Binh Vong Communal House, Binh Vong Village, Thuong Tin Commune

Binh Vong lies on land with the 'quan son la bai' configuration, with surrounding mountains bowing like worshippers. Once, Master Ta Ao, a famous feng shui expert, passed through the village and said: 'Binh Vong is like scattered clouds; a land of spiritual energy will surely produce outstanding people.' At the beginning of the 15th century, Binh Vong devised lotus wine to present to the king, which Nguyen Trai recorded in the book Du dia chi. The book Dai Nam nhat thong chi records: 'Binh Vong Market in Thuong Phuc District was a large market in Thuong Tin Prefecture.' An old folk song says: 'In the South, the first market is Bang, Voi.'

Over nine centuries of Confucian examinations, Binh Vong produced many widely learned people who passed high. They include Tran Lu, who passed the doctoral examination in the Nam Tuat year (1502); Nguyen Huu Dang, who passed in the Dinh Mui year (1667); Le Nguyen Thuong (Le Trong Thuong), who passed in the Nham Thin year (1772); Le Tong Quang, who passed in the Nham Ngo year (1822); and Nguyen Tong (Nguyen Tru), who passed in the Ky Suu year (1829). Among those who passed the highest examinations, many used their talents to serve the people and the country. Doctor Tran Lu rose to the post of Xiancha shi and, on two missions to China, learned the secret techniques of lacquer painting and gilding. Returning home, he taught the craft to villagers and many other places. Tran Lu's talented brush gave many objects a soul. Many shrines and palaces decorated with lacquer-and-gilding art in which 'dragons seem to fly and phoenixes seem to dance' became splendid and majestic. Tran Lu died in the Canh Ty year (1540) at the age of 71; grateful villagers built a shrine on the site of his old house, and twice a year, in spring and autumn, they offer incense and flowers. In Nam Ngu Street (Hoan Kiem District), traces of a shrine to the founder of the lacquer-painting craft still remain.

Visiting Binh Vong today, one can still hear the village elders tell many stories about the people and land of Binh Vong.

It is said that long ago in Tong Son District, Thanh Hoa, there was a talented and resourceful man surnamed Do. In the Ly dynasty, when rebels rose, he was ordered by the king to suppress them. After the rebels were defeated, on his way back through Binh Vong, a storm suddenly arose; alone on one horse, with only a sword and a pink flag, he transformed. The villagers bowed in reverence and built a thatched shrine to worship him. Later, King Ly, on his way to fight the Cu Long rebels (Ai Chau), stopped before the shrine, saw that the Great King was spiritually efficacious, and asked for hidden assistance. Indeed, after only one battle the rebels were routed. On his triumphant return to the capital, the king remembered the spirit's merit and had the villagers build a shrine and roof it with tiles, granting a golden plaque reading 'Linh ung dien' (Hall of Miraculous Response).

In the Tran dynasty there was a dignified and gentle princess whom the king appointed to govern the Binh Vong area. There she asked the king to exempt the people from taxes. She also had a canal dug south of the village, called Nam Lang Canal, to facilitate boat traffic. In the village was an ancient pagoda where the king often came to pray, and it was very efficacious, so he named it Bao Quoc Pagoda. When the princess and her father visited the pagoda, the royal boat was often surrounded by five-colored clouds. A prominent monk pointed at the princess and said: 'She is a holy woman.' After the princess died, grateful villagers wrote a petition asking to establish a shrine to worship her; she was granted a title as a tutelary deity, and people's prayers to her were often answered.

In the second resistance war against the Yuan invaders in 1285, Binh Vong lay within the defense line against the enemy south of the capital. Chieu Van Vuong Tran Nhat Duat was sent to fight the enemy at Ham Tu. On the way to battle, Chieu Van stationed troops at Binh Vong. At Linh Tu, he held a ceremony to pray. That night he saw a spirit in a dream telling him: 'This time, General, you will surely win a great victory.' Indeed, after only one battle the Yuan troops at Ham Tu were utterly defeated. Shortly after his death, grateful villagers, remembering the general who was accomplished in both letters and martial arts, built a shrine to worship him. Tran Nhat Duat's temple is next to the main road, beside the earthen citadel of Thuong Tin Prefecture and a few kilometers from Chuong Duong Wharf.

Binh Vong Communal House preserves many precious relics. The stele 'Binh Vong xa dinh bi' made in the third year of Vinh To (1613) clearly records six village regulations for dealing with people guilty of theft, reckless speech, or deliberately causing enmity with those around them. A stele carved in the fourth year of Phuc Thai (1646) sets out the village's convention on land: 'Anyone who relies on power to encroach on public land will be punished; anyone who flees will have his brothers and sisters seized in his place, and his land confiscated or a fine of 100 quan of money imposed.' A stele carved in the second year of Khanh Duc (1650) tells of the medium Nguyen Thi Ngoc Vinh, skilled in prophecy, who was granted the title of marquis by Lord Trinh and given 92 mau 3 sao of land. Before she died, she donated that land to the village and bought 21 more mau of private land for the village to worship and make offerings.

Right next to the communal house is the village pagoda called Bao Quoc Tu. The stele 'Trung tu Bao Quoc tu bi', composed by Doctor Nguyen Dang in the 13th year of Hoang Dinh (1612), says that Bao Quoc Pagoda in Binh Vong Commune is a famous ancient site with picturesque scenery and had long fallen into disrepair. Village officials raised money and property to restore the upper hall, the incense-burning house, and the three-entrance gate, and built a seven-bay covered bridge to shelter from rain and sun when traveling. The stele 'Binh Vong tu bi', composed by Doctor Nguyen Tu Hien in 1780, also states clearly: 'Bao Quoc Pagoda dates from the Ly dynasty and is very sacred; it has secretly assisted the country and brought peace to the people.'