Communal houses stand forgotten

Special old communal houses stand unused and forgotten in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.

As towns have grown, people who now live around the old buildings are from elsewhere and do not all find them to be special.

However, some efforts to fix them up have been made by people who care about them.

Some of the buildings are more than three hundred years old.

by Phuoc Buu

Communal houses in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue sit forgotten, left to degrade into ruins after being deserted in the process of urbanisation. These remnants of Hue’s old community include buildings recognised as national heritage sites.

One communal house, The Lai Thuong, is representative of this tragic trend. It is left forgotten in Phu Hiep Ward in the provincial capital city of Hue as The Lai Thuong Village developed into an urban ward.

Communal houses served as community gathering places for meetings and rituals, and as entertaining playgrounds for residents.

Locals in the ward, however, say they have rarely visited the communal house in recent decades as community gatherings have become less common in midst of their bustling urban lifestyle.

Land shortages for public buildings have worsened the situation for The Lai Thuong. Its yards were turned into classrooms for Ngo Kha Primary School. The school shared its space with the old ruins, while the house’s worshipping areas are used to store broken chairs and desks.

Traditionally, each communal house reserved half of its space for worshipping gods and the founders of the village. But incense no longer burns on the intricate carved wood altars, and the building’s roofs and doors look ready to fall down.

Tran Dinh Hang, head of the Viet Nam Institute of Culture and Arts Study in Hue, says urbanisation is part of the cause.

“The situation of communal houses around the province falling into ruin is not new,” he says. “Several agencies hold responsibility but I found it sensitive to name them.”

The Lai Thuong was built more than 500 years ago in the village, accommodating the early residents of today’s city of Hue. The 1,200 sq.m premises were recognised as a national heritage site in 1999.

Lai The communal house is another national heritage site, recognised in 2001. It has been luckier than The Lai Thuong – urbanisation has come to its area slower as it is located three kilometres from the city centre.

More than half of the land of Lai The Village has been covered with modern buildings as the village has become one of the hottest real estate centres for city dwellers in the last decade. Luckily, urbanisation has yet to cover the communal house.

However, the house is degrading due to its age. Its wooden structure has many cracks and its roof leaks in numerous spots. Elderly local resident Chau Van Chuong says the villagers have mobilised a large sum of money to repair the house, and the elderly are waiting for the allocation of cultural conservation funding by provincial authorities.

Traditionally, villagers have raised funds and made their own decisions on the construction and repair of communal houses. More recently, these jobs require approval by local administrations and cultural authorities.

Lai The was built in 1741. The house is built in typical Hue architecture, which is called ruong. Ruong houses are wooden structures with beams and pillars connected by wooden and bamboo connectors, without the use of iron nails.

The house is famous for its excellent wood and concrete carvings. The entire house is a masterpiece of Vietnamese craftsmanship, according to local researchers.

An Cuu is another communal house in ruin. Situated in a crowded area of Hue, the building is forgotten just like The Lai Thuong. Due to the recent development of the city, residents around the communal house are not original villagers. They feel no responsibility to the house.

The house is not listed as a national heritage site, so governmental funds for needed repairs will not come.

But An Cuu is not in the worst state. Duong Pham is on top of the list, located in the middle of the two prominent royal heritage buildings of An Dinh Palace and King Mother Tu Cung residency.

The house has completely collapsed and its wooden parts have been grabbed by nearby residents for re-use. Its land is occupied illegally by families in temporary houses.

Local researchers have called for city authorities to rescue the communal house, but no response has been made.

Authorities in Phu Nhuan Ward once told Viet Nam News the ward was not functioning to preserve the house’s cultural history, but was working to secure capital to make the site a public place for community activities. This vision has not yet been realised.

Late researcher Ho Tan Phan once said the communal house was significant to the history of the Hue citadel, calling for assistance from the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre, a local government body managing relics built by the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945). But the centre has not offered any help. VNS

GLOSSARY

Communal houses in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue sit forgotten, left to degrade into ruins after being deserted in the process of urbanisation.

If something is left to degrade, it is left to get worse.

Deserted means abandoned.

Urbanisation is the process of people leaving the countryside to come and live and work in the towns and cities.

These remnants of Hue’s old community include buildings recognised as national heritage sites.

Remnants are remains.

National heritage sites are places that are protected because they are valuable in terms of the country’s heritage.

One communal house, The Lai Thuong, is representative of this tragic trend.

A representative, in this case, is an example.

A trend is a direction in which things are moving. Here the trend is the degrading of the houses. If a trend is tragic, it is sad.

 It is left forgotten in Phu Hiep Ward in the provincial capital city of Hue as The Lai Thuong Village developed into an urban ward.

Urban means to do with a city or town. A ward is a zone.

Communal houses served as community gathering places for meetings and rituals, and as entertaining playgrounds for residents.

Rituals are traditional ceremonies that follow a certain programme.

Locals in the ward, however, say they have rarely visited the communal house in recent decades as community gatherings have become less common in midst of their bustling urban lifestyle.

Rarely means not often.

A decade is a period of ten years.

Midst means middle.

Bustling means busy and lively.

The school shared its space with the old ruins, while the house’s worshipping areas are used to store broken chairs and desks.

Worshipping means praying.

To store, in this case, means to keep something in a safe place.

Traditionally, each communal house reserved half of its space for worshipping gods and the founders of the village.

Reserved means set aside for some purpose or for somebody.

The founders of a village are the people who start a village.

But incense no longer burns on the intricate carved wood altars, and the building’s roofs and doors look ready to fall down.

Incense is a spice that is burned to give off a sweet smell.

Intricate means detailed and complicated.

An altar is a table used in religious rituals.

“Several agencies hold responsibility but I found it sensitive to name them.”

Sensitive means keeping the feelings of others in mind.

More than half of the land of Lai The Village has been covered with modern buildings as the village has become one of the hottest real estate centres for city dwellers in the last decade.

Real estate means property.

Elderly local resident Chau Van Chuong says the villagers have mobilised a large sum of money to repair the house, and the elderly are waiting for the allocation of cultural conservation funding by provincial authorities.

Mobilised money means gathered money together (so that it can be used to repair the house).

Allocation means setting aside.

The house is built in typical Hue architecture, which is called ruong. Ruong houses are wooden structures with beams and pillars connected by wooden and bamboo connectors, without the use of iron nails.

Beams are structures that hold a roof, a floor or a building together.

But An Cuu is not in the worst state. Duong Pham is on top of the list, located in the middle of the two prominent royal heritage buildings of An Dinh Palace and King Mother Tu Cung residency.

Prominent means important.

Its land is occupied illegally by families in temporary houses.

If something is temporary it is not meant to last forever. The opposite of temporary is permanent.

Local researchers have called for city authorities to rescue the communal house, but no response has been made.

A response is an answer.

Authorities in Phu Nhuan Ward once told Viet Nam News the ward was not functioning to preserve the house’s cultural history, but was working to secure capital to make the site a public place for community activities.

To secure capital means to get hold of money that can be used for a project.

This vision has not yet been realised.

A vision is an idea based on strong imagination.

When a vision is realised, it becomes a reality.

Late researcher Ho Tan Phan once said the communal house was significant to the history of the Hue citadel, calling for assistance from the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre, a local government body managing relics built by the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945).

If someone is described as being “late”, he is dead.

Significant means meaningful.

WORKSHEET

Find words that mean the following in the Word Search:

1. Spice that smells sweet when it burns.
2. Things that appear in damaged houses.
3. Material used to make ruong houses.
4. Broken things found in old worshipping areas next to a primary school.
5. A unit in which distance is measured.

ANSWERS: 1. Incense; 2. Cracks; 3. Wood; 4. Chairs; 5. Kilometre.