Why does the tomb of King Dong Khanh of the Nguyen Dynasty in Hue have Roman architecture mixed with Asian architecture?

In contrast to the traditional style of the architecture of the temple area, the architecture of King Dong Khanh's tomb (Tu Lang) is almost completely Europeanized, from architectural features, decorative motifs to construction materials. Bi Dinh is a variation of Roman architecture mixed with East Asian architecture.

Dong Khanh Tomb is located in the middle of a quiet countryside in Cu Si village, Duong Xuan commune (now Thuong Hai village, Thuy Xuan commune, Hue city).

King Dong Khanh - the short-lived king of the Nguyen Dynasty rests in peace amidst the warmth of family affection.

Surrounding his eternal resting place are the tombs of his relatives: Tu Duc tomb (his uncle and adoptive father), Kien Thai Vuong tomb (his father), Ba Thanh Cung tomb (his wife), Ba Tu Cung tomb (his daughter-in-law). Further away is Ta Thien Nhan Hoang Hau tomb (his great-grandmother), Thieu Tri tomb (his grandfather)...

King Dong Khanh's name was Nguyen Phuc Ung Duong, the eldest son of Kien Thai Vuong Nguyen Phuc Hong Cai (1845-1876).

King Dong Khanh was the father of three Nguyen Dynasty kings: King Kien Phuc (1883-1884); King Ham Nghi (1884-1885) and King Dong Khanh (1886-1888).

Hue folk songs once talked about the royal careers of the three Nguyen kings: "One family gave birth to three kings. The king lived, the king died, and the defeated king fled."

Dong Khanh was the eldest brother but ascended the throne last. Dong Khanh was king for three years and passed away at the age of 25.

The king did not expect to die so soon so he never thought about his afterlife.

The existing tomb of King Dong Khanh is actually the place where King Dong Khanh resided permanently in the shrine of his father, Nguyen Phuc Hong Cai. The birth of the mausoleum of the third king of the Nguyen Dynasty had many difficulties.

After ascending the throne, Dong Khanh saw that his father's tomb in Cu Si did not have a shrine, so he ordered the Ministry of Public Works to build Truy Tu shrine next to it to worship his father.

Truy Tu Palace began construction in February 1888 and was basically completed by October of that year. Dong Khanh brought Kien Thai Vuong's memorial tablet to worship in the palace and continued to complete the project.

However, while the architectural work was still going on, Dong Khanh fell ill and suddenly passed away. King Thanh Thai (1889-1907) succeeded to the throne in a context where the country was facing many difficulties and the economy was exhausted, so he could not build a proper mausoleum for the previous king, so he had to change Truy Tu Palace to Ngung Hy to worship King Dong Khanh.

The king's body was also buried simply on a hill called Ho Thuan Son, 30m west of Ngung Hy Palace. The entire mausoleum complex is called Tu Lang.

In August 1916, after being on the throne for 3 months, King Khai Dinh (1916-1925), son of King Dong Khanh, renovated the temple and built a tomb for his father.

The entire mausoleum complex from Bai Dinh, Bi Dinh to Buu Thanh and Huyen Cung were all built under Khai Dinh's reign and were not completed until July 1917.

Only Ngung Hy Palace, Ta and Huu Tung Vien and Ta and Huu Tung Tu continued to be renovated until 1923.

Born over such a long period, Dong Khanh mausoleum bears the mark of two architectural schools of two different historical periods.

In the temple area, overall, the buildings still have the old look: the overlapping architecture of the main hall and the dependent houses, the splendid rows of gilded red columns with familiar decorative motifs of the four sacred animals and four seasons...

Notable is the Ngung Hy Palace, a building considered to be the best place to preserve the art of gilding and lacquer, the famous art of Vietnamese lacquer.

On the interior maps are a series of decorative panels with themes of plum and bird, pine and deer, lotus, bamboo... using lacquer, mosaic and embossment.

In particular, in the main hall there are 24 maps and paintings of the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars story about examples of filial piety in China.

The Ngung Hy temple itself with its three-character structure developed from the overlapping architecture of the roof is also a strange feature.

However, the appearance of a system of multi-colored glass doors and two ancient paintings depicting the Franco-Prussian War during the Napoleonic era, along with a series of artifacts such as canes and perfume bottles next to ancient artifacts, gives visitors a mixed, uncomfortable feeling.

In contrast to the traditional style of the temple architecture, the mausoleum architecture is almost completely Europeanized, from architectural features, decorative motifs to construction materials. Bi Dinh is a variation of Roman architecture mixed with Asian architecture.

In general, Dong Khanh mausoleum was built during the transitional period of history, so the Eastern architecture has somewhat faded and faded to transition to modern architecture.

The artist who created this mausoleum was placed between a choice and acceptance: royal architecture, folk architecture and newly imported architecture.

To a certain extent, they succeeded in experimenting with new things, bringing rustic elements into the palace, making Dong Khanh mausoleum blend in with the rural landscape in the region.

► Entrance fee to Tu Lang (Dong Khanh King's tomb) is 100,000 VND (adults), children are free