the tiger was so savage that no one dared get close. Three days passed. Neither the soldiers nor the tiger moved. By chance, a Buddhist monk named Tang An and his disciple, Tri Nang, who had come from afar, passed by the scene. They saw the local people in danger and offered to fight the tiger. Tang An faced the tiger at once; the two fought for quite some time. Finally, after facing Tang An's powerful blows, the tiger ran away into thick bamboo bushes. Tang An chased it.
Suddenly the tiger jumped out in a counterattack. Tang An ducked to avoid the tiger's attack, lost his balance, and fell into a ditch. The tiger pounced on Tang An. This happened so fast that Tri Nang had no time to react. As the tiger tore up his master, Tri Nang hit the tiger's head with his con (a cudgel-like weapon), killing it. The local people thanked Tri Nang profusely, buried Tang An, and set up a temple in his honor. During the past 200 years, successive generations of Tan Kieng have extolled the two heroes and their martial arts skills. Today, an altar for Tang An sits next to one for the local tutelary god in the Tan Kieng Communal House.
