Thong Dat Communal House

The Thong Dat Communal House relic was ranked at City level under Decision No. 525/QĐ-UBND dated January 28, 2019, by the Hanoi City People's Committee

Thong Dat Communal House is located on a plot with a total area of 3,286.1 m2, facing northwest. In front it overlooks the Tich River, and behind is a residential area. The architectural structures of the communal house include the front hall, the rear sanctuary, and the courtyard. These structures are partly enclosed by a surrounding wall.
Technical condition of the relic: Over time and under the impact of nature, Thong Dat Communal House has undergone many restorations, embellishments, and repairs. According to the village elders, Thong Dat Communal House was formerly ancient; it consisted of 5 bays with a front-eave and rear-gable structure, with left and right corridors of 3 bays each, and the rear sanctuary previously had only 1 bay and has now been rebuilt on the old foundation of the communal house. Later, the villagers restored and embellished it as it is today... Through the years of war, the old architectural structure of the former communal house no longer remains. However, based on the royal edicts currently kept at the communal house, it can be surmised that the communal house was founded in the Nguyen dynasty and repaired in recent years. Since then, Thong Dat Communal House has become a spiritual site, a gathering place, and a common community activity place for the people of Thong Dat.

Architectural description:
The beginning of the relic complex is the front hall, consisting of 3 bays and 2 side bays, with four curved eaves, roofed with traditional tiles; on the ridge are placed tile ridges, and the roof edges are built in a plain style without decorative patterns. The three central bays are open at the front and back, while the two side bays have brick enclosing walls. The floor of the structure is about 25 cm higher than the courtyard and is paved with red bricks. The architectural unit consists of 04 roof trusses; these trusses include 02 rows of square brick columns, and the roof trusses are made in the chong ruong gia chieng style and connected to one another through the upper, middle, and lower beams and the roof purlins.
Rear sanctuary: From the front hall to the rear sanctuary unit above, the roof is covered with metal roofing. The rear sanctuary is an architectural unit consisting of 1 bay and 1 side bay, with enclosing walls built around it. This unit is located in the center and perpendicular to the front hall; the rear sanctuary has a front-eave and rear-gable roof structure, roofed with traditional tiles, and there is a wide veranda in front of the rear sanctuary. The rear sanctuary includes 02 roof trusses made in the style of wooden panelsThe panels are boarded up with wood and placed on wooden columns 20 cm in diameter, with enclosing walls built around the structure. The floor is paved with red bricks and is about 15 cm higher than the floor of the front hall.
Worship arrangement:

In the front hall: the right bay houses a long dinh palanquin, and the left bay houses a bat cong palanquin, both lacquered in red and gilded.
Rear sanctuary: a platform was built to place the throne and memorial tablet of the village's tutelary deity "Độ nhận Thượng sỹ hiệu viết Tây Giang Nam Hải Đại vương"; below is an altar arranged with incense bowls, flower vases, lamps, etc. On both sides of the altar is a set of ceremonial weapons; outside the rear sanctuary door there is an incense table along with worship objects for performing rituals.

Values of the Thong Dat Communal House relic

Historical value:
Thong Dat village communal house dates from the Nguyen dynasty and has existed continuously to the present day. Throughout its historical course, the communal house has been closely associated with and witnessed the many ups and downs of an ancient village near the Tich River. Thong Dat Communal House was built to worship the village's tutelary deity, Tay Giang Nam, Hai Dai Vuong. Over time and through historical changes, the communal house every
day is further repaired to become more beautiful and spacious.
Thong Dat Communal House today stands as a historical evidence, marking the formation and development of a homeland rich in revolutionary tradition in the past, present, and future, contributing to promoting the cause of building an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national cultural identity. At the same time, it is also a milestone recording the historical process in this place.
Promoting the revolutionary historical tradition, our forefathers and the people of Thong Dat Village in the resistance war against the French were steadfast and held on to defend the village. Especially under the leadership of the Party, during the resistance war against the French. The Thong Dat Victory—a heroic battle of officers and soldiers of Dai Bo 84 (Battalion 928, Regiment 48, Inter-Region 3), together with the local troop platoon of Quoc Oai District and the guerrillas and people of Liep Tuyet Commune—defeated the column of the French mobile group No. 4 (GM4), killed 170 enemy soldiers, captured 60 alive, and seized more than 100 various guns. The fighting and victory of the soldiers and commune guerrillas at that time greatly encouraged the spirit of the army and people of Quoc Oai and, together with the whole country, contributed to the Dien Bien Phu Victory "Resounding across five continents, shaking the world," forcing the French aggressors to withdraw from Vietnam.
On March 25, 1954, soldiers of Company 84, Regiment 46 coordinated with local troops and the militia and guerrillas of Liep Tuyet Commune, Quoc Oai, to organize a victorious fight against the French enemy's encirclement and sweep of Thong Dat Village. The Thong Dat Victory drew fire from the Dien Bien Phu battlefield and contributed to the defeat of the enemy's Navarre strategy. The Thong Dat Victory is the pride of the people of Liep Tuyet. That victory encouraged the fighting spirit of the army and people of the whole of Son Tay Province, creating conditions to further promote the resistance movement of the people in the region. It has left us with pride. To commemorate the heroic feat of the past, the people have engraved it on a relief and a victory monument on the land of the Doai region, with glittering golden pages of history telling future generations the panorama of the long, heroic yet arduous resistance war of the resistance villages of the past, echoing forever as a heroic song, the value of freedom, and expressing deep gratitude for the silent sacrifices of our army and people for a triumphant victory of the capital. Currently, the monument is located within the grounds of the communal house and pagoda relic.
During the resistance war against the French colonialists and the American imperialists: the people of Thong Dat had many sons sacrifice for the fatherland, including 12 martyrs, 12 wounded soldiers, 05 families with revolutionary bases, and 01 Vietnamese Heroic Mother. In particular, the People's Committee of Liep Tuyet Commune was awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces by the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Cultural and scientific value:
The tutelary deity belief is essentially a belief in beneficent deities that plays a role in linking the community, a place of spiritual convergence for residents. For the community of Thong Dat residents, the communal house is a place that binds spirits and a place that fosters and nurtures fine cultural traditions. The presence of the tutelary deity certainly contributed to creating the patriotic tradition of fighting foreign invaders of the people of Thong Dat in the two resistance wars against the French and against the Americans of the nation.
Aesthetic values:
The aesthetic value of the relic is its intrinsic value, encompassing aspects such as technical and fine-arts value, value in shaping art, and thinking in the arrangement of artifacts... After restoration and repair, Thong Dat Communal House has to some extent possessed such similar features. The roof trusses bearing traditional style, traditional materials, the arrangement of artifacts, and the spatial landscape... have been contained in this relic, creating a purely Vietnamese relic.
With the above values, the Thong Dat Communal House relic will soon become a tourist destination together with the Thay Pagoda relic in particular and the Tay Phuong Pagoda relic in general.