Old house in the heart of the city

"A little bit of the old mark remains"

In a quiet corner of Hai Thanh Ward of Dong Hoi City, which is constantly changing, Mr. Phan Xuan Hai's house with glossy black wood still stands quietly as a testament to time. The house dates back to the 19th century, and has been through 4 generations, and is kept almost intact.

Mr. Hai, 50 years old, is the youngest of eight children. He used to work in the post office and then switched to the seafood business. "My great-grandfather was a merchant who traded areca nuts and rice from the north to the south. Thanks to his own merchant ship, he became well-off. After that, my grandfather and father followed the seafaring profession, had fishing boats, and still did well. Thanks to that, they were able to furnish the house with many valuable items," Mr. Hai said.

The house where Mr. Hai and his family are living is built of sour wood and ironwood, designed with 3 main rooms and 2 wings, which is the typical architectural style of traditional houses in the Central region. What is special is that the house still preserves about 700 antiques, from worshiping objects, ceramics, bronze objects, embroidered paintings, mother-of-pearl inlaid tables and chairs to horizontal lacquered boards and parallel sentences from the Nguyen Dynasty.

Nhà xưa trong lòng phố- Ảnh 1. — Mr. Hai takes care of the old house

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Vui, Mr. Hai's wife, shared: "The house has survived many storms and strong winds and still stands firm. Currently, there are only about 16 wooden pillars left compared to the original 32 pillars, but its soul is still intact. We live peacefully in the house our ancestors left behind. Our children study well, and the family tradition is preserved thanks to this roof."

In the center of the middle room is an ancestral altar with a horizontal lacquered board "one poem, one painting" and ancient parallel sentences that still retain their delicate carvings. A set of mother-of-pearl inlaid sofas, a set of over-100-year-old rosewood tables and chairs, a system of pedestals, potted plants... are the "treasures" that Mr. Hai is passionate about preserving. "I just hope that all levels and sectors have policies to support the preservation of traditional houses like this. Otherwise, in the future, we will gradually lose a part of our national culture," he said.

Leaving Hai Thanh, we visited another ancient house nestled on Bao Ninh peninsula, where Mr. Nguyen Quy Dong and his 94-year-old mother live. This house is over 140 years old, dating back to the time of Mr. Dong’s grandfather, a Confucian scholar who taught Chinese characters.

Nhà xưa trong lòng phố- Ảnh 2. — Peaceful ancient house in the heart of Dong Hoi city

The house is not only a place to live but also a sacred place, protecting the family through many years of war. "During the resistance war, this house hid revolutionary cadres. Bombs were fired everywhere, but never hit here. I believe it is thanks to the blessings left by my ancestors," Mr. Dong shared. Up to now, countless people have offered to buy the house at very high prices, but he has consistently refused.

Inside the house, there are still antique tables and chairs, horizontal lacquered boards, parallel sentences, worshiping objects... Everything seems untouched by time. "Living in this house, I feel proud. The family has a good tradition, the children are well-educated, no one does anything wrong. If I don't keep the old family tradition, who will?", Mr. Dong said.

Those houses, though hundreds of years old, are still like boats anchored in the middle of the city, carrying the soul of Vietnamese culture in the flow of time.

Don't let your old house become a memory

Mr. Phan Duc Hoa, 72 years old, Chairman of the UNESCO Club for Research and Collection of Quang Binh Antiquities, is quietly contributing to the preservation of precious ancient houses in Dong Hoi. Originally from An Thuy commune (Le Thuy district, Quang Binh), Mr. Hoa grew up with the familiar image of traditional houses. Later, after his military service and his time as an official, he still wondered: How to preserve those memories?

Nhà xưa trong lòng phố- Ảnh 3. — Mr. Phan Xuan Hai and his son in an ancient house dating back to the 19th century

"I restored my house in 2009. A traditional house is not only a place to live, but also a way of life. Open space, living for 3-4 generations, coming home for lunch to see grandparents, children and grandchildren gathered together, that is not common in modern houses," he said, his voice full of emotion.

Mr. Hoa’s house is not only a place for family activities, but also a museum with hundreds of ancient artifacts, from altars, tables and chairs, pictures to old household items. People, students, tourists from inside and outside the province often come to visit and talk with him about the history and beauty of the architecture of the Ruong house.

For Mr. Hoa, a beautiful house is not only about the structure but also about the spirit. "It must be "upper sour lower gong, beams showing three mountains, the spirit reflects lotus leaves, four straight rafters". Every detail has philosophy and art. In the past, people often used sen wood, tau wood, which were less susceptible to termites. Only rich families built it with precious wood. Any house that can still be kept is very precious", he said.

Mr. Hoa founded a carpentry team consisting of people who have been in the profession since childhood, and now still live by the profession of restoring traditional houses. "Someone from Ba Ria-Vung Tau came to visit and saw our house, so he came back to demolish the newly built concrete house with a budget of 2.7 billion VND to build a traditional house. Seeing that, I was both happy and regretful. It's a pity for other places where old houses are dismantled and thrown away...", Mr. Hoa said. He recalled the story of many families removing horizontal lacquered boards, parallel sentences, and three-line panels and throwing them in the yard because they did not understand the value of those structures. "There are things that should be preserved. Like in many provinces, to dismantle an old house, you have to ask permission from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Here, many families are still poor and have economic difficulties, so they sold everything. The number of traditional houses in Dong Hoi with beautiful interiors can now be counted on the fingers of one hand," he regretted.

Despite his old age, Mr. Hoa is still diligently working on preservation. "I just hope that the old house will not remain only in memory. We must preserve and cherish it so that future generations will know where we come from," he confided his wish.

In the midst of a city that is growing with skyscrapers, a few ancient houses still exist as living memories, like the whispers of ancestors. By preserving the old roofs, people like Mr. Dong, Mr. Hoa, Mr. Hai… are keeping alive a cultural flow, a Vietnamese soul.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nha-xua-trong-long-pho-185250618040720407.htm