Long An Communal House - a place marking the history of Hoang Truong Headquarters

Following the North direction of National Highway 1A to Km52, going 1,500m to the East, visitors will come to Long An Communal House - the place where the signal was given and the people of Bac Dien Chau region gathered during the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement.

Long An Communal House is located in Dien Truong Commune, Dien Chau District, Nghe An Province. The Communal House is located on an area of ​​1,500m²; surrounded by 5 villages, each village name represents the cultural tradition of the homeland: Ngoc Boi, Cam Bao, Long An, Ky Ngai, Tam Khoi.

In the 19th century, the villages of Dien Truong commune belonged to Hoang Truong commune, Dong Thanh district, Dien Chau prefecture. In the early period, Dong Thanh district was divided into two, Hoang Truong commune belonged to Yen Thanh district. In the year of Thanh Thai, the boundaries of Yen Thanh district and Dien Chau prefecture were divided. Located not far from the cultural and political center (the old capital of Dien Chau was located in Thanh Trai) and also close to Yen Ly (the old district capital of Yen Thanh), Dien Truong commune has long been famous for being a land of learning and literature. The tradition of "learning and respecting human morality" is not only expressed in ideology but also in practical actions. Most villages and communes have public fields and temples of literature.

The authors of “O Chau Can Luc”, “Lich Trieu Hien Chuong Loai Chi”, “Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi” all commented: “The people of Hoan Dien are pure and studious”. Long An village has more mandarin examinations than other villages in Dien Truong commune today. Regarding academic degrees: under the Le dynasty, there were 39 mandarins. In such a cultural area, even the monuments are very majestic, there are Cao Son and Cao Cac temples built in Con Loc, the Confucius temple for the whole commune is located in Long An, every village has a communal house but Long An communal house is the largest.

Along with the tradition of learning, the tradition of patriotism of the people of Dien Chau in general and Dien Truong in particular has left many historical traces in the resistance war for national liberation. In the 15th century, in the resistance war against the Ming army, the people of Dien Truong cooperated with the army of Dinh Le from Dong Dinh mountain to liberate Dien Chau citadel. The country was peaceful, the people of Long An, Cam Bao, Ngoc Boi villages were given three words by the King: "Loyalty - Righteousness - Citizen" and the three villages were named as such.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many outstanding children of Dien Truong followed the call of the Can Vuong movement to fight against the French. The Communist Party of Vietnam was born, this was also one of the bases for the early development of the revolutionary movement in the North Dien Chau region.

Long An Communal House was built facing south, in the shape of the letter Nhi (=), including: Upper Communal House and Lower Communal House. The wood used to make the communal house was made of ironwood, exploited by the people in the western mountainous region of Nghe An. The surrounding construction materials were mainly made of clams exploited in Dien Thanh commune. The communal house's roof tiles were produced by the people themselves.

Thuong Communal House consists of three compartments and two wings, roofed with yin-yang tiles, and engraved with Chinese characters clearly stating the construction time: "Tu Duc Binh Ty nien chinh nguyet tu tao, Xuan quy lac thanh", meaning: Construction started in January and was completed in late Spring in Tu Duc year (1876). The communal house has a four-pillar architecture, simple patterns, the highest column is 2.4 m, diameter 0.30 m, green stone column support: 0.4 m x 0.4 m; there are 18 columns. The above says the communal house has "Luong Long chau nguyet", at both ends there are two Nghe sitting on two square pillars.

The Ha Communal House has 5 compartments and two wings, built in 1885 (the first year of Ham Nghi). Regarding the construction of the Ha Communal House, the elders said that two groups of workers competed to see who was more beautiful and faster. The Pho Nhu and Pho Toi groups competed, and in the end, the Pho Nhu group won. The rafters in the "Chieng dau oai trap" style with dragon carvings on the outside are also different. The "Bay" in the North has a dragon flying up, and one flying down. The "Bay" in the South has an eagle holding a lotus leaf. The rafters are in the four-pillar style, and the beams are carved with the image of a chimera. The Communal House has 24 columns.

From Dinh Thuong to Dinh Ha there is a small yard with an area of ​​25m2.², there are two rows of houses connecting the Upper and Lower Communal Houses, used to pour wine during ceremonies. On top of this shape is a lotus flower. In front is the communal house yard. To the south are two small houses called "the kitchen" used to cook for the ceremonies. To the north are two "palanquin houses" used to store palanquins and worshiping objects. In front of the Tam Quan gate are a well and an ancient cotton tree. Today, the well, the cotton tree, the Tam Quan gate, the kitchen, and the palanquin house no longer exist.

Long An Communal House worships Ho Han Thuong and Princess Hy Ninh (daughter of Tran Minh Tong). In 1406, the Ming Dynasty used the excuse of helping restore the Tran Dynasty to send more than 200,000 troops to attack the Ho Dynasty. Ho Quy Ly was defeated and captured at Thien Cam Mountain (Ha Tinh), Ho Han Thuong was captured at Cao Vong Mountain. Ho Han Thuong is worshiped here by the people. Is it possible that the people with the surname Ho in Long An and neighboring villages are his descendants who followed him from Dong Do and settled here?

In 1930, Long An communal house witnessed the historical imprints of Hoang Truong General Department from its inception until today. The cotton tree at the head of the communal house was where comrade Chu Nien hung the Party flag to commemorate May 1, 1930. The communal house was the place where the drums were beaten and the people of Bac Dien Chau gathered to demonstrate in support of the Russian October Revolution. The struggle demonstrated a profound international spirit. The struggle movement in Hoang Truong rose, the village chiefs were frightened and fled, and the village chief of Long An village resigned. The Party General Department met at Long An communal house to build mass organizations such as farmers' association, self-defense force, youth, women and teach the national language to the people. The Soviet government used the communal house as a meeting place and gathered rice from the rich to distribute to the poor.

At the end of 1931, when the revolutionary movement was severely suppressed by the French colonialists, Dinh Long An became a military base. The enemy brought 12 revolutionary cadres here to be executed. After the success of the August Revolution, Dinh Long An became the headquarters of the Dien Truong Commune People's Committee. In 1948, the communal house was the place where weapons were produced to protect the sea when the French colonialists attacked Quynh Luu. Since 1952, the communal house has been the workplace of the Party Committee, the Commune People's Committee and the local cultural center.

In addition to such historical marks, Long An communal house is also the place where village festivals are held. The biggest festival held at the communal house is the Ky Phuc festival (a ceremony to pray for good luck in business). On the full moon day of the second lunar month every year, the Ky Phuc festival is held for two days. Participants in the festival include village dignitaries and elders aged 60 and over. In June, after the harvest, there is a Than Nong festival, when people in the area hope for a bountiful harvest.
Considering that Long An Communal House is a witness in the struggle to protect national independence as well as cultural and artistic values; on March 11, 1992, the Ministry of Culture, Information and Sports issued Decision No. 599/QD recognizing Long An Communal House as a historical and cultural relic for preservation and promotion.