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 is still quietly standing as a testament to time. The house dates back to the 19th century, and has been through 4 generations, and is almost completely preserved.

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 buy many valuable items for the house," Mr. Hai said.

The house where Mr. Hai and his family live is built of sour wood and go wood, designed with 3 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 worship objects, pottery, bronze, 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 an old parallel sentence that still retains its 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, they will gradually fade away and we will lose a part of our national culture," he said.

Leaving Hai Thanh, we went to 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 our 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, and 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, and no one does anything wrong. If I don't keep the old family tradition, who will?", Mr. Dong said.

Those houses, though over a hundred 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 silently contributing to preserving the 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 having spent his life as a soldier and then as a cadre, he still wondered: How can I 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. The house is not only a place to live, but also a way of life. Open space, 3-4 generations live together, when coming home for lunch, you will see grandparents 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, and tourists from inside and outside the province often come to visit and talk to him about the history and beauty of the architecture of the Ruong house.

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

Mr. Hoa established a team of carpenters consisting of people who have been in the profession since childhood, and now live on 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 sell 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 working hard on the conservation work. "I just hope that the old house will not remain only in memory. We must preserve it, cherish it, so that future generations will know where we come from," he confided.

In the midst of a city that is growing with high-rise buildings, 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 preserving a whole cultural flow, a Vietnamese soul.

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