NGHE AN – Built in the reign of King Le Hien Tong, Hoanh Son communal house is rated “having the most beautiful carvings in the country”.
Dinh Hoanh Son, Khanh Son commune, Nam Dan district, was awarded the certificate of recognition by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in November 2020. At the end of 2017, the Prime Minister ranked a special national monument for this work.
According to the Management Board of Monuments of Nghe An province, Hoanh Son communal house was built in 1763. The person who initiated and mastered the construction was Mr. Dang Thac, court official of King Le Hien Tong (1740-1786). That year, the people’s life was prosperous, all classes of scholars, farmers, workers and traders in the village prospered, Mr. Thac chose good land, mobilized money from the people to buy precious timber, invited skilled workers in the area to return. build.
The communal house is more than 1,660 m2 wide, facing northeast, behind with mountains, in front is Lam river. In which, the large house is over 330 m2, built in the way of 7 rooms. Great family is made up of 6 sets because with 32 columns. This is a truss structure in the style of “the price of gongs, husband and wife”, popular in Vietnam in the 17-18 century, ensuring certainty, providing airiness and convenience in decoration.
In front of the communal house, built a wall on both sides of 25 cm thick, in the middle there is a door opening, the back wall is also built on both sides, in the middle except the harem is 49 m2 wide. The temple has two large roofs, front and back, and two anise roofs are roofed with yin and yang tiles. Tiled background.
Carvings focus on wooden structures in the beam, the line, the dragon … of the great family. Prominent is the image of the four spirits (long, ly, quy, phoenix), followed by a classic and classic illustration, expressing the dreams of Nghe An farmers in general and Hoanh Son village in particular such as: ” Phoenix letter “- the desire to conquer intellectuals. Together expressing this dream is the honorable image of worshiping the ancestors, the scene of martial arts competition, exam scores …
In particular, while the folk themes were almost no longer in the 18th century, at the communal house such images were still popular, such as rowing, transplanting, enjoying tea, fishing … In addition to carving the topic on wooden structures, in the middle of the great communal house, the ancient artisans also adorned with beautiful, artistic-style medical paintings and many ancient Chinese characters.
Ancient An Tinh book by author Hippolyte Le Breton (French), a teacher for many years teaching at Vinh National School, wrote about Hoanh Son communal house: “All the trips in An Nam, I have never seen one. What a beautiful house like this “.
Hippolyte Le Breton also recorded many pictures of the communal carvings such as: Two dragons adoring the moon, two phoenixes on either side; procession of soldiers with elephants, bronze drums, soldiers holding spears; the boat race on the Lam river; human chess, including 16 men and 16 girls as chess pieces …
In the book Dinh Viet Nam , authors Ha Van Tan and Nguyen Van Cu also write: On the beams, trusses, columns are engraved very delicately and vividly the shape of clouds, leaves, dragons with swarms of baby dragons, golden phoenix birds.
Researchers and experts in the field of architecture evaluate this as a typical house of the Central region, with the most beautiful carving art in the country.
Mr. Dao Tam Tinh, Vice Chairman of Lam River Antiquities Cultural Heritage Association, said he visited the monument many times to admire the special architecture with the carvings that reflect the life of all walks of life in everyday society. old. “The skills and skills of the old craftsmen were very high. They were really good craftsmen,” said Mr. Tinh.
Currently all communal columns are still intact, carvings, letters written on wooden structures in the truss, because they are still original. On the body, some pillars still retain traces of the green loot left. These are squares, chiseled in the columns to assemble the boards. At the communal house, there are a number of Buddha statues placed in the harem, which is the place to worship the Citadel of Ly Nhat Quang village, the Four Noble Truths and the Buddhas.
According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thuy, Head of Heritage Management Department, Nghe An Department of Culture and Sports, many structures in the house are being degraded and damaged. The Department has advised the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the People’s Committee of Nghe An province to put the list of restoration of Hoanh Son family in medium-term public investment 2021-2025 with a cost of 50-60 billion VND.
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