An overview of writing characters on court constructions and Buddhist temples in Hue History of establishment and feature of their contents

Abstract

The decoration of poetry and painting was a style of uniquely Vietnamese fine art. This paper outlines this peculiar cultural practice and highlights some of the essential values that Hue cultural heritage, the 2016-registered UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme, reflects: 1. The history of establishing the system of poetry and literary works attached to the royal constructions? How were they installed? Who were the authors? Characters of the style of decorating poetry and painting in history with some typical examples; 2. The value of the literary works attached to Hue’s constructions that are registered by UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme on aspects of documents, literature, fine art and most importantly, the peculiar value of Hue’s architectural characters?; 3. The unique characters of the content of literary works attached to Hue royal palace? How are these lit erary works involved with the constructions’ function and architectural style?; 4. Poetry attached to Nguyen’s royal mausoleums was also designed in the style of poetry and painting with the beautiful literature value; 5. Only state-levelled Buddhist temples were decored with poetry and painting. The literary works also covered some peculiar contents. This paper will examine two remaining state-levelled temples, namely Thanh Duyen and Linh Mu; 6. The values of the literary works attached to royal constructions in today’s society; 7. Examining the new development of using literary works for decoration in Hue’s temples recently and the continuity of the tradition of Poetry and painting in future constructions.