Long Duc Communal House, also known as Thanh Hoang Temple, is located at 08 Pham Hong Thai Street, Cluster 3, Ward 2, Tra Vinh City, Tra Vinh Province. This is a communal house with a typical architectural style of Southern village communal houses, built around the 20s - 30s of the 19th century. Currently, the communal house still retains its architectural style, preserving many unique traditional sculptures and paintings, imbued with national culture for tourists to visit and study.
At first, the communal house was simply made of trees and leaves. On March 22, the year of the Cat (1939), Mr. Vo Quoc Xuan (General Secretary) and the Committee of Incense Officials rebuilt the communal house, after a few minor restorations such as: In 1980, the communal house was repainted, in 2008, the tiled roof was repaired and the floor was re-tiled. In 2019, the communal house was painted and repaired and the main floor was re-tiled. Since then, Long Duc communal house has maintained its architectural style and decoration. serious and ancient.
Currently in the communal house, there is still a relic of the Khai Dinh period (1917). The main worship hall is Thanh Hoang Bon Canh, in the later stages, the letters Tran Trung Tien, Tien Hien, Hau Hien, Four Great Heavenly Kings, Bach Ma Eunuch, Earth God of Wealth, Uncle Quy, Neak Ta, Hero doctor.
The architecture of the communal house is built in the style of an arranged house, facing North. The ca ca ca and the main tam are both built in the style of a xieng trunh house (ruong house), the roof is covered with small yin and yang tiles; main column, second row column, third row column and frame structural parts such as: trusses, skewers, rafters, arm bars, rafters, and battens made of wood.
The ca shell house has 03 doors, the main door in the middle space and 02 doors in the corridors on both sides. The front wall is decorated with paintings on the themes of lotus and duck, bird flowers (bird flowers), and two dragons and pearl paintings. Above, there is the words Thanh Hoang Mieu embossed on the wall inlaid with porcelain in the main colors of light blue and white.
In the main temple, the middle room is the altar of Thanh Hoang Bon Canh, the left side worships Tien Hien and Ta Ban, the right side worships Hau Hien and Huu Ban. The back part of the temple is used as a place to worship the ancestors. In addition, in the past, on both sides of the communal house, there were two rows of houses, left and right, (east corridor, west corridor).
The interior of the communal house stands out with many sculptures, reliefs, paintings, wooden panels, diaphragms, tureens, altars, altar cabinets, wooden altars painted with gilded vermilion and carved with crystal patterns. Vi is sharp with the themes of four sacred animals, two dragons and pearls, flowers and leaves, bats, birds, and eight immortals that are both solemn and harmonious, symbolizing the harmony of yin and yang and praying for peace and prosperity.
In the main shrine, there are also wooden horizontal panels with golden letters written on a painted background such as "Quoc Thai and Dan An", "Uy Linh", "Heroic Spirit", "The God of Grace", "Touch"... and The pair of wooden cranes symbolize longevity and eternity. The wooden columns all have wooden pillars with tureens carved with themes of the four sacred animals painted in red and gold, and paintings with themes of bamboo and apricot blossoms symbolizing the rise and prosperity of a gentleman.
Through the architectural structure, the way the thrones are arranged, the carving techniques, the colors and decorative patterns of Long Duc communal house demonstrate the talent and sophistication of the ancients. From those typical artistic values, on June 29, 2021, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued Decision No. 1989/QD-BVHTTDL ranking Long Duc Communal House as a national monument of the type artistic architecture.
Located in the center of Tra Vinh city, only about 400m west of Tra Vinh market, Long Duc Communal House is an ideal destination that tourists should not miss when setting foot in Tra Vinh land. Especially traveling to Tra Vinh right on the occasion of the third lunar month, you will experience the Ky Yen Festival at Long Duc communal house, remember the nation's roots through many ups and downs, learn about regional culture and harmony. Enjoy the bustling atmosphere of the festival with the local people. Together with everyone, we pray for good weather and a peaceful and happy life.
Source: Tra Vinh Tourism Development Center
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