Hien Luong Communal House

Hien Luong Communal House is located in Hien Luong Hamlet, Noi Bai Commune, Hanoi City. It was ranked as a national relic by the Ministry of Culture and Sports in Decision No. 95-QD/BVHTT dated January 24, 1998.

Before the revolution, Hien Luong was a gathering place for De Tham's insurgents, including Mr. De Duoc and Quan Tin. Hien Luong Communal House was the site of a fierce battle between De Tham's insurgents and the French colonialists in 1912. The people of Hien Luong and the insurgents killed more than 80 French soldiers, including an officer (Tu Ho). At Hien Luong Communal House, a conference of the Phuc Yen provincial resistance committee was held to lead the fight against the white belt area, directed by comrade Nguyen Trong Due, former vice chairman of the province, and met for three days. The communal house was also a place to hide documents and shelter cadres during the nation's resistance wars. On February 3, 1949, comrade Tran My, secretary of the Phuc Yen provincial party committee, organized the founding anniversary of the Party at the village communal house.

The Hien Luong Communal House worships four village deities:

- Bach Hac Tam Giang (river god).

- Ly Bi (Ly Nam De).

- Lady Vuong (Van Van A).

- Than Ky Tho Dia, i.e. the earth god (Ong Coc),

Bach Hac Tam Giang His real name was Truong, and he was the third son of Mr. Dao Bot and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Huong. He was born at the Hour of the Dragon on February 12 of the Dinh Mao year in the Hai Duong region. At birth he had an unusual appearance: arms longer than his knees, a square face, large ears shining like the newly rising sun, phoenix eyes, silkworm eyebrows, a dragon nose, and a swallow jaw. At the age of seven he showed extraordinary innate talent; he was generous and compassionate, wise and brave, upright and gentle by nature, intelligent and capable, and remarkably different from ordinary people. At the age of sixteen his mother passed away (on December 17).

At that time, King Hung Due Vuong opened a school to select talented people to help the country and pacify the people. Hearing the summons, Dao Truong and his brothers went to the capital to take the exam. After passing, he was appointed Nam Long Truong Lenh to govern 50 water deities. From then on, the world was peaceful, rain and wind were favorable, rice and corn flourished, and the people were well fed. At the end of King Hung Due Vuong's reign, Thuc Phan brought troops to seize the throne and occupy Van Lang. The king summoned Tan Vien Son Thanh and Tho Lenh Truong Cong, granting them titles and dividing routes to block and attack the Thuc army. He reported to the king: 'We should intercept them by water and attack,' and Dao Truong commanded the naval forces and defeated the enemy in a single battle. After the victory, the court conferred on Dao Truong the title Tho Lenh Thong Quoc Dai Vuong, guarding Bach Hac capital, with the position Quoc Truong Lenh Do Lac Long Hau Dai Tuong Quan. Shortly afterward, while boating on the Luong Giang River, he died there. Hearing the news, the king sent people to perform sacrifices, repair the local palace and temple as a place of worship, and confer on Dao Truong the title Thuong Dang Phuc Than. Later, the Bach Hac deity often secretly helped the country, so feudal kings all issued edicts conferring on him the titles Nam Thien Thuong Dang Phuc Than and Bach Hac Tam Giang Ton Than.

Earth deity Ky (associated with Ong Coc: the snake god), this deity is worshipped by people throughout the region. According to oral tradition, the legend of Ong Coc is told as follows: In old Hien Luong village, two poor elderly people went to cut grass every day and found two eggs. They picked them up but could not eat them because whenever they tried to crack an egg, they sneezed. So they put the eggs to hatch in a chicken nest, and later the eggs hatched into two snakes. The couple placed the snakes in a large clean bowl for worship, then in a jar. The two snakes grew very quickly; the couple put them in a tank, but the tank could not hold them. Then they had to take them to a pond. Outside the pond, the two snakes kept circling children, so they had to take them to a stretch of river. Therefore, worship was divided between two places on both sides of the river: one side is Hien Luong, and the other is Phuc Cuong (i.e. Phu Thinh hamlet).

The old temple of Ong Coc was about 3 km from the current communal house. Both villages that worship Ong Coc receive his sacred blessings. Every year, during droughts, villagers come to pray. Every year, people from the villages of Yen Ninh, Ninh Bac, Thach Loi, Thanh Nhan, Co Bai, etc., on November 26, come to Hien Luong Communal House to perform a palanquin procession to Ong Coc's temple and carry the incense bowl back to Hien Luong Communal House to pray for rain, and rain comes, ...

The deity Ly Nam De: he was the first king of the Early Ly dynasty, and the country's history has mentioned him many times. In Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu, the country's official history, it is recorded: 'The king's surname was Ly, and his personal name was Bon; he was from Long Hung prefecture, Thai Binh province. His ancestors were northerners; at the end of the Western Han, suffering from wars of suppression, they moved to the South and after seven generations became southerners. The king was talented in letters and martial arts; he first served as an official under the Liang dynasty, and when disorder arose he returned to Thai Binh. At that time, the local governors were cruel and harsh, and the people of Lam Ap raided the border. The king raised troops to drive them out, proclaimed himself Nam De, named the country Van Xuan, and established the capital at Long Bien.'

The king was from a family of local chieftains and was exceptionally gifted by nature... In the summer, in the fourth month (543), the king of Lam Ap seized Nhat Nam district; the king sent General Pham Tu, who defeated them in Cuu Duc district. In the first year of Thien Duc, the Giap Ty year (544), in spring, in the first month, having defeated the enemy, the king proclaimed himself Nam Viet De, ascended the throne, changed the era name, established a full bureaucracy, and named the country Van Xuan, wishing the state to last for ten thousand generations. He built Van Tho Palace as the place for court assemblies.

Ly Nam De He was a king determined to destroy the enemy and save the people, but unfortunately was attacked by Tran Ba Tien and died with his resentment unavenged. He reigned for seven years (540-546). The book History of Vietnam, Volume I, records: 'Ly Bi was from Long Hung (Thai Binh province), talented in letters and martial arts, and came from a line of wealthy families. He served as an official under the Liang dynasty for a short time, holding the post of military supervisor in Duc prefecture (Ha Tinh). Loving his country and people and discontented with the colonial administration, he left office and returned home. From then on he devoted himself to the uprising against Liang rule. For many years he established relations with heroes in various prefectures, recruited talented people, gathered insurgent troops, and discussed plans with them to prepare the uprising. Trieu Tuc and his son Trieu Quang Phuc (leader of the Chu Dien region), admiring Ly Bi's talent and virtue, were the first to bring local troops to follow him. Next came Tinh Thieu and Pham Tu (from Thanh Liet, Thanh Tri, Hanoi), Ly Phuc Man (Hoai Duc, Ha Tay), etc., who joined Ly Bi as comrades. Therefore, in northern Vietnam there are now more than 200 temples and shrines dedicated to Ly Bi and his generals.'

In the spring of 542, the great nationwide uprising led by Ly Bi broke out. In less than three months, the offensive and uprising spirit of our people everywhere swept away the Liang colonial administration.

At the beginning of 543, the Liang court organized a second counteroffensive to reconquer the region. Taking the initiative against the enemy, Ly Bi's insurgents organized a major annihilation battle on Hepu Island (then part of Giao prefecture). Seven or eight out of ten Liang soldiers died. The enemy commanding general was killed, and the survivors were also punished by their court.

In May 543, the king of Champa again brought troops to attack Duc prefecture. General Pham Tu defeated the enemy. Thus the northern and southern borders were temporarily peaceful.

After those victories, in the spring, in the first month of 544, Ly Bi declared the founding of the country and named it Van Xuan. He ascended the throne as emperor, calling himself Nam De (King of the South), built Van Tho Palace, and organized his own court with two branches, civil and military. Pham Tu, a talented general, was appointed head of the military branch. Tinh Thieu, a learned Confucian scholar, was appointed head of the civil branch. Nam De abolished the Liang era name and established a new era name, Dai Duc (Great Virtue).

He ordered the construction of a new pagoda named Khai Quoc (Founding the Country). Remembering the female hero of earlier generations, Ly Nam De issued an edict and conferred a deity title on Lady Trieu, ...

The founding of an independent state named Van Xuan expressed our people's firm confidence in their ability to rise up and develop independently.

After nearly five centuries of foreign rule, the patriotic feelings of the Vietnamese people were not crushed under the heavy yoke of oppression and assimilation plots. On the contrary, those feelings became deeper and national consciousness became stronger.

Ly Bi's proclamation as emperor and establishment of his own era name was highly significant: it openly denied the northern emperor's claim to 'lordship over all under heaven,' clearly demarcated the territory, and decisively affirmed that the Vietnamese nation was an independent nation and master of its country and destiny.

Ly Bi's resistance later failed; he handed military power to Trieu Quang Phuc. Later he fell ill and died in April 548. D

Hien Luong Communal House commemorates him as a king of a dynasty and a village tutelary deity, a person closely linked to the nation's history. On the anniversary of his death, the people hold a festival, which is also the first plowing day (April 13). In addition, the communal house also worships Duc Vuong Ba, who according to legend was called Van Van A and was the mother of the Saint. No documentation has yet proved this figure, but her worship is deeply rooted in local beliefs. Therefore, she has always remained one of the tutelary deities of Hien Luong Communal House.

Hiền Lương Communal House was classified as a Historical - Cultural relic under Decision No. 95/QĐ-UB dated November 24, 1998, of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.