Chèm Communal House

Chèm Communal House (đình) is the communal house of Thụy Phương village (its vernacular name is Chèm), now located in Đông Ngạc ward, Hanoi city. The đình venerates the Supreme Heavenly King Lý Ông Trọng and the imperial consort Bạch Tĩnh Cung, both from the time of An Dương Vương. Chèm Communal House is considered one of the oldest communal houses in Vietnam and is an architectural work with unique carving artistry. In addition to Thụy Phương village, the đình also serves as a place of worship for the people of two neighbouring villages, Hoàng Xá and Liên Mạc.

Chèm Communal House is not only an ancient architectural structure but also carries the legend of a virtuous and talented general who contributed to defeating invaders and saving the country.

Chèm Communal House is built in the 'nội công ngoại quốc' architectural style (inner structure shaped like the Chinese character 工, outer structure shaped like the character 国), solid and elaborate.

Inside the đình, the columns and roof are intricately carved. Outside, there is a three-entrance gate (tam quan) and four ancient stone pillars (cột đồng trụ). The innermost chamber of the đình houses two statues: the statue of the Supreme Heavenly King, 2 trượng (about 6.6 metres) tall, and the statue of the Qin princess—imperial consort Bạch Tĩnh Cung—standing over 1 trượng 8 (about 6 metres) tall.

Currently, Chèm Communal House still preserves a very rare thousand-year-old incense burner (lư hương).

Supreme Heavenly King (Hy Khang Thiên Vương) Lý Ông Trọng: Principal deity.

Imperial Consort Bạch Tĩnh Cung Princess: Daughter of Qin Shi Huang, wife of the Saint of Chèm.

Ông Sứ: Benefactor of the Saint of Chèm, who cured the Saint's illness.

Six Saintly Princes: The children of the Saint of Chèm, four sons and two daughters.

It is unclear when Chèm Communal House was first built. According to oral tradition, the đình dates back more than 2,000 years. However, at present, the đình only preserves many wooden carvings in the 18th-century style, and two lacquered and gilded wooden statues of the couple Lý Thân, sculpted in 1888. Since ancient times, Chèm Communal House has always stood beside the Red River.

Chèm village lies next to the Red River and is frequently threatened by floods. In 1902, the đình was raised by 2.4 metres using only farming tools such as harrow nails and carrying poles. The work took a whole year. As a result, the entire structure was 'carried' up to the same height as the Red River dyke. This raising of the đình cost 500 Indochinese piastres, while at that time, a day's wage was only 7 xu. The team of craftsmen raising the đình was led by Mr. Vương Văn Địch from Văn Trì village.

Because of the four prominent pillars at the front, the area where the đình stands was called '4 Colonnes' by the French. The Chèm ferry was also called 'Bac des 4 Colonnes' by them.

Lý Thân (the Saint of Chèm) was born during the reign of Hùng Duệ Vương and died during the time of An Dương Vương. As a child, he was exceptionally handsome and had an unusually tall and large stature. As he grew up, Lý Thân excelled in both literature and martial arts, and was known for his filial piety, righteousness, and integrity.

At that time, the Ai Lao, Champa, and Chinese invaders frequently harassed the borders. The king issued a decree seeking talented and virtuous people to quell the invaders and save the country. The Quốc Oai prefecture recommended Lý Thân. He accepted the command, defeated the invaders, and achieved many great feats. At the end of King Duệ Vương's reign, the land of Văn Lang was invaded by the Qin army. He joined forces with Thục Phán and the Lạc Việt people to resist the invaders for decades. Eventually, the enemy had to retreat, and Thục Phán ascended the throne, taking the title An Dương Vương.

At that time, the Qin dynasty was harassed by the Xiongnu. Qin Shi Huang could not resist them and sent envoys to request An Dương Vương to send a talented general to help. The court appointed Lý Thân to assist the Qin, thereby establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries. Qin Shi Huang tested his abilities and found him to have passed the Hiếu liêm (doctoral) examination in literature and the Hiệu úy (Commander-in-Chief) examination in martial arts. He appointed him as Hiệu úy and sent him to suppress the invaders, dispatching 100,000 troops to guard Hàm Dương. After returning victorious, the Qin emperor conferred upon him the title Phụ tín hầu and gave him his daughter in marriage. The Qin emperor also expressed his wish for Lý Thân to remain in Qin, but he renounced glory and riches, returning home with his wife and children. Upon his return, King An Dương Vương bestowed upon him the title Đại vương (Great King).

To commemorate the merits of the Great King, the villagers built a temple to worship him at Chèm Communal House.

The Chèm Festival takes place from the 14th to the 16th day of the 5th lunar month, with the main festival day on the 15th. All important rituals of the festival are held at Chèm Communal House.

Although it is called the Chèm Festival, it is not solely for Chèm village (Thụy Phương), but actually for a cluster of villages along the Red River, as besides Chèm, the villages of Liên Mạc and Hoàng Xá also participate as the two 'younger sibling' villages.

The water procession takes place on the morning of the 15th. In this ritual, three dragon boats from the three villages row out to the middle of the Red River, scoop river water into jars, then perform three turns with the boats before returning to shore. Afterwards, there is a procession bringing the water into the đình. This is a remnant of the ancient water worship belief. The procession also includes many other traditional rituals. The festival also features a dove-releasing competition, where flocks of doves are released into the sky, and the flock that meets the set requirements wins the prize.