Chi Nam Communal House

Chi Nam Communal House is named after the place name in Chi Nam Village, Le Chi Commune, Gia Lam District, now Le Chi Village, Thuan An Commune, Hanoi City.

The communal house is a place of worship for the two village tutelary deities, Chau Do Thong and Saint Tran Hung Dao. The legends of the two deities have been recorded and reflected as follows:

The Great King's surname was Chau, his taboo name was Uyen, and his full name was Bui Duy Tri, a commoner from Phu Ninh Village, now Phu Duc Village, Phu Dong Commune. In the time of Hung Vuong, he held the position of Do Thong, commanding the troops and horses throughout the realm. At that time, the Yin invaders came to occupy Chau Son land in Vu Ninh Province. The capital was in turmoil, and King Hung sent envoys to find talented people to fight the invaders and save the country. When they reached Phu Dong Village, the Heavenly King, then three years old, was lying on a bamboo bed, neither speaking nor smiling, and suddenly told the envoy: Hurry back and report to the king to prepare for me an iron horse, an iron staff, and a set of iron armor, all strong enough to defeat the invaders. The envoy hurried back and reported to the king; after hearing this, King Hung ordered blacksmiths to forge an iron horse, an iron staff, an iron helmet, and iron armor at once and deliver them to Phu Dong Village. The Heavenly King stretched and stood up, his body more than one truong tall; he gave a loud shout and leaped onto the iron horse, and the iron horse neighed loudly. King Hung ordered Chau Do Thong to lead troops and horses to follow the Heavenly King to defeat the invaders. The enemy general was killed, and the enemy troops suffered a great defeat at Chau Son; they all cried out and bowed their heads to surrender to Do Thong. Chau Do Thong followed the Heavenly King in fighting the invaders and had merit, so King Hung ordered Nha Temple Hamlet to build a shrine; later he was worshipped and conferred the title Tam Giang Dai Vuong. In Phu Dong Village on the Thien Duc River, a public plot of 16 mau was set aside as incense-offering land, and he was worshipped alongside at the Heavenly King's temple. Later, because of his spiritual efficacy, a shrine was also established on the right bank of the Thien Duc River in Chi Nam Village, Le Chi Commune, Gia Lam District. Through the Dinh, Le, Ly, and Tran dynasties, he was repeatedly conferred the title Duc Thanh Dai Vuong. Subsequent dynasties also bestowed additional honorific titles.

Tran Quoc Tuan was a royal relative of the Tran Dynasty and was conferred the title Hung Dao Dai Vuong. In the fifth year of Thieu Bao (1283), under the reign of Tran Nhan Tong, Yuan troops invaded our country; the King commanded the left and right generals and all the naval and land forces of the country to the border to resist the invaders, and also mobilized additional troops from Dong Hai, Van Tra, and Ba Diem circuits, defeating Thoat Hoan's army at Van Kiep Mountain. The Yuan court then sent Van Ho to mobilize 500,000 troops and 300 boats to the Bach Dang River. Knowing this in advance, the King had stakes driven into the Bach Dang River and covered with grass for camouflage. Taking advantage of the high tide, the King sent troops to provoke battle and then feigned defeat and fled; the enemy pursued, and when the tide receded, our troops turned back to attack. The enemy boats ran aground on the stake field, and we captured the enemy generals O Ma Nhi and Thoat Hoan alive; from then on, the Yuan invaders did not dare to come and invade. When his merits in fighting the Yuan were assessed, he was conferred the title Dai Vuong. Later, Pham Ba Nhan again led troops to invade; the King again received orders to lead troops to fight and utterly defeated the enemy at Van Kiep Mountain. All the areas of his fief during his lifetime established shrines for worship. Chi Nam Village, Le Chi Commune, was also within that fief.

Based on the dates recorded in the legends of the two village tutelary deities, Chau Do Thong and Tran Quoc Tuan, and the two royal edicts dated the ninth year of Khai Dinh (1924), as well as the dates of the steles at the site, the communal house has existed since the Le Trung Hung period, through the Tay Son period. After that, the site was restored through various historical periods. In 2020, the site underwent major restoration of its components.

The site still preserves a number of written documents and wooden artifacts such as horizontal plaques, altar curtains, thrones, ritual stands, and command boards, etc. These are valuable sources contributing to research on the history of formation and development of the communal house, as well as understanding the spiritual cultural values of the local people.

Chi Nam Communal House was ranked as a historical and cultural relic by the Hanoi City People's Committee in 2012.