Indigenous Fundamental Layouts of the Hue Ancient Capital City during Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), Vietnam | Chapter 11 | Science and Technology: Developments and Applications Vol. 9

This study aims to analyze the layering of various layouts of the Capital City throughout its history and explain how it evolved from its foundational layouts to the acculturated layouts that emerged at the beginning of the 19th century and persist today. Furthermore, this study will establish a foundation for further research on the principles of acculturation in urbanization, offering guidelines for the preservation, inheritance, and utilization of the Ancient Capital City of Hue, while also guiding future tourism development in Hue City specifically and in Vietnam more broadly. The study examines the historic-eco capital city of Hue during the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945), where the Complex of Hue Monuments, the world cultural heritage site, is located. Based on historical documents, previous studies, field surveys, and comparative observations among historic urban cities in Vietnam and other East and Southeast Asian countries, this study concludes that the urban morphology of ancient capital cities follows indigenous layouts.

 

These indigenous fundamental layouts were shaped by natural elements, specifically the "Giang-Son" (River and Mountain) and the complex Water Quadrangles and Lakes system, which supported rice-field irrigation, waterway transportation, and natural ecosystems. These layouts are inherited from the natural resources of the emirate of Champa, which existed in the Hue area before the 14th century. These natural elements are still recognizable and have been continuously inherited through various Vietnamese feudal dynasties, from the period of the Nguyen Lords (1558-1777) of the Kingdom of Cochin-China to the Tay Son dynasty (1778-1802) and finally to the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945). The coincidence of characteristics in the ancient capital city of Hue is not merely a chance occurrence; it suggests that the city was established based on the indigenous fundamental layouts of an urban morphology that existed in these areas previously, likely during the period of the Champa emirates from around the 5th to the 10th centuries.

 

 

Author (s) Details

An Vinh Le
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City, 71408, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/stda/v9/4137