Khương Trung Communal House

Khương Trung Communal House is located in Khương Đình Ward, Hà Nội. Khương Trung was formerly an ancient village in the outskirts of Hà Nội, part of the Tam Khương area (three Gừng villages), comprising Khương Trung, Khương Thượng, and Khương Hạ, belonging to Khương Đình Canton. From the Lý dynasty, this land was a strategic point south of Đại La Citadel.

According to legend, during the reign of the 18th Hùng Vương, there were two military generals, Trần Minh and Trần Quang, natives of Phú Thọ, who at birth had a halo covering their bodies, so they were named Quang and Minh. They followed Hùng Duệ Vương to fight against Thục Phán. When Thục Phán gained the country, he invited the two to help the nation. Although they did not submit to Thục Phán, seeing the country in danger, they led troops into battle and won a glorious victory. On returning, passing through Thanh Đàm and Tam Khương, seeing the beautiful scenery and fertile land, they resigned from office and stayed home to farm. When they died, their graves spontaneously had termites mound up into hills. Here the villagers built two shrines to worship them. Every year on the 5th day of the first lunar month, the villagers organize a procession to bring the two from the shrine to the communal house.

In addition to worshipping the two men, Khương Trung Communal House also worships Lady Hậu Tham and her child, a native of Nam Đàn, Nghệ An. Her real name was Trịnh Quý Thị, courtesy name Diệu Nhũ, and she made many contributions to building the Khương Trung communal house and pagoda.

The communal house is built on elevated ground, with a đỉnh-shaped plan, and on the roof are dragons facing the sun. The roof structure of the central bay is of the chồng rường type; the side trusses are of the giá chiêng type; the corner panels are of the kẻ type. Overall, the communal house is not heavily carved, with occasional decorative motifs such as lamp stands, books, vases, five fruits, peach and bamboo... The communal house still preserves two royal edicts from the Lê dynasty (1652) and Quang Trung (1791).

Khương Trung Communal House was ranked as an architectural and artistic relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information in 1993.

According to Hanoi Scenic Spots and Relics, Volume 01