Thach Cau Bay Communal House

Thach Cau Bay Communal House is located in Thach Cau Bay 1 Residential Group, Long Bien Ward, Hanoi City.

The stone stele from the fourth year of Vinh Huu (1738), composed by Quan Cong Pham Kiem Ich, states clearly: 'In the past, the Nghia Tru River flowed through Cau Bay Village. That year, a Lady Thai Phi of the Trinh family donated money to build a stone bridge across the Nghia Tru River; the bridge had 17 pillars, making travel convenient for the people. To remember her merit, the villagers erected a stele recording her virtue and changed the name of Cau Bay Village to Thach Cau Village.'

According to local legend, Thach Cau Communal House worships La Lang Duong, a talented general who helped Ngo Quyen defeat foreign invaders. After Ngo Quyen died, he served the Dinh dynasty, suppressed the rebellion of the 12 warlords, and unified the country. After his death, the people of Thach Cau village deeply mourned him and built a communal house to worship him as the village tutelary god.

However, in the book Nha Dinh dep loan va dung nuoc (The Dinh Dynasty Suppresses Rebellion and Builds the Nation), published by Social Sciences Publishing House in 1990, Nguyen Thanh Viet cites the story of Doc Thi or Nhi Dai Vuong, composed by Nguyen Binh, a scholar of the Dong Cac Academy under the Hanlin Institute, in the first year of Hong Phuc (1572). The name La Lang Duong does not appear; instead, the following story is recorded: '... It is also said that Doc Thi or Nhi Dai Vuong was from Quang Nang in the Northern country; his father was Do Thac, his mother Tran Thi Tho, and the family did good deeds... On the 12th day of the fifth month in the Mau Ty year, a son was born and named Canh Thac. At the age of 26, he, together with Nguyen Thu Tiep, Pham Bach Ho, Ly Khue, Nguyen Khoan, Kieu Cong Han, Ngo Xuong Xi, and La Ta Duong—12 people in all—each proclaimed himself one of the 12 warlords and occupied a region. Canh Thac also proclaimed himself a warlord, went south to assist Ngo Quyen until Ngo Quyen died, and then they went their separate ways.'

Thus, in the spirit story of Doc Thi or Nhi Dai Vuong, La Ta Duong is mentioned as one of the 12 warlords of the Dinh period. Therefore, La Lang Duong may be La Ta Duong mentioned in this story. Worship of the warlords of the Dinh period was fairly common because, when establishing their territories, the warlords paid attention to caring for the people under their rule, from expanding villages to developing agriculture. It is therefore understandable that Thach Cau village worships La Lang Duong (or La Ta Duong).

Thach Cau Communal House stands on a large, high, and airy plot at the beginning of the village. In front of the communal house is a small lotus pond, where a curved bridge now leads to a hexagonal pavilion in the middle of the pond. On both sides of the communal house gate are ancient banyan and peepal trees, giving the relic landscape a solemn beauty.

In addition to typical ancient artifacts, Thach Cau Communal House has a rich collection in terms of materials and a diverse range of types, such as: a sacred flag, bat bao (eight treasures), a small stone stele (40 x 60 cm) whose characters have been faded by time (illegible), and two large lacquered and gilded horizontal plaques bearing the inscriptions: 'Thanh cung van tue' and 'Thuong dang anh linh'. In particular, the pair of parallel sentences in the Great Hall records the merit of General La Lang Duong in helping the Dinh dynasty suppress rebellion:

Supporting the restoration, a temple for a thousand ages,

With a wooden sword, he guarded the southern region.

Rough translation:

Remembering the merit of the ancient general,

Using the wooden sword to defend the south against invaders.

During the resistance war against the French, Thach Cau Communal House was a base for guerrillas, with many feats of arms in blocking and attacking the enemy on Road 5, cutting off traffic between Gia Lam Airport and Hai Phong. Here, during the 1947 sweep, the French were fiercely fought back by local guerrillas. Therefore, Thach Cau Communal House is also a site marking the revolutionary resistance events that took place in the locality.

Thach Cau Communal House was ranked as a historical and architectural-artistic relic by the Hanoi City People's Committee in 2007./.

According to Hanoi Scenic Spots and Relics, Volume 02