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

Binh Ngo Dai Cao records: From the Trieu, Dinh, Ly, and Tran dynasties, independence was founded; alongside the Han, Tang, Song, and Yuan, they held one region in strength. Though strength differed at times, heroes existed in every age. Recently, because the Ho family caused troublesome government, the people in the country were resentful. The crazed Ming army took the opportunity to rampage, and traitors sold the country to seek glory. They roasted the black-haired people on the fire of cruelty and buried innocent children in pits of disaster. We here raised the banner of righteousness at Lam Son Mountain and sheltered ourselves in the wilderness. Gazing at the rivers and mountains, we hated the treacherous enemies and vowed to live or die with the rebel army. Heartache and fury have lasted more than ten years of sun and rain; tasting honey and lying on thorns is not a matter of one or two mornings and evenings.

In that historical context, at Lam Son appeared a hero who raised the banner of uprising while the enemy was still strong. He was deeply devoted to restoring the country 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 the rapid march from the mountains of Ninh Binh, in Tam Diep, to liberate 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 as many as 400,000 troops under the command of Commander Wang Tong, 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. Faced with this situation, General Quach Gia Suy had to withdraw and concentrate his troops in a small village on the bank of the To Lich River. The village had beautiful terrain, and that night he and the insurgent soldiers set up an altar and prayed. While the ceremony was taking place, a strange cloud drifted in and covered the place where the insurgents were stationed, as an omen of good fortune. Indeed, the next day he led his troops onward and besieged Dong Do Citadel; the march was completely victorious. After the country was unified and the victory song was sung, Le Loi ascended the throne and held a ceremony to reward the meritorious officials. General Quach Gia Suy recounted the event of the auspicious cloud to the king. The king then named the village Khanh Van: Khanh means joy and good fortune, Van means cloud, and Khanh Van means auspicious cloud.

After General Quach Gia Suy passed away, to remember his merits, Khanh Van Village honored him as the village tutelary god for worship. Through the dynasties, he was granted titles. On 8/8/1767, King Canh Hung granted him a royal edict.

Khanh Van Communal House worships Quach Gia Suy, a general of the Early Le dynasty, as the village tutelary god. Based on the outstanding value of the relic and in accordance with the Law on Cultural Heritage, Khanh Van Communal House is a historical-cultural and architectural-artistic relic.

Khanh Van Communal House is located on beautiful land and faces southwest. The communal house includes the gateway, screen, Main Hall, and Rear Sanctuary. These structures are arranged within a enclosure with a surrounding wall and old trees, creating a sacred, ancient, and solemn space.

In the middle of the enclosing wall at the front of the relic is the gateway system. In the center of the main path is a screen in the cuon thu tru bieu style. The screen has a relief of the five blessings and the character for longevity in the center. The screen was built to prevent the impurities of secular life from entering the relic grounds.

Across a courtyard 18 m wide and 20.6 m long is a three-step stairway leading to the Main Hall. Viewed from outside, the Main Hall of Khanh Van Communal House has 5 bays and 2 side wings. The roof is covered with ri tiles. The ridge is decorated with a row of lemon-flower motifs, the two gable ends are built with solid walls, and the roof slopes are built with stepped courses.

Inside, the Main Hall has a structure of 5 rows of column bases. The main columns have a circumference of 152 cm and a height of 360 cm; the subordinate columns have a circumference of 105 cm and a height of 284 cm. The two roof trusses of the central bay are structured in the style of upper gable with stacked beams, central truss panel, and rear seven. Connecting the tops of the main columns is a large, sturdy first beam, with its back and belly smoothly planed and fitted. The first beam is placed on two square bearing blocks with tapered bases on top of the two main columns. Standing on the back of the first beam are two hidden posts; the tops of the two hidden posts support two straight beams through thin square bearing blocks with tapered bases, while the other ends extend out to support the roof purlins. The uppermost beam supports an upper ridge beam through a boat-shaped bearing block. Below the first beam, mortised from the body of the main column and connecting to the top of the subordinate column, are short beams stacked closely together to form a truss panel. This truss panel is triangular, with the hypotenuse formed by the ends of the short beams extending out to support the roof purlins. From the top of the subordinate column, seven members extend out to support the lower purlins and roof edges.

The roof trusses of the side bays are similar to the roof trusses of the central bay of the Main Hall. However, the side-aisle truss is a continuous tie beam mortised from the main column below the first beam out to the subordinate column to support the roof purlins. From the top of the subordinate column, seven members extend out to support the lower purlins and roof edges through the wind-board system. The trusses are linked to one another by upper and lower beams, creating a solid frame for the structure.

The central bay of the Main Hall is arranged with a horizontal plaque, couplets, an incense table, and worship objects. The horizontal plaque is divided into 4 panels, and the borders of these panels are carved with dragons; on each panel are Han characters reading Thanh Cung Van Tue, praising the merits of the village tutelary god, together with couplets praising the merits of the tutelary god:

Lam Dong heaven opens, one auspicious cloud supports the royal aura

Quat Dam land is quiet, a thousand autumns a bright mirror shines divine light

Rough translation:

At Lam Dong the sky opens; a cluster of auspicious clouds supports the royal aura

At Quat Dam the land is peaceful; for a thousand years a bright mirror reflects divine light.

The carved panels decorating the beam ends, truss panels, eave supports, and other parts were created meticulously and skillfully. These carvings depict small rivers, lotus ponds with lotus shoots and lotus flowers, a fisherman gazing at the moon, curled cloud clusters, inverted leaves, two dragons contending for a pearl, a dragon playing with clouds, and dragons gathering; the dragons on the truss panels are sacred creatures with fins and tails like carp and whiskers like catfish. These carvings date from the Le period to the Nguyen period. The carved panels have graceful, soft lines, and the high-relief technique clearly shows each detail in the decorative motifs. At the same time, based on the inscriptions on the first beam of the central bay of the Main Hall of Khanh Van Communal House, the inscription on the right beam reads: In the year of Quy Mao, second month, twenty-sixth day, at noon, columns were erected and the upper ridge beam was installed; the whole village is auspicious and celebratory; the inscription on the left beam reads: In the 44th year of Canh Hung, spring month, auspicious day, at Can time, the temple and communal house were repaired; the four neighborhoods are peaceful and prosperous. From this it can be concluded that Khanh Van Communal House existed 300 years ago and was renovated in the 44th year of Canh Hung, 1783, to become an important relic in the cultural heritage of the country in general and of Ha Tay Province in particular.

Immediately after the Main Hall is the Rear Sanctuary, lying parallel to form a Nhi-character layout. The Rear Sanctuary of Khanh Van Communal House is a horizontal house with 3 bays and 2 side wings, built in the style of solid gable walls with two sloping roofs covered with ri tiles. The roof trusses are made in the style of upper gable with stacked beams, central tie, and rear seven. The components of the Rear Sanctuary trusses are smoothly planed and fitted, emphasizing the solidity of the structure's frame.

In the middle of the Rear Sanctuary of Khanh Van Communal House is an altar cabinet with dimensions: 215 cm high, 100 cm wide, and 140 cm deep. The altar cabinet is lacquered and gilded. The frame is carved with two dragons facing the moon, the body is carved with a tiger-tally face and stylized floral vines, and it was created skillfully and gracefully. Above the altar cabinet hangs a horizontal plaque inscribed: Trac Quyet Linh, meaning Bright Shining Sacredness.