Duc An house is not only a unique architecture but also a historical mark in Hoi An. It’s a testament to the ups and downs of the country’s times.
Duc An house is located at 129 Tran Phu street – Hoi An city – Quang Nam province. The work was built 190 years ago – between the reign of King Minh Mang of the Nguyen Dynasty in 1830.
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The house was left by the ancestor of the Phan family for his descendants to be a place of worship. Up to now, eight generations have been born and raised in this house.
Duc An house has a tubular structure like most houses in Hoi An ancient town. The house has a frontage of 7m wide, in the past, the shopping street in the front, the river behind; But now the house has only 40m of the front part towards Tran Phu street.
The front of the house has a layout for the middle door, the two sides are two windows for trading, above the door, there are two “eyes”, a very typical detail of Hoi An ancient house.
The word “Duc An” – the name of the house means “to preserve morality for peace”. Duc An is also the name of the bookstore established by the third ancestor here in the late nineteenth century.
This is a unique bookstore, specializing in selling Han-Nom books and stationery in Quang Nam province. During this time, anti-French patriots such as Huynh Thuc Khang, Phan Chu Trinh, Tran Quy Cap … often came to buy and read books with progressive ideas.
In the early years of the twentieth century, the anti-French patriotic movement took place throughout Quang Nam province and the whole country, the Duc An family continued to become a popular place for progressive literature and literature to spread patriotism to the people.
In 1908, the anti-tax movement took place in Quang Nam and the central provinces failed. The Hue court was persecuted, its leaders were exiled to Con Dao, old Tran Quy Cap was executed in Khanh Hoa. Duc An bookstore temporarily stopped operating and switched to selling herbal medicine.
Going through the outer space used for trade is the next one used as a living room, and as a place of worship. At the entrance, there is a signboard with 3 words “Phan Tong Duong” (The place of worship of the Phan family).
In 1923, the Duc An family once again became the meeting place of young patriotic intellectuals. In October 1927, the organization of Vietnam Hoi An Revolutionary Youth was established in Duc An’s house.
Duc An ancient house has Vietnamese architectural style, often found in the houses of urban residents near the sea bordering the river in the early nineteenth century.
In general, Duc An ancient house is the type of townhouse, tube house; But the wooden frame system is built in the style of a communal house in the Central region.
Surrounding the frame system are brick walls, yin, and yang tiled roofs. From the front to the back, there are many layers, alternating between the architectural blocks are the courtyards for light and ventilation.
