Location
Complex of Hue Monuments
lies along the Perfume River in Hue City and some adjacent areas of Thua
Thien Hue Province. Hue City constitutes the cultural, political and
economic centre of the province, and was the old imperial city of
Vietnam under the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 to 1945.
History
Since 1306, after the wedding of the princess Huyen
Tran of the Tran Dynasty with Che Man, the Cham King, the territories of
Chau O and Chau Ly (comprised of Quang Tri, Thua Thien - Hue and part
of Northern Quang Nam today) took the name of Thuan Hoa. In the second
half of the 15th century, under the reign of King Le Thanh
Tong, the name of "Hue" appeared for the first time. In 1636, the
residence of the Nguyen Lords was settled at Kim Long (Hue). In 1687, it
was transferred to Phu Xuan – where is the Citadel today. Early in the
18th century, Phu Xuan became the political, economic and cultural centre of the southern part of Vietnam. Then, from 1788 to
1801, it became the capital of the Tay Son Dynasty.
From 1802 to 1945, Hue was the capital of unified Vietnam under the reign of the 13 Nguyen Kings. During these years, architectural works of a high cultural and historic value were built: the Citadel, especially the Imperial City (including 253 constructions), 7 Royal tomb compound of 9 kings of the Nguyen Dynasty, the Esplanade of Nam Giao, the Ho Quyen arena and the Hon Chen Temple.
From 1802 to 1945, Hue was the capital of unified Vietnam under the reign of the 13 Nguyen Kings. During these years, architectural works of a high cultural and historic value were built: the Citadel, especially the Imperial City (including 253 constructions), 7 Royal tomb compound of 9 kings of the Nguyen Dynasty, the Esplanade of Nam Giao, the Ho Quyen arena and the Hon Chen Temple.
Cultural values
Located in the centre of Hue, along the Perfume
(Huong) River’s northern bank, the complex of royal architecture
represents and demonstrates the power of the Nguyen Dynasty's
centralism. Contained in this complex are Kinh Thanh Hue (the Hue
Capital Citadel), Hoang Thanh (the Royal Citadel or Imperial City) and
Tu Cam Thanh (the Forbidden Citadel) clustered together, symmetrically
placed along the longitudinal axis and facing to the south.
The system of walls combines sophisticatedly both
eastern and western architectural styles placed in natural harmony with
Ngu Binh Mount, Perfume River, Gia Vien and Boc Thanh islets. Even
people implicitly consider these natural landscapes as a part of the
complex.
Surrounded by a square wall, almost 600 metres in
length on each side, the Imperial City has four gates, of which the
south gate (Ngo Mon) is most typical in construction and is widely seen
and recognized as the symbol of Hue Citadel. It served not only as the
main entrance but was also the place where important events of the
dynasty took place. Within the area of the Imperial City, the Forbidden
Citadel was the area reserved for daily activities of the royal family.
In the distance, to the west of the Capital Citadel,
along the Perfume River, are the famous royal tombs and temples,
masterpieces in landscape architecture built by the Nguyen Dynasty. Each
royal tomb aimed at creating a living place for royal pleasure before
becoming an eternal resting place after the king’s death. This resulted
in the architecture of royal tombs in Hue being distinguished by unique
characteristics.
Each tomb reflects its owner’s life and character:
the magnificence of Gia Long’s tomb in the immense landscape of
mountains and jungles represents the spirit of a general in war; the
symmetry and majesty of Minh Mang’s tomb combiners both man-made and
natural mountains and lakes and reveals the powerful will and solemn
nature of a talented politician who was also an orderly poet; the
peaceful and sombre qualities of Thieu Tri’s tomb reflects the innermost
feelings of an outstanding poet who made few achievements in political
life; the romance and poetic atmosphere of Tu Duc’s tomb evoke the
elegant and subtle tendency of a poet rather than the strong
characteristic of a politician.
In addition, place-names that embellish for the
beauty of the Complex of Hue Monuments can be named as: Huong River, Ngu
Binh Mountain, Thien Mu Pagoda, Bach Ma Mountain, the Thuan An and Lang
Co Beaches...
At the meeting of the 17th session of the World
Heritage Committee (WHC) in Columbia, from the 6th to the 11th of
December 1993, UNESCO has come to the decision of recognising the
architectural ensemble of Hue as a world cultural heritage. This was a
noteworthy event in the cultural history. For the reason that Hue is the
first site in Vietnam ever listed in the World Heritage list.
As to the cultural value, a World Cultural Heritage Site, like the Complex of Hue Monuments, has to:
- Be representative of an original artistic achievement, a masterpiece created by Man’s hands;
- Have a great value for its building technique or
its architecture in a general development plan for a city or in a
program for the embellishment of the sight of a world cultural zone;
- Be representative of an architectural ensemble of
an important historical period; Be closely related to important events,
to ideas or beliefs having a great influence or to famous historical
personalities.
In the closing report of the above-mentioned meeting, the WHC has briefly assessed the value of Hue as follows:
"The architecture of Hue, which has been the Capital
of a unified Vietnam, built at about the beginning of the 19th century,
combines the oriental philosophy with the traditions of Vietnam.
Intimately mingled with the natural environment, the beauty and special
richness of the architecture and decorative art of the building are an
original image of the Vietnamese monarchy at its most prosperous
period".
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