HUE; Historic Land

    Hue served as Vietnam’s capital under the emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 to 1945, and the city’s regal past can still be seen inside the walls of the Citadel and the Imperial City. Both were heavily damaged during the Tet Offensive of 1968 when the Communists took the city from the South and held it for 3 weeks, but now thanks to UNESCO funding, much of the City is being faithfully restored to its former glory.

TOMB OF EMPEROR TU DUC

   Born in 1829, Emperor Tu Duc had the longest reign of all in the Nguyen Dynasty. The King died in 1883 after 35 years on the throne.
   Emperor Tu Duc was an expert in eastern philosophy, history, and literature. He left 4,000 verses and 600 proses, yet during his reign he the king failed to gain the respect of the citizens. It was during the construction of his tomb that the soldiers and artisans rebelled and joined Ung Dao (a distant cousin of the king) in the attempt to overthrow the king. Being a romantic, the king immersed himself in the world he created at the site of his tomb. The king ordered the construction of his tomb to be a fairyland with poetical features, making it a lifetime dream and a world for his eternal life after death. Architectural features of Tu Duc Tomb include poetry elements in free form. It was designed to blend with the natural setting of the landscape. Man-made elements were built and placed in strategic areas to achieve perfect harmony.

   In an attempt to foil grave robbers, his body was not even buried in the tomb, and all those who were involved in the burial were beheaded. His body and treasures are at a destination which to this day is unknown. The centerpiece of the tomb is a huge stone tablet that is estimated to weigh over twenty tones upon which are inscribed various clarifications of his rule. There are also a number of temples and other buildings within the tomb grounds, along with a nice lake with an island in the center. Towards the end of his rule, Tu Duc spent a lot of time on this island and generally within his tomb, accompanied by his entourage. The tomb of Tu Duc is about 7 km out of the center of Hue city.

The majestic and serene tomb of Emperor Tu Duc is set amidst frangipani trees and a grove of pines. Tu Duc designed the exquisitely harmonious tomb, which was constructed between 1864 and 1867, for use both before and after his death.

The enormous expense of the tomb and the forced labor used in its construction spawned a coup plot which was discovered and suppressed in 1866.

    Tu Duc’s tomb, which is surrounded by a solid octagonal wall, is entered from the east via Vu Khiem Gate. A path paved with Bat Trang Tiles leads to Du Khiem Boat Landing, which is on the Shore of Luu Khiem Lake. From the boat landing, Tinh Khiem Island, where Tu Duc used to hunt small game, is off to the right; across the water to the left is Xung Khiem Pavilion, where the emperor would sit among the columns with his concubines composing or reciting poetry. The pavilion, built over the water on piles, was restored in 1986.

THE IMPERIAL CITY

   This complex held the palaces, pavilions, civil and religious ceremonies, and official audiences with the civil mandarins. It surrounded the forbidden purple city. Originally the roofs of the main buildings were covered in glaze yellow tile, the imperial color, the less important buildings had green or plain tile. The imperial city was bordered by a wall 600 meters on each side, five meters high and protected by a 15 meter moat. There are four gates to the compound. North was the gate of peace, east was the gate of humanity, west was the gate of virtue, and south was the South gate, so named because the emperor was symbolized by the sun which shines it’s brightest at noon.

   Like Hanoi and other former Chinese capitals the main gate, the meridian gate faced south toward the river. Beyond the south gate is gold water pond, which is spanned by three bridges leading to the paved esplanade of great welcome where, arranged according to importance the nine ranks of court mandarins, gathered during official ceremonies, civil mandarins on the right, military mandarins on the left.