Leading conservationists nationwide have recently gathered in centralHue city to discuss the poetry that is carved on wooden and concreteheritage buildings in the former royal capital city.
The conservationists also will seek ways to protect this poetry.
DespiteHan Chinese characters being used for transcription of the poems, theyare still different from carved calligraphy found on ancient buildingsin China, the conservationists agreed.
According to Vu Thi MinhHuong, Chairwoman of the National Committee for Memory of the WorldProgrammes, poetry carved on imperial buildings in Hue and the Nguyendynasty (1802-1945) woodprints included poems for the general public.
"Thisgives a unique feature to those transcriptions, as they were not onlyfor the rulers. They reflected the literature under the Nguyen dynasty,"she said.
The conservationists showed their admiration for thelarge number of poems, as well as the diversity of poems found on thebuildings. Carved poems can be seen at Thai Hoa Palace, The To Temple,Hung To Temple inside the former imperial palace, as well as inmausoleums of Kings Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, Dong Khanh, and Duc Duc, andin pagodas and the residences of royal families and mandarins.
Memberof UNESCO Vietnam, Dang Van Bai, noted that Hue, or its heritagebuildings, are a museum of the country's ancient poetry.
Theuniqueness of the poetry comes from its content, the special carvingtechniques, and the transcription style. A poem by King Thieu Tri, forinstance, was transcribed in the shape of a ship's rudder, with wordscarved in a circle and lines of words travelling outwards from thecentre of the circle.
While the poem has 56 words, the ruddertranscription generates 128 ways of reading and all present a completeand meaningful poem.
The conservationists agreed that conservation of the buildings is the prerequisite for the preservation of the poetry system.
Theyalso offered their strong consensus that more study and documentationof the poetry is necessary for profiling and presenting them prior toconsideration of recognition by UNESCO.-VNA
The conservationists also will seek ways to protect this poetry.
DespiteHan Chinese characters being used for transcription of the poems, theyare still different from carved calligraphy found on ancient buildingsin China, the conservationists agreed.
According to Vu Thi MinhHuong, Chairwoman of the National Committee for Memory of the WorldProgrammes, poetry carved on imperial buildings in Hue and the Nguyendynasty (1802-1945) woodprints included poems for the general public.
"Thisgives a unique feature to those transcriptions, as they were not onlyfor the rulers. They reflected the literature under the Nguyen dynasty,"she said.
The conservationists showed their admiration for thelarge number of poems, as well as the diversity of poems found on thebuildings. Carved poems can be seen at Thai Hoa Palace, The To Temple,Hung To Temple inside the former imperial palace, as well as inmausoleums of Kings Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, Dong Khanh, and Duc Duc, andin pagodas and the residences of royal families and mandarins.
Memberof UNESCO Vietnam, Dang Van Bai, noted that Hue, or its heritagebuildings, are a museum of the country's ancient poetry.
Theuniqueness of the poetry comes from its content, the special carvingtechniques, and the transcription style. A poem by King Thieu Tri, forinstance, was transcribed in the shape of a ship's rudder, with wordscarved in a circle and lines of words travelling outwards from thecentre of the circle.
While the poem has 56 words, the ruddertranscription generates 128 ways of reading and all present a completeand meaningful poem.
The conservationists agreed that conservation of the buildings is the prerequisite for the preservation of the poetry system.
Theyalso offered their strong consensus that more study and documentationof the poetry is necessary for profiling and presenting them prior toconsideration of recognition by UNESCO.-VNA
