Before 1889, when the French colonialists filled up To Lich River, Hang Luoc Street was a portion of its eastern bank. A bridge crossed the river at the place which is now the Hang Luoc-Hang Ruoi four-way crossroads. That is why this area had been called Cong Cheo (Crossed Sluice) - Hang Luoc. On the other side of the bridge, there was a small lane leading to Hang Cot Street. The lane was nameless and was referred to by the locals as Ngo Ngang (a crossing lane). Later Ngo Ngang earned its own name, which was called Ngo Ngang Lane by the French. Early in the 20^th century, used and new bottles and used ceramic, glass and tin tea boxes were sold there, so the name was changed into Hang Chai (Bottle) Street to remain until today.

A filled-up river and a small crossing lane of junk-dealers remind us not only of a transport work but also a familiar route taken by people to welcome spring to the ancient capital in the old days.

Before Tet, peach blossoms had flooded the city from outlying districts. Meanwhile, talented musicians and beautiful singers in colourful dresses, traveled by foot or by boat to Nha Tro (Theater) Communal House in the middle of Ngo Ngang Lane to celebrate the death anniversary of the ancestor of Hat A Dao (Chamber Music and Singing). On the 23^rd of the 12^th lunar month, when the Kitchen God was worshipped, famous singers and musicians from Thang Long and the northern provinces held a ritual ceremony in the theater to prepare for the main festival held on the seventh of the first month of the new lunar year, when the Cay Neu (New Year Pole) was taken down. The young beautiful ladies brought an early spring to the capital, and To Lich River and Ngo Ngang lane became a route for spring travelers.

Early on the 23^rd day of the 12^th lunar month, singers brought offerings to the Nha Tro Communal House. On the seven of the first month of the new lunar year, they carefully made up and took bamboo castanets to attend a singing and dancing contest. Musicians and choir leaders accompanied the singers, taking with them the Dan Day (three-stringed instrument), tom-toms (praising drums) and drumsticks in silk bags. They traveled to Nha Tro Communal House in Hang Chai Street when the ancestor of Hat A Dao was worshipped.

Currently, no one can tell where the Communal House was. Today house No. 7B still looks like a place of worship as it features the three Chinese characters, “Lac Thien Dinh”, on the top of the wall close to the roof, which mean a communal house of joy and kindness. It seems the house relates to singing and music. However, it is used as a residential house. No one in the house knows anything about the old communal house as they came to settle there during the French occupied period (1947-1954) and after Hanoi’s liberation in 1954. However, according to Mrs. Thuc, whose family has lived in the street for three generations, Lac Thien Dinh was a temple owned by the family of Mr Duc Phuong and was dedicated to Thanh Mau (Goddess). Meanwhile, the Nha Tro Communal House was located at No. 9. However, the communal house has also been lived in by several families for dozens of years and nobody knows anything about it.

About 60 or 70 years ago, the death anniversary of the ancestor of A Dao singing was celebrated on the day when the New Year Pole was taken down. Musicians and singers from within Hanoi and adjacent areas flooded the river portion and the road leading to Nha Tro to worship their ancestors and attend a singing contest. Dozens of ritual songs were sung in praise of their professional ancestors. The singers sang softly, sometimes loudly, to the rhythm of the bamboo castanet, the tom-tom and other musical instruments. They also performed different dances. The Mua Bai Bong dance required much finance and effort and involved dozens of female dancers. The dancers were colourfully dressed and wore a lotus-shaped bonnet embroidered with a phoenix in lamé thread. They wore a pink bra and tunic stitched with colourful beads. Their belt was in white, blue or green and they were black silk pants with tight leggings, and embroidered slippers. Each girl held a paper fan, and shouldered a short bamboo pole with candle lit coloured lanterns at both ends. Some of them carried fresh roses or chrysanthemums instead of lanterns.

Before the dance, the girls lined up in the yard. The dance director beat the big drum to take command of the ritual. Musicians played different types of traditional guitars and zithers and blew the bamboo flute. The singing leader beat the castanet. First, the dancers stood in a single line to the altar, went around it, then split into two lines, kneeling down to bow while both hands raised the paper fan to their head. After that, they stood up and danced to the music and drum sound. They had to follow a strict rule, which forbade them to turn their backs to the altar. Meanwhile, they had to keep the candles and flowers standing still and ensure the lanterns did not burn out.

But who was their singing ancestor? It seems that each locality worshiped an ancestor. In Thanh Hoa province, it was a student named Phong Que and his wife, who had been a princess but left her luxurious palace to travel with him out of love for his talent. Meanwhile, Thang Long and Kinh Bac (now Bac Ninh province) singers worship a talented couple, Dinh Du and Duong Hoa. The main temple is situated in Lo Khe Village’s Communal House in Hanoi’s outlying district of Dong Anh, which is said to be the place where this couple settled to teach the occupation to villagers.

Thang Long capital was often thought as the convergence of traditional craftsmen. Temples dedicating to ancestors of handicrafts were built here, including the leather footwear ancestor’s temple in Hang Hanh (onion) Street, the jewelry ancestor’s temple in Hang Bac (silver) Street, and the silk-dying ancestor’s temple in Hang Dao (silk) Street. Surprisingly, there existed a temple dedicated to the ancestor of chamber music and singing. It shows that although singers were slighted by the feudalist regime, they were proud of their profession and built a temple for their own ancestors. It also shows Hanoians’ respect for arts. The To Lich River, Hang Luoc Street and Ngo Ngang Lane become a familiar route taken by people to welcome spring to Thang Long capital.

By Hanoi scholar Nguyen Vinh Phuc