Noi Communal House

Dinh Noi now belongs to Binh Minh Commune, Hanoi City; in the past it belonged to Bao Da Commune, Bao Da Canton, Thanh Oai District, Ung Thien Prefecture, Son Nam Thuong Tran; later it was Binh Da Village, Binh Minh Commune, Thanh Oai District, Ha Dong Province (in 1965 Ha Tay Province, in 1975 Ha Son Binh Province, in 1992 it returned to Ha Tay Province), and from August 2008 to the present it has been Binh Da Village, Binh Minh Commune, Thanh Oai District, Hanoi City. Dinh Noi was ranked as a National Relic in 1985.

Dinh Noi is located on a plot of land in the center, where the national ancestor Lac Long Quan is worshipped, so it also has the Sino-Vietnamese name Lac Long Quan Tu. According to the elders, Dinh Noi was built long ago; however, traces of architecture and building materials from the Ly, Tran, and Le dynasties no longer remain.

Currently, the artistic architectural works of Dinh Noi were all made in the Nguyen dynasty. The overall layout of the communal house includes the outer gate, Quech bridge house, lotus pond, five-gate, left and right side houses, square pavilion, great worship hall, and rear sanctuary.

The auxiliary works—the outer gate, Quech bridge house, lotus pond, five-gate, left side house, and right side house—form a system of architectural items located outside. In the green area there are queo and troi trees several hundred years old. Outside there is a lantern-pillar gate newly made in 2010, meaning to mark the boundary of the relic site, so it is called the outer gate.

Passing through the outer gate is a relatively large communal courtyard, paved with red bricks; straight along the main path there is a screen wall made in the style of a scroll. The screen is regarded as a boundary, preventing unlucky things from affecting the shrine.

Next is the lotus pond shaped like the seal of National Ancestor Lac Long Quan. The pond’s scale is well proportioned to the overall communal house. Lotus is planted in the pond, and ornamental fish called sacred fish are raised. On the left is the Quech bridge house, said to be the place for presentation before entering the ceremony. The house has three small bays, with walls enclosing the gable ends, and two sloping roofs covered with fish-scale tiles.

Passing the presentation house and lotus pond, one enters the five-gate with five entrances to the shrine. The main path is three gates in the tam quan style, built like a narrow three-bay house with three doors: the main door is wide, and the two side doors are narrower. The house has gable walls with handrails and two lantern-style pillars decorated with the four sacred creatures and phoenixes at the top, and two sloping roofs covered with fish-scale tiles. On the roof ridge are two kym creatures, with a large wine jar in the middle. On both sides are two side gates built with two tiers of ancient roofs with four curved corners; in the middle is an arched crab-shell gate for daily entry and exit.

The main works of the communal house include the square pavilion, left side house and right side house, great worship hall and rear sanctuary. The square pavilion lies on the main axis through the main five-gate. It is a square house, without walls, with only four great pillars and four corner pillars, with stacked beam frames and eight curved roofs. On the roof ridge is a relief of two dragons facing the moon, and at the bends are unicorn statues running in opposite directions.

On both sides of the square pavilion is a red-brick courtyard, with two houses running parallel and symmetrically, called the left side house and right side house. Both houses have three bays, with brick walls at both gable ends. The gable wall has the character “Longevity” carved, above the roof end is a square shape, and the sloping roof is covered with fish-scale tiles. The house frame architecture has two rows of columns, and the structural frames are in the gia chien and ke bay style.

Next is the great worship hall and rear sanctuary, with an architectural layout in the Dinh character shape. Both houses have brick walls, closed gable ends, and sloping roofs covered with fish-scale tiles. The frame architecture of the great worship hall and rear sanctuary remains from the Nguyen dynasty, with four rows of columns and structural frames in the upper gia chien con nhi and stacked beam ke bay styles. The carvings on the architecture show the themes of the four sacred creatures: dragon, phoenix, turtle, and unicorn, and the four noble plants: chrysanthemum, bamboo, pine, and plum, in the artistic style of the Nguyen dynasty.

Dinh Noi still preserves a number of valuable artifacts, such as a set of eight-carried palanquins gilded and lacquered brilliantly, a carved and gilded altar desk with many layers of artistic decoration of dragons and phoenixes, a pair of cranes, the eight treasures, an incense burner, etc.

In particular, the communal house still preserves a relief with a statue of National Ancestor Lac Long Quan, with many layers of carved images, traditionally described as follows: 2.8 m long, 2.2 m wide, 5 tiers; at the top are 20 civil mandarins wearing long robes, holding tablets, and wearing winged hats; 16 brave, robust military mandarins with belts and rank badges, holding long sabers; 18 maids in soft, thin-pleated long dresses presenting boxes of petitions with flags, fans, parasols, canopies, and umbrellas; there are elephants, horses, and a group of militia carrying trays of flowers and fruit; on the vast water appear dragon boats with curved bows cutting through the waves and speeding forward; on each dragon boat are pairs of strong bare-chested young men in two rows, straining and tirelessly rowing; prominently occupying a quarter of the area is the portrait statue of Lac Long Quan seated on a golden throne, wearing a crown carved with two dragons facing the moon, dressed in an imperial robe, with a majestic figure and a gentle, benevolent face, in accordance with the 36 noble marks of Buddhism.. fully expressing scenes of daily life belonging to the Hung Vuong dynasty.

According to tradition, the relief was first built in the Dinh dynasty; when Dinh Tien Hoang became king, he had the Thuong Temple built at Phong Chau to worship the Hung Kings with the honorable title “Hung Vuong Son Nguyen Holy Ancestor,” and assigned Queen Dan Gia and Dinh Quoc Cong Nguyen Bac to take special charge, together with the Ministry of Rites, to select skilled craftsmen to create this relief. Based on this ancient artistic sculpture, researchers highly appreciate the historical significance of the deity worshipped, National Ancestor Lac Long Quan.