Tân Hoa Communal House

Tân Hoa Communal House, formerly known as Tân Hóa or Tân Hòa (also called Cái Đôi Communal House because its façade used to face the mouth of the Cái Đôi canal), was formerly part of Vĩnh Bình district, Định Viễn prefecture; it is now located in Tân Hưng hamlet, Tân Hòa commune, Vĩnh Long province, Vietnam.

This is an architectural work that is both artistic and marks the era when Vietnamese settlers came here to reclaim land and establish hamlets. In 1998, Tân Hoa Communal House was recognised by the relevant authorities as a national "historical-cultural" monument.

According to accounts, around the mid-18th century, an official named Nguyễn Tự Tôn took the initiative to recruit people to establish a village (later named Tân Hoa) by the Tiền River.

After the land reclamation and hamlet establishment were basically completed, Tân Hoa Communal House was built by the villagers. It is unclear what the communal house originally looked like, but by the year Mậu Ngọ (1789), its scale was already quite grand. This is known thanks to several preserved artefacts such as the Văn tế thần Thành hoàng Đại vương (a ritual text evidencing worship from the 18th century), and a large signboard inscribed with the three characters Tân Hoa Đình in seal script, made in the aforementioned year...

Because of his contribution to founding the village, after his death, Nguyễn Tự Tôn was honoured by the locals as Tiền hiền (village founder), and was worshipped in the communal house.

In the time of Nguyễn Văn Bửu (Nguyễn Tự Tôn's grandson), Tân Hoa Communal House was renovated again, thanks to his efforts in mobilising villagers to contribute labour and funds. For this, he was granted the title Bá hộ by the royal court, and after his death, was honoured as Hậu hiền (later benefactor) and also worshipped in the communal house like his grandfather.

Later, because the name coincided with that of Queen Mother Hồ Thị Hoa (wife of Emperor Minh Mạng, mother of Emperor Thiệu Trị), the village and communal house had to change their name to Tân Hóa.

On the 29th of November, 5th year of Tự Đức (8 January 1853), Tân Hóa Communal House was granted a royal decree recognising its tutelary deity as Bổn cảnh Thành hoàng chi thần.

In March 1862, French troops attacked and occupied Vĩnh Long. Amidst the warfare, the royal decree of Tân Hóa Communal House was burned. Later, when Vĩnh Long province was returned to the Huế court under the Treaty of Nhâm Tuất 1862, the communal house was issued a copy of the royal decree by the Ministry of Rites.

This copy was just a plain sheet of paper (the type used for official orders), with the original text of the old decree, but instead of the royal seal at the bottom, it bore the words "Lễ Bộ cung lục, Tân Hóa xã tuân chiếu phụng tự" (Ministry of Rites records, Tân Hóa village follows the edict for worship), along with the seal "Lễ Bộ chi ấn" (seal of the Ministry of Rites).

At the beginning of the French colonial period, Tân Hóa village merged with Tân Hội and Tân Nhơn villages, adopting the new name Tân Hòa. Therefore, in the year Canh Tuất (1910), Tân Hóa Communal House was renovated and renamed Tân Hòa linh miếu (sacred temple).

In 2008, due to erosion of the Tiền River bank, the local authorities relocated the communal house to a new site, about 1 km from the old location. The new building was inaugurated on 21 July 2009. Currently, the communal house has reverted to its old name, Tân Hoa.

Tân Hoa Communal House today (see photo) retains its former shape: the interior remains unchanged, with only the addition of a gate, fence, courtyard, kitchen house, and lighting system. Altogether, there are six roofs built in the stacked style, reflecting the general appearance of Southern Vietnamese communal houses, but with some unique features.

The main hall is a tứ trụ house (four-pillar house), expanded on all four sides with additional beams and eight supporting trusses. Other buildings such as the võ ca (martial arts stage), võ quy (ceremonial hall), and hậu điện (rear sanctuary) are all built in the three-bay, two-wing style.

The foundation is made of split stone (later surrounded by brick walls). The roof is covered with yin-yang tiles, connected by a system of gutters. The ridge and eaves are built high and decorated with many ceramic ornaments such as: "two dragons vying for a pearl", "fish transforming into dragon", "phoenix holding a book", the Eight Immortals, etc.

The interior decoration features many unique details, especially Cây Mai ceramics produced in Chợ Lớn in the early 20th century. The wooden frame is made from precious timber, with columns so large that one person cannot embrace them. The system of columns and beams is intricately carved: four frog-leg trusses are sculpted into dragons, the beam bodies are dragon bodies, and the leaf brackets supporting the end rafters are carved into dragon heads. This is a technical and aesthetic novelty, with no reduction in structural strength.

Another distinctive feature of Tân Hoa Communal House is that there is no Thần Nông altar mound in the courtyard; instead, there is a screen wall decorated with "dragon-horse bearing a map" like those in communal houses in Thừa Thiên. Thần Nông (the God of Agriculture) is worshipped in a small miếu (shrine) in a corner. Additionally, because the communal house was renovated in the early 20th century (1910), some of the column capitals in the front porch feature French-style motifs.

Currently, Tân Hoa Communal House still preserves dozens of bao lam (carved wooden screens), dozens of horizontal boards and parallel sentences, and many ritual objects such as lỗ bộ (weapon racks), censers, tripods, incense tables, ritual bells, etc. Notably, all the carved works were made by Tân Nhơn craftsmen (local artisans).

Each year, Tân Hoa Communal House holds the following main festivals:

The Thượng Điền Festival on the 11th and 12th days of the 9th lunar month.

The Hạ Điền-Kỳ yên Festival, from the 11th to the 13th days of the 3rd lunar month each year. This is the largest festival of the year.

Historical and Cultural Monuments of Vĩnh Long Province, entry: "Tân Hoa Communal House" (electronic version on the website of Vĩnh Long Radio and Television Station -)