'Reviving' heritage in the ancient capital of Hue

(VTC News) - The restoration of relics in the ancient capital of Hue in recent years has been assessed as being of high quality, not distorting the original value but enhancing the heritage value, sustainable over time.

Care for each piece of porcelain

As the person "chosen" by the Hue Monuments Conservation Center, artisan Nguyen Thanh Thuan (Quang Tho commune, Quang Dien district) is in charge of a team of 20 highly skilled workers, responsible for shaping, inlaying ceramics, and restoring decorative motifs and dragon images on the roof of Thai Hoa Palace.

Thai Hoa Palace still retains its original value after restoration. (Photo: Nguyen TA Phong)

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Thuan has been involved in the ceramic mosaic craft since he was 18 years old, through Mr. Truong Van An - a veteran ceramic mosaic artisan in Hue, who has been in charge of many projects to restore dragons and phoenixes, and decorate ceramic mosaics on the restoration projects of Hue ancient capital's relics for over 30 years. Up to now, Mr. Thuan has been involved in the restoration of dragons and phoenixes on Hue royal architecture for over 20 years.

According to artisan Thuan, when working in relics, in addition to high skills, workers must also adhere to strict conservation principles. Most of the porcelain used to inlay dragons and phoenixes is ancient Japanese and Chinese porcelain, a few are from Europe, and new products on the market cannot be used because the colors are not suitable.

The canopy system and throne platform of the Nguyen Dynasty kings in Thai Hoa Palace after restoration. (Photo: Nguyen TA Phong)

“ To have resources for the restoration of relics, we have to order from people who work in the sand and gravel industry on the Perfume River. Previously, this source of ceramics was abundant, but now it has gradually dried up. To have enough resources, we have to buy from antique collectors, or find them in Japanese ceramic stores, at very high prices.

The batches of bowls and ceramics purchased were broken by artisans, taking suitable pieces, and meticulously bonding each piece with cement, day after day creating eyes, noses, feet, claws, scales..., forming majestic, lively pairs of dragons on the banks and roofs of palaces ," artisan Nguyen Thanh Thuan shared.

In 2019, Thua Thien - Hue province (now Hue city) spent nearly 124 billion VND to restore Kien Trung palace on the old foundation.

The remaining 1/3 of the wooden structure should also be retained.

Hue's principle in heritage restoration and conservation is not to follow formality or copy-pasteurized restoration but to try to retain as much of the original structure as possible. Even when the relic is degraded, it is still necessary to ensure the regulations on conservation and promotion of the value of historical and cultural heritage.

During the restoration process of Kien Trung Palace, the restorers carefully studied documents and images to be able to restore the palace to its original state.

Artisan Phan Canh Quang Thuan (born in 1973, in Thuy Bieu ward, Hue city) said that when renovating Thai Hoa palace, each wooden structure was carefully evaluated. Good structures will be reused, damaged or termite-infested structures will be replaced with new wood and restored to the original.

After being processed into columns, beams, beams, and walls, the wooden components will be transferred to the gilding stage. To complete the gilding stage for a wooden component, the artisans must go through many stages and apply up to… 14 layers of paint.

Artisans clean every detail on the wooden structures in Thai Hoa Palace before gilding them. (Photo: Nguyen TA Phong)

“ The process of gilding the wooden structures and gilding the canopy at Thai Hoa Palace is carried out according to strict procedures. The team of workers must be divided into many shifts, working day and night to ensure technical standards, on schedule, and in time to serve visitors… ”, artisan Quang Thuan shared.

Initially, artisans took the resin of a natural lacquer tree. After being beaten into ripe lacquer, the raw lacquer was filtered through a layer of cloth, the residue was removed, mixed with lacquer powder, turpentine, tung oil and kerosene in a certain ratio, then beaten into vermilion lacquer. The artisans used vermilion lacquer to gild and silver the wooden structures at Thai Hoa Palace.

The canopy is made of wood, the gilded part has faded over time and needs to be preserved and skillfully restored. (Photo: Nguyen TA Phong)

The leader of the Hue Monuments Conservation Center said: " The big lesson learned when restoring relics is that we cannot be hasty. Each construction is a living entity, containing valuable historical and cultural memories, so it requires patience, respect and love for heritage, preserving the cultural landscape space of the heritage to the maximum, combined with the natural elements bestowed by previous generations. That is the secret to helping Hue maintain its identity and strength in the midst of the flow of modern development trends ."

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/hoi-sinh-di-san-o-co-do-hue-ar953383.html