Dai Phu Communal House

Dai Phu Communal House was ranked at city level under Decision No. 772/QD-UBND dated January 27, 2014, of the Hanoi City People's Committee

1. General introduction:
Dai Phu Communal House is located at the Liep Tuyet crossroads in an open space; on its left is the headquarters of the Liep Tuyet agricultural cooperative, on its right is a residential area, and in front is an ancient moss-covered banyan tree, creating solemnity for the relic site.
Dai Phu Communal House includes the following items: the pillar ceremonial gate, the main hall, and the rear sanctuary
2. Architectural description:
2.1. Pillar ceremonial gate:
The pillar ceremonial gate is a symmetrical and balanced structure. In the middle between the two pillars are two walkways leading inside. The tops of the pillars are decorated with four phoenixes in attendance, with stylized bodies and wings, tails pointing to the sky, heads turned in four directions. Below the four phoenixes is a tiger tally depicting the Brahmanical 'churning of the sea of milk', associated with the agricultural beliefs of Asian people, along with lantern panels decorated with dragons, unicorns, lotus flowers, and plants. The pillar bodies are chamfered and marked with lines following geometric sections; the pillar bodies are carved with pairs of Chinese character couplets praising the merits of the village tutelary god.
The pillar bases are constricted in a gourd-neck shape.
Connecting from the pillar gate to both sides are low walls, a cannon gate, and two small pillars together with walls enclosing the grounds. On the low walls are lemon-flower brick panels; below are tigers and dragons facing the pillar gate. The cannon gate has two tiers and eight curved roofs. At the top is a sun image with rays shooting upward.
At the outermost side are two small pillars. At the top are a pair of kneeling nghe mythical lions meaning spiritual control. The lantern panels are left empty. The body and base of the pillars are made similarly to the pillar gate; low walls surround the entire grounds of the communal house.
2.2. Main Hall:
From the pillar ceremonial gate, crossing a yard paved with red Bat bricks 30x30 cm, one reaches the main hall. The main hall stands on a three-step foundation, consisting of 3 bays and 2 side wings with 4 curved roofs

- Viewed from outside, on the roof ridge is the image of two dragons flanking the moon on a lemon-flower brick ridge; at the two ends of the ridge are two kìm mythical creatures in the posture of spitting pearls. At the bends are figures in a downward-running posture with heads raised high. At the four roof corners, mythical creatures are decorated quite elaborately in the 'dragon reclining, phoenix offering' posture.
Inside are six roof-supporting truss sets made consistently in two forms:
'Upper giao chien chong ruong, middle ke ngoi, lower ke bay' on six rows of column bases; the two truss sets of the side wings are made in the style 'upper van me, lower ke xo' on six rows of column bases. The distance from main column to main column is ... m, from main column to military column is .... m.
From the two ends of the main columns, a pig-belly beam runs horizontally. Above the beam are the con nhi brackets supported by blocks at both ends arranged progressively higher to receive boat-shaped supports and the upper ridge, together with the purlin system supporting the roof.
Also from the main columns, lower and upper beams run horizontally, tenoned into the military columns to support hidden posts, forming a triangle. At this position, a corner bracket divides evenly toward the four corners to form four curved roofs. The entire roof load is transmitted to the frame and the system of columns and beams of the main hall.
2.3. Rear Sanctuary:
From the main hall, crossing a yard about 5 m wide paved with red Bat bricks 30x30 cm, one reaches the rear sanctuary. The rear sanctuary is built in the 'front blade, rear gable' style. This item is a longitudinal house divided into two parts: the outer part and the inner part.
The roof section in front of the rear sanctuary has two curved blades together with the roof, forming a veranda about 2 m wide. The outer truss set is made in the 'ke xo' style on two rows of column bases. This architectural motif bears a strong Nguyen dynasty mark.

Separating the outer and inner parts are three doors. The central door is hinged and opens only when the village holds a festival. The two side doors are smaller, made in the folding-panel hinged style. Above the three doors are reliefs of mythical creatures such as tiger tallies and dragons rolling in water.
Inside is the roof-supporting truss set made in the style 'upper chong ruong, lower ke' on four rows of column bases hiding two columns. The ruong brackets here are stacked tightly, decorated with lively leaf patterns, demonstrating the artisans' skillful hands.
Here three altars are arranged. The central altar is the highest and largest, dedicated to Trieu Lang; on both sides are two smaller altars dedicated to Than Lang and Gia Lang. The ritual objects here bear strong artistic styles of the Le and Nguyen dynasties, such as incense bowls from Tho Ha, Nguyen dynasty dragon thrones, van gia, edict boxes...

Dai Phu Communal House is a cultural work intended to meet the spiritual, religious, and belief-related living needs of a village community. Over time, the communal house has gathered profound historical, cultural, scientific, and aesthetic values. In its existence, Dai Phu Communal House has contributed significantly to preserving the traditional cultural values of the nation.
* Historical value:
The relic is located in a land with a long history and revolutionary tradition. Dai Phu Communal House was once a place where people took shelter during evacuations. This is the land of Quoc district with anecdotes and legends reflecting the struggle and land reclamation process of ancient Vietnamese people to establish prosperous villages. The Dai Phu communal house - pagoda relic cluster will become a complete relic complex of Dai Phu village and is evidence of the depth and tradition of culture and history, reflecting the basic characteristics of the culture of the Northern Delta region. This is an important premise for the local socio-economic development. Moreover, the relic also leaves a strong mark in the formation of the historical tradition of Liep Tuyet homeland.
* Architectural and artistic value:
Dai Phu Communal House is a newly restored artistic architectural work. With the current architectural items, it still preserves the traditional architectural style. These are truss sets made in the style 'Thuong gia chieng chong ruong, ke ngoi, trung ha ke bay' on six rows of column bases; the two truss sets of the side wings are made in the style 'Thuong van me, ha ke xo'.
The relic's system of artifacts is rich and diverse, such as dragon thrones and altars, Tho Ha ceramic incense bowls dating to the 18th century, horizontal lacquered boards, couplets, and imperial edicts... The artifacts here not only have aesthetic and artistic value but also make the relic more sacred.
* Cultural and scientific value:
It can be said that Dai Phu Communal House in Kieu Phu commune is one of the places where the villagers' spirituality converges and shines. Currently, relics such as communal houses and pagodas...
are evidence of the development process and spiritual culture of this land.
The worship of the three great kings Trieu Lang, Than Lang, and Gia Lang is also expressed in the custom from ancient times: every year on the 10th day of the 7th lunar month, the people of Dai Phu village organize a festival to remember the merits of the tutelary god and to educate descendants in the tradition of fighting the enemy, defending the country, and building the homeland.
This is also where people express their reverence for the deities who have protected and blessed the villagers with peace. It is also the way previous generations educated later generations in compassion and the tradition of remembering the source when drinking water.