Van Quang Communal House

Van Quang Communal House was ranked at the City level under Decision No. 342/QD-UBND dated January 17, 2018, issued by the Hanoi City People's Committee

Van Quang Communal House is a religious relic worshipping the deity/tutelary god Duong Than (Chang Nam), the fifth son of Lac Long Quan, and the yin deity, the daughter of the King of the Water Realm (Nang Nam), civil and military generals from the Hung Kings' era who helped the Trung Sisters defeat To Dinh's army; from ancient times this place has been the cultural activity center of the local village community. Based on survey and research results and on Article 28 of the Law on Cultural Heritage and the amended and supplemented content in Article 11 of Decree 98/2010/ND-CP dated September 21, 2010, of the Government detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Cultural Heritage, and considering the outstanding values of the relic, Van Quang Communal House belongs to the relic type: Historical.
EVENTS, HISTORICAL FIGURES, AND FEATURES OF THE RELIC
Nghia Huong is an ancient land with a long history of existence and development and is a commune in Quoc Oai District, divided into 3 villages: Van Khe, Van Quang, and The Tru. In the past, Nghia Huong was also known for Ca Pagoda and Ca Communal House, places where the Trung Sisters and Lady Trieu stopped. Nghia Huong is also known for traditional craft villages such as sedge mat making, woodworking, and basket making... Today, along with the country's economic development, with the strength of side occupations and the diligence and hard work of Nghia Huong people, it is considered a locality with fast and strong development in all aspects. Van Quang Communal House faces southwest; to the right of the communal house is the Tich River, and to the left is a small canal originating from Thay Mountain. According to the Ngoc pha and historical documents and what the elders have handed down, the two tutelary gods worshipped at Van Quang Communal House are 'Chang Nam and Nang Nam'. One is the fifth son of Lac Long Quan, and the other is the daughter of the Water Realm, a Water Deity princess. Both were military and civil generals. Chang Nam was the clan chief of the Dong Mong tribe. The two governed this whole region and commanded the infantry, elephant corps, and navy. Legend has it that when the Trung Lady led her troops to fight the enemy, banners fluttered in the wind, and the sound of drums and gongs echoed through the mountains and forests. Reaching the border of Nghia Bang village, she halted her troops there. At night she slept at the shrine and prayed to the deities to secretly support her in fighting the enemy. That night, at the end of the third watch, while the Trung Lady was dozing off, she suddenly saw two people, a man wearing a red wrapped garment and a jade belt, with an unusual body and strange appearance, coming from the roadside and declaring himself to be the fifth son of Lac Long Quan, titled Chang Nam, a Water Deity official, who, hearing that the Trung Lady was leading troops to fight the enemy, vowed to follow her and establish merit. One was a woman coming up from under the water, with a beauty that made birds fall and fish sink and the moon ashamed and flowers envious, incomparably beautiful, who declared herself to be the daughter of the Water Realm, a Water Deity princess titled Nang Nam, saying: 'Where there is a king, there must be this deity; I ask to follow the underworld to establish merit and destroy the enemy.' After saying this, the two deities jumped onto the dragon boat and disappeared. When the Trung Lady woke up, knowing that the deities had responded in a dream to help, she made offerings and paid homage at the shrine, then led her troops into battle; when she looked up at the sky, she saw a yellow cloud descend onto the battlefield. Suddenly heaven and earth became dark, and daytime seemed like night. The generals, like swarms of snakes, rushed straight to To Dinh's fort and attacked, utterly defeating the enemy in one battle. To Dinh's army was terrified, defeated, and fled in disorder. After the victory, the Trung Lady had 65 fortresses built outside, restored the landscape of the Southern realm, and returned in triumph to the capital. The Trung Lady ascended the throne and then said: 'I was able to defeat To Dinh's army thanks to the secret support of the deities.' She then sent envoys to confer the title Dang Canh Thanh Hoang Linh Phu Chi Than. One was conferred as: Chang Nam Quang Te Dai Vuong;
One was conferred as: Nang Nam Tue Tinh Princess. Yellow, red, and white costumes are prohibited during ceremonies.
Van Quang Communal House was built on a spacious, airy campus located near the fields of Van Quang Village. The communal house has a beautiful position; the relic's ground plan includes a forecourt and rear sanctuary with a Dinh-shaped layout, surrounded by a large garden. Current land use at Van Quang Communal House is stable; according to the land parcel technical records and the relic protection zoning map surveyed and drawn in December 2017 by Hanoi Cadastral Joint Stock Company, the total area under management and use is 8,053.1 m2.
Architecture and artifacts: This is a structure that still preserves architecture in the traditional artistic style. The artifact system is diverse in type and material: stone objects, wooden objects, paper objects, bronze objects, ceramics, etc.; the artifacts are currently well protected. The relic's land plot has been clearly planned and is currently not subject to land violations.
Specific introduction - Architectural description:
According to elderly people in Nghia Huong Commune, Van Quang Communal House was originally a small shrine worshipping Duong Than (Chang Nam), the fifth son of Lac Long Quan, and the yin deity, daughter of the King of the Water Realm (Nang Nam), civil and military generals from the Hung Kings' era who helped the Trung Sisters fight To Dinh's army. The two deities, yang and yin, were very efficacious and later helped the Tran dynasty defeat the Yuan-Mongol army and the Le dynasty drive out the Ming army, so they were granted titles and edicts by King Tran Thai Tong and then King Le Thai To permitting the shrine to be upgraded into a communal house for worship. Over a long period, the communal house has been restored and repaired many times. Currently, no document remains about the year the communal house was founded; through surveys at the relic and extant written documents such as a stele bearing the Vinh Huu 6 reign date (1740); 01 Khai Dinh 9 edict (1924); 01 Duy Tan 3 edict (1908); 01 Dong Khanh 2 edict (1886); 01 Tu Duc 33 edict (1880); 01 Tu Duc 6 edict (1853). Thus, it can be inferred that the communal house was built at least during the Le dynasty and was repaired and restored many times during the Nguyen dynasty (19th century), with some components renovated in recent years. At the end of 1974, the communal house was damaged and dismantled. In 2005, on the old ground of the communal house, the people of Van Quang wholeheartedly donated money and rebuilt it.