Xuan Dinh Communal House

Xuan Dinh Communal House is now in Xuan Canh Village, Dong Anh Commune, Hanoi City. This is one of the ancient lands of Dong Ngan District; in the distant past it was a dense forest area through which the Red River flowed, creating fertile alluvial grounds.

Located in an area dense with historical and cultural relics, together with Cua Song Temple, Van Hoach Pagoda - Xuan Canh Fort, Thuong Lao Communal House and Pagoda, Xuan Dinh Communal House survives to this day bearing historical marks related to the Hai Ba Trung uprising in the early years of the Common Era.

The spirit legend preserved at the communal house says: At the beginning of the Common Era, when our country was ruled by the Eastern Han invaders, causing much suffering and grief and leaving the common people in misery, no one was strong enough to stand up to save the country. Earlier, the niece of King Hung, Trung Trac, a heroic and loyal woman, together with her younger sister Trung Nhi, decided to raise troops to fight the enemy. When the female general sent out troops, she invoked the spirits for help, set up an altar to sacrifice to the tutelary deities, and presented petitions to the worthy ancestors. After presenting the petition, she called out and urged, and sent proclamations to the districts, prefectures and circuits throughout the Southern country, saying that anyone with full martial talent should come out to fight the enemy and save the country. On that day, Trung Vuong raised troops to fight the enemy; banners flew in the wind for ten thousand miles, and the sound of gongs and drums shook the mountains and rivers. When the army reached the land of Xuan Dinh, Xuan Canh Village, Dong Ngan District, Kinh Bac Circuit, she stopped, let the soldiers rest for a night, and then prayed to the deity of that land to secretly aid the fight against the enemy. At the Hour of the Goat, fourth watch, while she was in a daze, she saw a man wearing red clothes adorned with pearls, with a strange body and bizarre appearance, coming from a roadside shrine; he called himself a descendant of Lac Long Quan, who powerfully guarded the Southern land, with the title Cua Ngo, and said: "Heaven and earth have arranged it, the borders have been divided; now seeing invaders of the Southern country, I wish to come and help fight the enemy, and I vow to give secret aid and to manifest as a divine being by achieving merit in one day". Having said this, the man disappeared (that day was the 16th day of the 3rd lunar month). In an instant, Trung Nu Vuong suddenly awoke and knew that a deity had responded in a dream to help. The next day, she invited the elders of Xuan Dinh area to ask clearly about this matter. The elders replied: It is indeed true that in Xuan Dinh area they worship a great king with such a title.

Hearing this, Trung Nu Vuong made offerings and thanked the deity, and on that same day she led her troops to attack To Dinh. After only one battle, To Dinh's army was utterly defeated; she recovered 65 citadels and restored the Southern country. Trung Nu Vuong ascended the throne, held a celebration banquet, and promoted the generals and soldiers according to rank. On that occasion she said: The enemy To Dinh was quickly swept away because a deity gave secret aid, so she conferred titles on the hundred deities, and also conferred on the deity Cua Ngo Dai Vuong the title of Thuong Dang Phuc Than, to enjoy with the country the fortune of peace and to be remembered for ten thousand generations. The deity Cua Ngo Dai Vuong was granted many edicts by successive dynasties recognizing his merits; the relic currently preserves two of those edicts: the edict dated the 6th day of the 4th month of the 11th year of Tu Duc (1858) and the edict dated the 11th day of the 8th month of the 3rd year of Duy Tan (1909) . Like many other villages in the region, Xuan Dinh Village holds its festival on the 16th day of the 3rd lunar month every year. The village festival is organized solemnly with all traditional rituals. The ceremonial part includes solemn worship, a ritual to remember the deity's merits toward the villagers. According to the village elders, in the past on the festival day there was a water procession, and the 8th day of the 3rd month was the festival day of Thuong Lao Village, when a procession had to go from Thuong Lao Communal House to Xuan Dinh Communal House; after the ceremony, the deity was carried back to the communal house. Today, the procession, worship and water procession no longer take place. Since peace was restored, the festival has been held mainly on the 16th day of the 3rd month every year and has been maintained regularly, but rituals and games have been simplified. At present, the village festival also includes cultural and sports activities. The communal house worships the village tutelary deity Cua Ngo Dai Vuong, so the villagers avoid the two words "cua ngo" and use "cong ngo".

Based on the spirit legend, edicts and artifacts still preserved at the relic, there is a basis to conclude that Xuan Dinh Communal House was built at least from the Le - Nguyen period, 18th - 19th centuries. The communal house was destroyed by fire during the resistance war; in the 1980s, the people contributed labor and money to rebuild 3 bays of the rear hall for worship and to keep the artifacts. In 1998 the people repaired the rear hall and reconstructed 3 bays of the main hall on the old foundation, and it has been kept unchanged to this day.

The gate is simply built and connected to the enclosing wall; beyond the gate is a narrow brick-paved courtyard with perennial trees and ornamental plants around it. The main hall consists of 3 bays with a closed gable end, the armrests have pillar inscriptions, the two central roof trusses are made of wood with crossbeams and kèo kìm, and the two gable trusses have kèo kìm crossbeams resting on the wall. On the trusses are kẻ soi and carved leaf motifs. The roof is covered with local tiles, and the floor is paved with ceramic tiles. The rear hall consists of 2 bays and 3 wooden trusses made in the thượng giá chiêng style, with kẻ luồn and lower kẻ trường resting on the walls on both sides; the roof is covered with local tiles and the floor is paved with ceramic tiles.

Inside the main hall and rear hall are altars with worship objects painted red and gilded. The horizontal boards and couplets praise the deity's merits; among them is an ancient pair of couplets with the content:

Great as the deity now manifest, aiding from ancient times to the present, the people forever enjoy the blessings of the wind of kindness

Vast and impossible to name, having just sunk into a dream but seeing only the color of a red robe in the quiet night.

In the central bay of the rear hall, a brick altar is built with a throne and spirit tablet placed at the center; the throne and spirit tablet are brightly painted red and gilded. At the innermost part adjoining the rear gable is a large ceremonial curtain door made in the early 20th century, the 10th year of Bao Dai (1935). The curtain door is decorated with the four sacred animals, four seasons, and dragons flanking. Especially notable are the pair of unicorns supporting the lower part of the curtain door, carved exquisitely, with vivid carvings of curled cloud clusters, soft blade motifs, and lively faces. In the small panels are carvings of the four sacred animals in poses such as dancing unicorn, phoenix flying, tiger holding the moon...

What is noteworthy at the relic is that it still has quite a large number of ancient artifacts, all of which are precious. The pair of stone crocodiles dating from the 18th century is a rare antique among the relics of Dong Anh District and other relics of the city. With delicate carving, the artisan created a highly valuable work of art; looking at it, one seems to see the sacred animal smiling with a wish for prosperity, with soft blade motifs and a balanced, harmonious composition of the body. In addition, the communal house preserves many other worship objects, such as a set of ceremonial weapons, a command plaque, an altar tray with kneeling legs and fish belly, and a palanquin with dragon-shaped pavilion, with finely carved details of high artistic value.

Xuan Dinh Communal House relic was ranked as a City-level Historical and Artistic Relic under Decision No. 5501/QD-UBND dated November 5, 2010.