Hoang Xa Communal House, Khanh Van Village, Thuong Tin Commune, Hanoi City

Speaking of the land of Thuong Tin, Nguyen Trai once remarked: '... It is a high, flat area, and its fields are among the best. It is suitable for rice cultivation; the people work harder than in other areas, and the expenses of successive courts in feeding troops all relied on this place...'

'That is right. In Thuong Tin, besides rice and crop farming, the people are naturally industrious, intelligent, and eager to learn, so they early learned to process their own agricultural products for daily life, such as salting fish, pickling vegetables, making cakes, distilling wine, and making tools and utensils from bamboo and wood... to serve production and exchange within the village community of a natural, self-sufficient economy. Gradually, craft villages specializing in famous attractive products formed, such as the horn craft in Thuy Ung Village, embroidery in Quat Dong, net weaving in Tran Phu, carpentry in Gia Phuc and Gia Khanh, embroidery and lace in Gia Khanh and Dinh To, confectionery in Me Son, and wood turning in Nhi Khe...'

Khanh Ha is a land in the Northern Delta, enriched by alluvium from the Red River, Nhue River, and To Lich River, making it very fertile and suitable for wet rice and crop cultivation. This land was created through the efforts of successive generations of Khanh Ha people who continued to improve it, leveling high mounds and filling hollow areas to make fertile, flat fields convenient for irrigation in drought and flood. Since ancient times, the people of Khanh Ha, with an industrious nature and love of labor, built dikes to block the Nhue and To Lich rivers to increase production on the fields of their homeland.

For a long time there has been a folk verse:

Do Ha, Hoang Xa, Khanh Van / In those three villages, one's feet are muddy all day.

In addition, the people here also developed many handicrafts such as bamboo and rattan weaving to serve production and household use, and crafts serving the local self-sufficient economy. Along with economic development, the people of Khanh Ha also saved to build village roads, lanes, and cultural works of the village such as communal houses, pagodas, shrines, quans, and van chi... Many historical and cultural architectural works still remain, such as Khanh Van Communal House and Dan Nhiem Communal House, which have been ranked at national level.

According to local people, it is said that formerly Xuan Ne, Khanh Van, and Hoang Xa villages had a shared communal house built in the Later Le period on Duong Lon mound, called Ba Cha Communal House (the communal house of the three villages). The communal house worships the tutelary deity Quach Gia Suy; the deity's background is recorded in the spirit register kept at Khanh Van Communal House as follows:

The Binh Ngo Dai Cao records: 'From Trieu, Dinh, Ly, Tran who established the foundation of independence, to Han, Tang, Song, Yuan who were fierce and occupied one side. Though strength and weakness differed at times, heroes appeared in every era.' Recently, because the Ho family's administration was troublesome, the people in the country resented it. The mad Ming army took advantage to commit brutality; the treacherous sold the country to seek glory. They grilled the black-haired people on the fire of cruelty and buried the innocent children in the pit of disaster. We here: 'The Lam Son mountain raised the banner of righteousness; in the wilderness we relied on ourselves.'

'Looking at rivers and mountains, we hated the enemy's cruelty and vowed to die with the rebel army. Heartache and headache, already more than ten years of sun and rain; tasting honey and lying on thorns, how could it be just one or two mornings and evenings.' In that historical context, at Lam Son appeared a hero who raised the flag of uprising while the enemy was still strong. He was deeply devoted to national restoration and recruited talented people from all directions. In Thanh Hoa there was a general who also had the aspiration to restore the country. His name was Quach Gia Suy.

Quach Gia Suy asked to join the Lam Son insurgent army and was assigned to command a lightning march from the Ninh Binh mountain area (Tam Diep) toward the liberation of Dong Quan Citadel. These were the years of preparation for the resistance against the Ming. Although the Lam Son forces were strong, the enemy concentrated in Thang Long with up to 400,000 troops commanded by Commander-in-Chief Vuong Thong, so the Lam Son insurgents suffered heavy losses. General Quach Gia Suy, later conferred the title 'Linh Thanh Dai Vuong' by the court, attacked the main army south of the Thang Long capital, but many soldiers died. Facing this situation, General Quach Gia Suy had to withdraw his troops and concentrate in a small village beside the To Lich River. The village had good terrain, and that night he and his insurgent soldiers set up an altar to pray. While the ceremony was taking place, a strange cloud drifted in the sky and covered the place where the insurgents were stationed, like an omen of good fortune. Indeed, the next day he led his troops to march into Dong Do Citadel, and the march was completely victorious. After the country was united, the triumphant song was sung; Le Loi ascended the throne and held a victory ceremony to reward meritorious officials. General Quach Gia Suy recounted the incident of the auspicious cloud to the king. The king then gave that village the name Khanh Van. After General Quach Gia Suy passed away, to remember his merits, Hoang Xa Village honored him as the tutelary deity for worship. Through successive dynasties, he was granted edicts. Hoang Xa Communal House still preserves 07 edicts for the deity Quach Gia Suy. The earliest edict is one dated Canh Hung 44 (1783); its content is as follows: Transcription: Edict to the tutelary deity of the present realm, Quach Gia Suy Linh Thanh Ton Than Dai Vuong, writes: Hoang De Thuong Si Ton Linh Kiem Ba Mountains Seven Rivers and Queen Lady A Hong Nuong Princess. His spirit gathered the rivers and mountains, his virtue matched yin and yang, great is Qian, utmost is Kun, he assisted the transformative nurturing of the two realms, making them peaceful... like fire, supporting the foundation of talent, with earnest thoughts, the clear edict is manifest... Vi Tu Vuong Tien, conferred the title of Vuong, presiding over the government, rituals have ranks, should be rewarded with beautiful titles of three characters, may be conferred: Tutelary deity of the present realm, manifestly efficacious, aiding the country and strengthening the people, Quach Gia Suy Linh Thanh Dai Vuong, writes: Hong Te Thuong Si Ton Linh Kiem Ba Mountains Seven Rivers and trang tu Te Te Linh Tue Queen Lady A Hong Nuong Princess. So be it! Canh Hung forty-fourth year, seventh month, twenty-eighth day.