Yen My Communal House

Yen My Communal House, Duong Quang Commune, Gia Lam District, now Thuan An Commune, Hanoi City, is named after the village; in addition, the communal house is also called Dau Village Communal House (according to the village's Nom name) .

According to extant documentary sources, Yen My Communal House worships the village tutelary deity Quang Do Dai Vuong, who had many merits and virtues toward the local people. The deity's legend and origin are summarized as follows: “He was born on the 13th day of the 3rd lunar month in the Year of the Tiger and passed away on the 12th day of the 10th lunar month. He was a person who taught the people writing and propriety, so the Han dynasty conferred on him the title Liet Hau Cong. Later he came to Thuan Khang camp (present-day Yen My), saw that the land was beautiful with picturesque mountains and water, and stayed there to open a school for one year. Later, when rebels caused trouble, the king appointed him as Prefect of the local province to go and pacify the rebels. At that time he selected 35 strong young men from Thuan Khang camp as his household retainers and hands, wrote a proclamation and sent it to the districts and prefectures. In only one day he made the rebel troops retreat. Returning in triumph, he slaughtered pigs and oxen to feast the soldiers and offered sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, paid respects to the tutelary deity of the camp, and taught the people to value virtue. Seeing this, the people asked him to build a communal house of worship on the place where he had taught. That night he dreamed of a woman coming from the north side of the camp, calling herself the goddess Hoang Nga worshipped at a shrine, who told him that Han troops were about to come and surround the local deity, and then disappeared. Waking up, he went to the place and indeed saw Han troops surrounding the camp. He went in, called the soldiers, and said, 'The hearts of the people all help me; officers and soldiers, exert yourselves to fight the Han troops.' In just one battle he defeated the enemy. After that he rode a horse back to the province-prefecture and told the household retainers of Thuan My camp, 'In the village there is a very sacred goddess; in the future, if there is any important matter, you must respectfully welcome the goddess to share the worship.' A few days later he passed away; the people were afraid, so they made a petition to the king, and the king issued a decree making him a guardian spirit and allowed the people of the prefecture to build a shrine to worship him.” Through the feudal periods, the deity was repeatedly granted edicts by the royal courts to commend his achievements.

According to the village elders, the communal house was first built in the Le dynasty and was restored many times in the Nguyen dynasty. Yen My Communal House is located in the middle of the village's central residential area, with a spacious architectural scale within a fairly large, airy grounds, including: the square pavilion, the main hall, and the rear sanctuary.

Currently, the site still preserves many beautiful carved panels bearing the distinctive features of Nguyen dynasty architectural style. The collection of artifacts is diverse and rich, including many types such as: altar curtains, horizontal plaques, parallel sentences, worship thrones, incense tables, bronze censers, a pair of wooden cranes, etc., bearing the characteristics of traditional carving art. Every year, on the 13th day of the 3rd lunar month, the people of Yen My village organize a festival to commemorate the merits and virtues of the village tutelary deity.

Yen My Communal House was ranked as an architectural and historical relic by the Hanoi City People's Committee in 2007.