The poetries carved on imperial buildings in Huecomprise selective works by emperors and mandarins from the Nguyendynasty dating from 1802-1945. They are carved, encrusted and enamelledon royal architectures with various materials such as wood, vitreousenamel and ceramics.
Although Han Chinesecharacters were used for the poems, they are different from carvedcalligraphy found on ancient buildings in China .
Carved poems can be seen at Thai Hoa Palace, The To Temple,Hung To Temple inside the former imperial palace, in the mausoleums forKings Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, Dong Khanh and Duc Duc, and in pagodas andresidences of royal families and mandarins.
The buildingsencompass all criteria required to receive the honour of a documentaryheritage, including practicality, uniqueness, role internationally,integrity and endangered status, the Van Hoa (Culture) online newspaperquoted Professor Dr. Luu Tran Tieu as saying.
At the event, hehighlighted that it is necessary to clarify the uniqueness andinternational influence of the archives when presenting them forconsideration of recognition by UNESCO.
Meanwhile, Vu ThiMinh Huong, Chairwoman of the National Committee for Memory of theWorld, said the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre should collaboratewith relevant agencies to protect and promote the archives’ values byorganising workshops and media campaigns.
Leadingconservationists at the workshop agreed that preserving the buildings isa prerequisite for the protection of the poetry system. They saidpractical measures should be taken to protect the carvings from naturaldisasters.
Director of the conservation centre Phan Thanh Haiaffirmed that together with profiling crucial documents about thecarvings for UNESCO’s recognition, the centre will digitalise poetriescarved on the heritage buildings to promote their values.
Currently, Vietnam has four documentary heritages recognised asMemories of the World: the Nguyen dynasty wood blocks, the stone stelespreserved at the Temple of Literature, Buddhist-Sutra woodblocksstored at Vinh Nghiem Pagoda and Imperial records from the NguyenDynasty.
UNESCO launched the Memory of the World Programme in1994 to guard against collective amnesia and to call upon thepreservation of valuable archive holdings and library collections allover the world.-VNA