A costly lesson

The throne at the Thai Hoa Palace in the Hue Imperial Citadel has been temporarily moved to the Hue Royal Antiquities Museum for safekeeping. Photo: Vietnam National Heritage Administration .

The incident occurred at noon on May 24th, when a man exhibiting erratic behavior breached security and entered the area displaying the Nguyen Dynasty throne in the Thai Hoa Palace. There, he climbed onto the throne, removed his robe, behaved inappropriately, and even vandalized it, breaking the armrest.

A video filmed by a tourist at the scene, along with a report from the authorities, has gone viral on social media, showing that the suspect was free to act for about 10 minutes before being subdued and taken away.

The Nguyen Dynasty throne, classified as a National Treasure since early 2016, has served as the seat of 13 Nguyen Dynasty emperors during their court sessions at the Thai Hoa Palace within the Imperial Citadel of Hue for over 140 years. This treasure symbolizes the supreme power of the Nguyen Dynasty emperors. Until the incident on May 24th, this unique artifact remained on display at the Thai Hoa Palace and was one of the most captivating exhibits for both domestic and international tourists.

Following the unfortunate incident, some questioned the possibility that the original national treasure was not the one damaged, but rather a copy put on display. However, subsequent reports and documents from cultural management agencies at all levels confirmed that the damaged heritage item was indeed the national treasure – the Nguyen Dynasty throne.

Therefore, the damage is immeasurable, and the incident needs to be taken seriously. It's not enough to just punish the violators; the responsibility of individuals and units tasked with preserving the heritage must also be clarified. More importantly, the incident highlights the urgent need to develop more effective solutions to protect national heritage and treasures, not only in the ancient capital of Hue but throughout the country.

Serious consideration of the responsibility for heritage preservation is an urgent requirement, because in reality, there have been numerous cases of damage to ancient artifacts occurring right in museums, temples, pagodas, and important historical sites. In Hue, the incident on May 24th is not an isolated case.

Previously, this area has recorded instances of tomb robbery and damage to national treasures in various forms. Similar incidents have also occurred in many other localities such as Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Hanoi , and Ho Chi Minh City...

In Bac Giang, a statistical report from the provincial authorities, cited in 2023, showed that within 10 years, there were 50 cases of theft at religious and faith-based establishments in the province, and in most cases, the perpetrators were not found.

In Thanh Hoa, earlier this month, two Chinese nationals were caught digging up the tomb of King Le Tuc Tong at the Lam Kinh National Special Historical Site in search of artifacts...

Similar incidents have occurred a long time ago, and if cultural management agencies at all levels had promptly examined the responsibilities of the relevant departments and found effective common solutions to the problem, we might not have witnessed the "unexpected" situations and "unintended" damages that have occurred recently.

Overall, local cultural sectors need a comprehensive solution to combat the loss of heritage – national assets – across all types of heritage and cultural institutions. This should be a proactive, preventative approach based on anticipating potential special situations, leveraging all advantages in technology and human resources instead of simply "learning from experience as it happens." Laws on heritage protection need to be seriously applied in practice, including considering the responsibility of management agencies, punishing offenders, and finding effective solutions for heritage protection.

The loss evokes a feeling of sorrow. This feeling can only be partially alleviated if, from the past losses, we find effective solutions, appropriate ways of responding, and demonstrate genuine responsibility in protecting heritage according to our assigned tasks.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/bai-hoc-dat-gia-703896.html