NHAN HUE COMMUNAL HOUSE

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Introduction

The communal house was built on flat land near the Day River, a favorable location both convenient for community activities and close to the characteristic natural landscape of the countryside. This is a traditional religious architectural work bearing the historical and cultural values of the village community in the Northern Delta. The commonly used name of the relic is Nhan Hue Communal House; it has no Sino-Vietnamese name. It belongs to Nhan Hue hamlet, Mai Linh commune, Dong Duong canton, Thanh Oai district (according to old place names); Nhan Hue Communal House belonged to Nhan Hue, Dong Mai commune, Thanh Oai district, Ha Son Binh province. Today it belongs to Nhan Hue residential group, Yen Nghia ward, Hanoi city.

Going deeper into surveying and researching the historical figure and deity worshipped at Nhan Hue Communal House, we relied on sources about the 15th-century resistance war against the Ming invasion from many scientific essays, reports by delegations of cadres and students of the History Faculty of Hanoi General University, the book Dai Viet Su Tri Thu, the book Lich Su Viet Nam volume I published by Social Sciences Publishing House, Hanoi in 1971, materials from Ha Son Binh Museum, dynastic honors, and folk materials through elderly witnesses in Nhan Hue hamlet and hamlets of Dong Mai commune. Nhan Hue Communal House worships Lady Van Phuc, a patriotic female farmer who worked as a fisherwoman and ferrywoman carrying Lam Son insurgents across the Day River to fight the Ming, and who died heroically in this great resistance war. The historical event of this humane deity is as follows:

The patriotic woman, when honored by dynasties with the title Van Phuc Lady, is said by some to have been named Moc Hoan. When consulting documents, even the book Lich Su Viet Nam volume I does not mention her Sino-Vietnamese name and even less her honorific. Knowledgeable elderly people in Nhan Hue village say: Nhan Hue village uses the word Phuc. Whenever they want to say something containing the word Phuc, they have to say it differently. For example, hanh phuc is called Hanh Phuc, etc. We have a scientific hypothesis that the goddess at Nhan Hue Communal House is Phuc Van, while the name Hoan Moc is hard to believe. In the Le dynasty, in the 44th year of Canh, 1783, month 4, day 26, there is also mention of 'Tho dia chi than, Van Phuc Phu Nhan', which gives us more certain material to make folk material more firmly grounded. If not, Van Phuc is also her title. Thus Lady Van Phuc was a resident of Mai Linh. The documents stop at the period when she was a fisherwoman along the Day River in Mai Linh commune. Her father's place and birthplace have not been clearly verified; many folk legends say she was originally from Thanh Hoa. Living in a period of national loss and family ruin, in Ung Binh Chau Uy, her homeland was being ravaged by the Ming invaders. Lady Van Phuc harbored hatred for the enemy and wished to contribute her small strength to the cause of driving the Ming out of the territory.

The Lam Son Uprising arose on a very favorable occasion, and her wish was fulfilled. The insurgents, with an attacking momentum against the enemy in the southern and southwestern areas of Dong Quan citadel. The Ming feared defeat and requested reinforcements. The historic confrontation of the Lam Son insurgents with this army's march took place on the battlefields of Tot Dong, Dong Hinh Kieu and Co Lam. Mai Linh commune lay within the war zone (this fighting has been mentioned much in the Cho Communal House records).

On extremely complex terrain with rivers, swamps, etc. that hindered the speed of the insurgent army between strategic points, the advancing spearheads of generals Ly Trieu, Pham Van Xao, Dinh Le, and Nguyen Xi were supported by the local people. In particular, for crossing the Day River, the insurgents were carried by a patriotic female ferrywoman. Lady Van Phuc's ferry took Lam Son insurgents across the river for reinforcement during fierce days of fighting. Her action was ordinary yet great, because it contributed a small part to the lightning speed that helped the insurgents break the march of more than 100,000 invaders commanded by Vuong Thong. The enemy, deeply defeated, advanced and retreated but could not be safe. A river blocked them; they forced her to ferry them across, but Lady Van Phuc did not carry the enemy across. The enemy tried to lure her. She remained resolute and would not serve as a tool for the enemy. The invaders used swords to kill the patriotic woman of the Lam Son insurgents, and her loved one was also killed. The patriotic woman died heroically. The image of Lady Van Phuc ferrying Lam Son insurgents across the Day River to drive out the Ming in the 15th century is very close to the image of the ferrywoman carrying troops across Nhat Lo River to the south to fight in the resistance war against the US for national salvation. We deeply respect the heroic Vietnamese mothers through historical periods.

The resistance war against the Ming invaders was victorious, the country became independent, and the commander Le Loi ascended the throne and granted her an honorific: Trang Tinh Doan Nhu, Van Phuc Lady, helping the country and people, spiritually responsive, and approved for the people to worship her, especially permitting her into national celebrations and the national register. Nhan Hue Communal House worships her as the village tutelary deity. Since then, dynasties have granted titles and honorifics.

In the book Lich Su Viet Nam volume I (pages 246-247) there is a passage: 'Among the people, many stories are still circulated about heroic actions and deeds in the resistance war against the Ming, including many achievements of women...' The woman who worked as a fisherwoman on the Day River, not fearing hardship or danger, ferried insurgents across the river to fight the enemy; the people of Nhan Hue village (Thanh Oai - Ha Tay) also worship that patriotic person for her ordinary deeds as the village tutelary deity...

In the August Revolution of 1945, Nhan Hue Communal House was chosen as the headquarters of the provisional revolutionary committee. Many rallies demonstrating the strength of the revolutionary masses and important meetings of the revolutionary government took place in this communal house. In 1958, the Party committee and people of Dong Mai commune had the honor of welcoming Uncle Ton Duc Thang, Vice President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, who visited and encouraged the people of Ha Dong province to fight drought. Nhan Hue Communal House was the place to welcome Uncle Ton to speak and encourage compatriots. Uncle Ton praised the enthusiastic labor spirit of the people in Ha Dong province and encouraged the people to actively fight drought and save rice to protect production.

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Story

01DESCRIPTION OF THE RELIC

Nhan Hue Communal House faces west; its gate looks out onto the open Day River. The site has a river in front like a mirror leaning against the dragon's head, and its back rests on the village edge, surrounded by cool green ditches and hedges. The communal house grounds are about one third of a hectare, with many ancient trees and lush ornamental plants creating the quiet and solemn atmosphere of a place of worship for the most sacred deity.

Before the 1960s, the area and landscape of the relic were relatively preserved in a stable state. Due to the requirement of building flood-control embankments, the Day River dyke section at Mai Linh was raised and realigned, so the dyke surface seriously encroached on the communal house area, changing the landscape and current condition as it is today. In the left part of the relic, we focus on describing the current condition.

The Mai Linh dyke now forms a barrier in front of the communal house, leaving only one box; the auxiliary works of the relic such as the three-entrance gate, left and right corridors, and landscape trees no longer exist. To the south there is a pond on plot No. 26 (shown on the cadastral map), making the landscape more lively. On the land there was the old pagoda of Nhan Hue village. During French colonial invasion, the pagoda was turned into a church. Although the ancient architectural relic of Nhan Hue Pagoda was converted into a church, it still retains its bearing as a landscape feature, so this area's temple setting is not empty.

The communal house is built in the ancient dinh style with a front hall and rear sanctuary; if the original overall architecture were preserved, the relic would be more beautiful and spacious. From the dyke bank, brick steps lead down to the yard and straight into the communal house. The front hall has five bays distributed relatively evenly; the central bay measures 4.3 meters, and the side bays at the ends measure 3 meters. The rear sanctuary is built in a closed style horizontally like the main hall. Its length is 4.4 m, divided into three small uneven bays according to the interior design requirements.

The communal house has four roofs; the rear sanctuary has two roofs, both with two tiers (front and back on the trusses of the two main bays are artistic works of the Nguyen period, especially with the theme of dragons rolling in water above, a fresh sky scene. Animals under the lotus pond such as turtles and carp rejoice in the water flowing with the current. This artistic panel records for viewers a wonderful natural scene of clouds, sky, and all living things. Clouds, dragons, fish, turtles, water, and fresh lotus petals emanating fragrance blend vividly together.

The dragon features at Nhan Hue Communal House have two layers. The first layer, from the Nguyen period, has a rather gentle dragon, soft mane, large nose, and overall gentle lines. The second layer includes carvings from the mid and late Nguyen period: the dragon is fierce, with bulging eyes, a head with sharp ridges like deer antlers, and a very rough tail. In short, the architectural art of Nhan Hue Communal House has many layers and patterns from many periods interwoven and inherited from the late Le to early Nguyen, mid Nguyen, and late Nguyen.

To determine the construction date of the communal house, we rely on the following scientific bases. First, the communal house still preserves a stone stele in the shape of a stupa. The stone stele is buried in the communal house foundation; the body, top, and scenes behind the top remain, carved with an eagle spreading its wings and flying, and below is a pair of dragons adoring the moon. On one side of the stele are lists of characters recording donors who contributed money to build the communal house. On the other side is the content of the rear sanctuary stele. That stele helps us not only understand the people's heart in building the communal house but also determine the date this communal house was founded. According to the characters, the first stele inscription reads 'Nhan Hue Linh Tu', meaning the sacred temple of the main Nhan Hue Communal House, in the year Binh Dan (1686). The content of the second stele, 'Dam Phuong Toc Bi', meaning the stele of the clan, records clan members who contributed to the rear sanctuary, engraved in the 14th year of Chinh Hoa, i.e. the Quy Dan year (1693). The third source is on the upper beam, inscribed 'Thai Tue second month, twelfth day, Mao hour, erect pillar and upper beam', meaning at Mao hour on the 12th day of the 12th month of Mau Thin year, erect pillar and upper beam, great auspicious; this Thin year is the Chinh Hoa reign year (1688). The fourth source is through descriptions of the truss architecture and carving art of works in the communal house, which help us understand part of the appearance of the late Le ancient structure, through early Nguyen, mid Nguyen, and late Nguyen, repaired and replaced many times up to today. The artifacts, materials, and inscriptions presented above, with the Mau Thin year of Chinh Hoa (1688), are a credible year for the founding of Nhan Hue village communal house. Due to time, materials have deteriorated, and the people have regularly repaired it. That repair work gives us an ancient work with the bearing of the late Le and early Nguyen that still retains artistic value in Nhan Hue Communal House.

Nhan Hue Communal House worships the deity Van Phuc, a Vietnamese female farmer who grew up in a country with a patriotic tradition of fighting foreign invasion. When the Fatherland was invaded, Ming troops ravaged the country and her homeland, she joined the Lam Son insurgents to fight the enemy. Her simple, ordinary act was rowing a ferry across the river carrying Lam Son insurgents to fight. Her work had enormous significance and a resounding good name. That act contributed a small part to the cause of national liberation. That woman died heroically, setting a bright example for all generations.

Nhan Hue Communal House, which worships her, has late Le architecture. It was founded in the late 17th century. The people of Nhan Hue village repaired it many times but still retained its original bearing. The decorative art in the communal house is relatively consistent with the Nguyen style. In particular, the artistic style of the Later Le period is still clear at the beam ends and ancient brocade panels.

Nhan Hue Communal House is a relic worshipping a female hero from ordinary peasant origins who made great contributions to the country and people and was recorded in the national register as a deity, worthy of being a shining example for educating future generations about tradition. Together with the architectural art of the ancient communal house preserved for hundreds of years (though the current condition is not large and spacious), these two factors support each other, with the historical factor being greater, adding to its precious value and to our responsibility in preserving and protecting the relic.

NHAN HUE COMMUNAL HOUSE

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