Explore the tomb and ancient house of the most powerful family in Binh Duong

TPO - In Binh Duong province, there are a number of ancient structures recognized as national and provincial relics. Among them are the ancient houses and tombs of the Tran family, considered the richest at that time.

Due to the lack of historical documents, today local people do not know exactly when the ancient tomb of the Tran family in Binh Duong was formed. What remains shows that the tomb is an elaborately built feudal-style architectural complex. Some sources say that it is the tomb of Mr. Tran Van Lan (the richest man in Thu Dau Mot province in the past, now Binh Duong province).

On a low hill in KP 5 (Hiep Thanh Ward, Thu Dau Mot City, Binh Duong), an ancient tomb is covered with ancient trees. Only locals know whose tomb it is because the entrance to the tomb has no name.

From the outside, the tomb makes people feel scared because of its desolation and gloom. However, inside is a masterpiece of ancient architecture. With a unique architecture and ruins left over from hundreds of years, this ancient tomb makes anyone who comes here curious.

According to recorded documents, Mr. Tran Van Lan was a timber trader during his lifetime, and had many sawmills located along the Saigon River as well as in the mountainous areas upstream of this river on the border with Cambodia. Not only was he a famous businessman, but his children were also very successful.

Among them, we must mention Mr. Tran Van Ho (Mr. Lan's son) who was a Governor, a fairly high-ranking official at that time. Mr. Lan's other children included Tran Van Te, Tran Cong Vi (doctor) and Dr. Tran Van Trai. Mr. Lan also had a son named Tran Cong Vang - a famous dentist, who brought honor to the family by spending money to build dozens of Tran family mansions scattered in many places in this land.

Tran Van Ho ancient house is located on Bach Dang street (Phu Cuong ward, Thu Dau Mot city) built in Canh Dan year 1890 with the architectural style of the house in the shape of the letter "T", total construction area of ​​200m2. The ancient house is built in the style of 3 rooms, 2 wings including 36 round columns, 6 rows of round columns from front to back, each row is 6 columns placed on stone blocks, the floor is paved with tiles.

According to Mr. Mai Van Toi (85 years old), the house manager, the house used to be very large, including many items. However, after two wars, some surrounding structures were demolished. To build the house, the owner hired more than 300 workers from the ancient capital of Hue to Binh Duong to build and it lasted for 3 consecutive years. The reason the house is located next to and facing the Saigon River is because the owner was the owner of the largest shipyard in Binh Duong at that time. Notably, the house does not allow women to enter, whether they are the owner's children or grandchildren.

Tran Cong Vang ancient house is located behind Tran Van Ho ancient house, built in the style of the letter T on a plot of land of 1,333 m2, the house area is 323 m2, completed in 1892. The interior decoration of the house is elaborately carved, from the base of the columns to the roof, tables, chairs, altars, door frames, panels... horizontal lacquered boards, parallel sentences, paintings of four panels, scrolls... all are carved, painted and inlaid with mother-of-pearl, making the house magnificent and solemn.

The ancient houses of the Tran family in Binh Duong are now all recognized as national relics. In addition, there are 3 ancient houses of other families recognized as provincial relics, including: Nguyen Tri Quan ancient house in Quarter 1 (Tan An ward, Thu Dau Mot city), built in 1890; Do Cao Thua ancient house in Bach Dang islet (Bach Dang commune, Tan Uyen city), built around the end of the 19th century, in the shape of the letter Dinh; Duong Van Ho ancient house in Dieu Hoa hamlet (Bach Dang commune, Tan Uyen city), built within 4 years (from 1911-1914); Duong Van Ho ancient house was built on a high mound, near the Dong Nai river. The total area of ​​the relic is more than 2,935m2. These houses are designed similarly with many types of precious wood.

Sharing with Tien Phong newspaper reporters, Mr. Bui Huu Toan, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Binh Duong province, said that the ancient houses and ancient tombs in the area are managed and looked after by relatives of the owners. The State only provides financial support when there is a need to restore and repair the above works.

Huong Chi

Source: https://tienphong.vn/kham-pha-lang-mo-nha-co-cua-dong-ho-be-the-nhat-nhi-o-binh-duong-post1639313.tpo