Ancient house of Vinh village

(Baonghean) - Coming to Vinh Tuy village, Vinh Thanh commune (Yen Thanh), it is not difficult to see moss-covered fences, ancient architectural gates and wooden houses made about 100 years ago that are still preserved by the people, with intact ancient features...

The old house of Mr. Dao Luong Thien, Vinh Tien hamlet today.

The first impression before entering Vinh Tuy village is the vast water surface of Roc Cua lake, more than 5 hectares wide. Seen from above, Roc Cua lake has the shape of a stomach, connected to 2 small rivers, so the lake is a symbol of prosperity for Vinh Tuy village. The village has a long cultural history, there have been archaeological discoveries at relics in the village. That shows that, hundreds of years ago, this place was home to ancient Vietnamese people.

Up to now, Vinh Tuy village has over 400 households and is divided into 2 hamlets: Vinh Tien and Vinh Phuc, separated by only one road. We went to the house of Mr. Tran Ngoc Hien, the head of Vinh Tien hamlet. Learning about the ancient houses in the hamlet, Mr. Hien pointed to them on his finger joints, then told us that currently, the whole Vinh Tuy village has more than a dozen ancient houses (formerly the houses of our ancestors). About 10 years ago, there were many ancient houses in the village, because many of the houses were too small and low, some were damaged, and the children in the village were doing well and had the means to replace them with houses with new architecture. Having said that, Mr. Hien happily led his motorbike to the gate, taking us to the ancient house of Mr. Dao Luong Thien. Mr. Thien passed away more than 3 months ago, now this house is looked after by his daughter, Dao Thi Hoan. Mr. Thien's house is located deep inside an alley more than a hundred meters long. Through this alley, we saw some house gates built with mossy lime, inside were houses with black wood, roofed with yin-yang tiles. Mrs. Dao Thi Hoan unlocked the gate, invited us into the house. The house gate still had its ancient, rustic appearance. The two large gate pillars, built with small bricks, had faded from the weather, the gate roof was designed in the shape of a fan, some decorative details were quite clearly shown. There were only 2 gates previously made of wood, now replaced with iron. The gate leading to the yard was more than 1m wide, with two banks of eels still intact. Mr. Thien's ancient house was made entirely of ironwood, 5 rooms long, 2 sides, including 16 round pillars, each pillar was about 20cm in diameter. The front of the house was made of wood, designed to be airy by delicate windows. The roof was covered with yin-yang tiles. The only difference is that more than 10 years ago, Mr. Thien raised the house's pillars 40 cm higher, and recently, he paved the floor with ceramic tiles, replacing the previous dirt floor. In addition to the old house, Mr. Thien's family also preserved some ancient items, such as limestone water tanks, earthenware jars, and an ancient well right next to the house. Ms. Hoan said: I don't remember exactly how old my father built this house, when Mr. Thien was still alive, he only remembered that it was built before 1935. After nearly 100 years of use, the main parts of the house have not been damaged, and nothing has had to be replaced.

Arriving at Vinh Phuc hamlet, we were taken to visit the house made of ironwood of Mr. Nguyen Van Chuong's family. Although Mr. Chuong's house has been raised, tiled, and lacquered, its ancient style is still intact. Some wooden parts are carved, bearing the artistic value of carving. It is known that this house was built by a student for a bachelor in Vinh Tuy village about 100 years ago. After that, this house was sold to Mr. Chuong's family, and his family has preserved it until today.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of modern times outside, the ancient houses of Vinh Tuy quietly close themselves in a corner, seemingly forgotten, but still remain with time, attached to many generations here.

Xuan Hoang