Duong Da Communal House, Gia Lam Commune

Duong Da Communal House belongs to Duong Da Village, Duong Xa Commune. The communal house has existed since ancient times. Over a long period, under the impact of weather, its architectural structures deteriorated and underwent many repairs and restorations. Especially in the second year of Tu Duc (1849), Mr. An Ninh, of the fourth branch of the Phung Dac family, who had served as An Sat official in Nghe An and Ha Tinh and passed the baccalaureate examination in the Ky Mao year (1819). In 1849 he resigned and returned to his homeland, and mobilized villagers to restore and embellish the village communal house. In 1930 the front tien te hall collapsed and was replaced by the people with two giai vu houses and a brick-paved platform as today.

The current architectural structures of the communal house include: the tien te hall, the ong muong hall, and the hau cung sanctuary. The tien te hall has five bays, a roof covered with traditional tiles, a ridge decorated with lemon-flower motifs, two makaras at the roof ends, roof edges decorated with chrysanthemum leaves, and is built 45 cm above the courtyard; a three-step staircase is built in front. The floor is paved with fired-clay bricks. The roof-supporting trusses are structured in the 'gia chieng chong ruong con nhi' style; the beam ends are carved with dragon heads holding pearls in their mouths. The ruong beams are decorated with scroll patterns and chrysanthemum leaves. The front opens with a folding door system in the 'thuong song, ha ban' style. In the central bay of the tien te hall hangs a large y mon, decorated above with two dragons flanking the sun, below with a tiger face, and on both sides with flowers and birds.

The three-bay ong muong hall is built longitudinally; the roof-supporting trusses are structured in the 'gia chieng chong ruong' style, with chong ruong brackets. The ruong beams are decorated with oak leaves, and the beam ends are decorated with stylized chrysanthemum leaves. The floor is paved with fired-clay bricks. In the middle of the ong muong hall is a high worship platform bearing ritual objects.

The five-bay hau cung sanctuary is built with closed gable walls, a roof covered with traditional tiles, a ridge in the plain dinh style without decoration, and two roof ends shaped like rice packets. The roof-supporting frame is wooden, with trusses in the 'thuong chong ruong ha con' style. The ruong beams are left plain without decoration. The hau cung uses a system of hidden columns to create a spacious interior. The floor is paved with fired-clay bricks.

Over its long existence, the relic has preserved many artifacts of artistic value from the Nguyen period, such as: worship thrones, offering trays, incense tables, palanquins, bat buu sets, horizontal lacquered boards, parallel couplets, a pair of cranes, bronze censers, and bronze gongs.

Duong Da Communal House worships the deity Minh Dien Dai Vuong as its tutelary god. Based on historical sources preserved at the communal house, such as the deity genealogy and three royal edicts of the Nguyen kings, it is known that the blessed deity worshipped here is Le Van Thieu, a fifth-generation direct descendant of Lady Nguyen Phi Y Lan. Because of his talent and virtue, the eighth Ly king, Ly Hue Tong, appointed him to high court positions: Trung Lang General (military mandarin) and Minh Dien Dai Vuong (civil mandarin). In the Tran dynasty, King Tran Thai Tong wanted to win him over, but because he was upright, principled, and loyal to one king, he refused to serve the Tran dynasty. Only in 1258, when the Mongol general Kublai Khan sent his son Toghan to lead troops to invade the North, and the country was in danger, did the Tran king summon him to fight the enemy and save the country.

Unable to evade the fate of the country, obeying the king's order, he led the soldiers to defeat the Quach Boc enemy. After the victory and the enemy's dispersal, he returned to the Hanoi Flag Tower and took his own life, preserving his integrity and refusing to accept the Tran king's reward for merit. After his death, the Tran king conferred on him the title 'Thuong Dang Than'. His tomb was buried on the mound behind Lady Y Lan's temple.

Because of his great service to the country, later dynasties issued edicts conferring deity titles on him. In the village communal house there are still parallel couplets recording his deeds as follows:

Being intelligent and upright, he became a deity, as if engraved above

He built the village comprehensively; his rites are worthy of use in the homeland

Rough translation:

Because he was intelligent and upright, he was honored as a deity, and he was also a person from here.

He developed the village, so every year the whole village holds a festival

In the Ly era, he was ranked as Trung Lang General

After the Tran era, he was honorably conferred the title Thuong Dang Than

Rough translation:

In life, during the Ly dynasty, he was appointed a general

After death, the Tran dynasty conferred on him the title of deity

It was precisely because of his merits, his all-round civil and martial talents, and his heroic, upright spirit that the people of Duong Da Village honored him as tutelary deity and built a communal house to worship him.

Every year, the villagers hold a festival from the 9th to the 13th day of the 8th lunar month. Besides solemn ceremonies, the festival also includes traditional folk games such as cockfighting, wrestling, tug-of-war, Chinese chess, ca tru singing, cheo singing, and more.

With its historical, cultural, and architectural values, Duong Da Communal House relic should be respected, protected, preserved, and promoted in educating future young generations about the tradition of love for homeland and country.