Vo Liet Communal House

Vo Liet in particular andThanh ChuongIn general, this is a land famous for its tradition of learning and patriotism. This is an ancient land with many families and many people who have achieved high results. Through many ups and downs of history, this land has had many different names such as Tho Ngoa (Tran Dynasty), Vo Liet (Le Dynasty), Kim Bang (1945) and after 1945, it returned to the name Vo Liet until today.

Vo Liet commune used to have 3 villages, each village has a famous relic. Ngu Phuc village has Vo Liet communal house, Chi Linh village has Phu Ngoai worshiping the father of General Phan Da, Truong Yen village has Bach Ma temple. The three villages have the same nom name Vo Liet.

Vo Liet Communal House was formerly called Quan Hang Tong, established by the Van Hoi of Vo Liet Tong to worship Confucius and the local sages. The communal house was built in 1859 and completed in 1860. The communal house was designed and built by Mr. Hoang Chinh Truc after he passed the bachelor's exam (1858).

Before building the communal house, the scholar Hoang Chinh Truc had researched, visited, and traveled to learn about the architecture in Thang Long, Thanh Hoa. After that, he returned to his hometown to discuss with the Confucian scholars in the General's Literature Association about building the Vo Liet communal house.

Vo Liet Communal House is a cultural relic with a unique architecture in the Vietnamese communal house system. The communal house gate has a structure in the traditional Northern communal house style with 4 sturdy gate pillars forming 1 main gate and 2 side gates: left and right. On both sides of the communal house yard are two stele houses, each with 3 steles inscribed with the names in Chinese characters of 445 successful people of Vo Liet commune, including 377 Bachelors, 63 Bachelors, 2 Doctors and 3 Vice-Masters, such as Bachelors Tran Van Thang, Nguyen Canh, Do Duc Cao, Nguyen Dinh Thuc... (Le Dynasty), Bachelors Vu Duy Tan, Tong Huy Vien, Phan Sy Nhiep, Hoang Nho Nha, Ho Sy Tao... (Nguyen Dynasty).

The main communal house has a square architectural structure, also known as the "mouth" structure, with 54 ironwood columns and 4 solid brick columns forming closed houses without gables (except for the back floor), connected inside, and in the middle is a small courtyard. This is the rare unique architectural feature of the communal house.Vo Liet. There are no Buddha statues or elaborate patterns in the communal house, the roof is covered with yin-yang scale tiles. Behind the communal house is a row of 5-room houses used as a dining place for the Cultural Association...

The village guardian spirit of Vo Liet is General Phan Da - who had the merit of repelling the Ming invaders during the Le Dynasty. After this communal house was converted into a temple of literature, Confucius was brought here to be worshiped. With its dual function: being a temple of literature, a communal house to worship the village guardian spirit and a place where many folk cultural activities take place, this relic has a unique feature compared to other communal houses.

The people of Vo Liet in particular and the people of Nghe An in general have a rich spiritual life. They love folk songs, are intoxicated with the folk songs and the boat songs. In early spring, at Vo Liet communal house, many folk festivals take place to remember Phan Da. In the second lunar month, there is the Te Hiep ceremony, and in the eighth lunar month, there is the Confucius worship ceremony.

Every three years, people hold the Ky Khoa ceremony on the opening day of the 7th day of the first lunar month. Candidates from all over gather at Vo Liet communal house to listen to the commentary on classical poetry and prose. During the festival, many folk games take place such as: dry fishing, boat racing, banana tree planting...

Vo Liet Communal House is not only a historical and cultural relic but also a revolutionary historical relic with an important position in the system of relics on Nghe Tinh land. This place has marked many typical historical events in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement (1930-1931)...

Promoting the long-standing tradition of patriotism, when the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement broke out, the people of Thanh Chuong rose up to fight strongly. On the morning of June 1, 1930, the people gathered at Vo Liet communal house with sticks and rulers, then marched to the district office to submit their demands. Faced with the strong fighting spirit of the masses, the district chief Phan Thanh Ky had to accept the demands of the masses with the promise to submit them to the authorities for consideration and resolution.

On September 1, 1930, under the leadership of Thanh Chuong District Party Committee, 20,000 people from 5 communes crossed Lam River to besiege and destroy the district office, causing the district chief and officials to panic and flee to Thanh Qua station. Faced with the disintegration of the local village apparatus, the Party cell met at Vo Liet communal house and decided to establish the Red Peasant Association, representing the interests of workers and openly handling all matters as a revolutionary government. Vo Liet communal house became the headquarters of the Soviet government...

Also during this period, activities such as giving speeches, organizing the study of the national language, reading the Internationale, hanging the Party flag and many other cultural and artistic activities were regularly held at the communal house. This was also the place where many scholars from other places were invited by the people to teach their children, including President Ho Chi Minh’s father, Nguyen Sinh Sac, and Ton Lo Xuyen, Phan Boi Chau, Cu Do, Cu Vanh, etc.

The sound of the Soviet drums in 1930-1931 was sounded from Vo Liet communal house, the red hammer and sickle flag of the Party fluttered on the roof of the communal house, the sounds evoked a glorious time of a poor but patriotic countryside, following the call of the Party, rising up to make a revolution against colonialism and feudalism.

During the years 1940-1947, Vo Liet communal house was the place where the founding and restoration meetings of the Vo Liet Party Cell took place (in 1940), where the 4th Regional Party Congress was held under the chairmanship of comrades Nguyen Chi Thanh, Ho Tung Mau, Major General Nguyen Son and the old Inter-zone 4 Congress (in 1947)... General Vo Nguyen Giap and many revolutionary veterans also visited this communal house.

Annual festivalrevolutionary traditionThe Thanh Chuong Soviet held on September 1st at the communal house attracted a large number of people and young generations to attend. Vo Liet communal house has become a symbol of national pride for the people of Nghe An. With such great values, Vo Liet communal house was ranked as a National Historical and Cultural Relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information (Decision No. 1288/QD-VH), November 16, 1988.