house is flooded with natural light and is decorated with traditional furniture and ceramics.
The sitting room on the second floor runs from the front to the back of the house, with a shuttered walkway around the central atrium. There are two altars in the room: one to the left of the picture behind a wooden column, and the other mounted high up on a wall in the center of the room.
Most Hoi An houses have no openings other than on the façade and at the back. The Tran family house illustrates how such houses often had a primarily religious purpose. In 1802, Tran Tu Nhac, one of Emperor Gia Long’s most trusted mandarins, was sent as a delegate to China. Before leaving, he built the house in order to thank his ancestors for their protection. Even though it has some rooms used by family and guests, its main raison d’etre is as the family cult place; this is illustrated by a red panel in front of the main altar, which reads Duong Tu Tran (Tran Temple). In the olden days, men were required to enter the house through the left doors on the façade, while women used the right. The central door is reserved for elders and is used during major festivals such as Tet (the New Year Festival). To enter the worshipping part of the house from the living quarters, one has to go under a timber beam, forcing people to bend their heads in a demonstration of respect. The clan’s main altar displays the usual liturgical objects as well as small boxes, arranged by chronological and social order, in which are kept relics and a biography of each deceased clan member. These boxes are opened only during festivals. On each side two lanterns are a reminder that this is the Tran clan cult house.
In contrast, the Diep Dong Nguyen house has a more vernacular atmosphere. In 1856, Ye Hong Chun, a Chinese merchant, established a shop that traded in silk, commodities and other goods. In 1900 the shop and its façade were enlarged by Ye Jia Song (Diep Gia Tong in Vietnamese), the founder’s fourth-generation nephew. It houses an impressive collection of around 1,000 ceramics and other Chinese antiques. In the second-floor yellow sitting room is a blue-and-white plate purchased by Emperor Khai Dinh. The house has two altars: the left is for the ancestors who lived in China, the right for more recent family members, whose portraits are displayed on the walls. The living quarters, a single room on the second floor, is decorated with colonial era lamps, wooden carved Vietnamese panels and gu furniture, while the library is mainly in the Chinese style.
The Tran family house was built as much to house a temple as a home. Erected in 1802 by a civil service mandarin, Tran Tu Nhuc, it contains two main areas: one for worship and the other for the family to reside in.
The sign above the family ancestral altar reads Tran Temple. Behind it, small boxes contain relics and a biography of the deceased.
Along the sitting room walls are three entrances with sliding doors: the left is for men to use, the right for women, while the central doorway is only opened on special occasions to welcome home dead ancestors.
The Diep Dong Nguyen house, built in the nineteenth century by a Chinese merchant, an ancestor of the present inhabitants, is beautifully preserved with an impressive collection of ceramics, including a blue-and-white plate purchased by Emperor Khai Dai. The living room is decorated with colonial-era lamps and traditional gu furniture.
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