Warning about the damage to national relics and treasures

Heartbreaking loss of relics and treasures

It has been 5 months since the tomb of Lord Nguyen Phuc Khoat (in Long Ho ward, Phu Xuan district) was dug up, and to this day, the authorities are still searching for the perpetrators. Previously, on January 5, the guards of the Hue Monuments Conservation Center discovered signs of digging up the tomb of Lord Nguyen Phuc Khoat.

Warning about the damage to national relics and treasures -0 — The Nguyen Dynasty throne was displayed at Thai Hoa Palace - Hue Imperial City before being vandalized.

It is worth mentioning that this is not the first time that Lord Nguyen Phuc Khoat's tomb has been violated. Previously, this tomb was robbed by bad guys during the war to search for burial objects, usually gold, silver, pearls, etc. Tomb robberies of kings and lords took place in Hue in the 80s and 90s of the last century, such as the tomb of Queen Mother Tu Du was robbed in 1980; the tomb of Lord Nguyen Phuc Chu's mother was robbed in 1990, the tomb of Lord Nguyen Phuc Khoat's wife was also robbed during this time...

Not only the royal tombs were violated, but recently, in Hue City, some national parks have been written and painted by tourists and people. For example, the Great Bell at Thien Mu Pagoda located in Huong Long Ward (Phu Xuan District). The Great Bell is an important dharma instrument cast by Lord Nguyen Phuc Chu (1691-1725) in 1710 to offer to Buddha. The bell weighs more than 2,000 kg, is 2.5 m high, has a mouth diameter of 1.4 m, has a balanced shape; the patterns on the bell body are elaborately carved with symbolic images of all three major schools of thought of East Asia: Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism, expressing the wish for favorable weather, a peaceful country, stable people, and complete Buddhist wisdom.

Over the years, the ancient bell is covered with words of prayer, petition, love symbols, or simply the desire to leave a mark on visitors... Sharing the same fate as the Great Bell of Thien Mu Pagoda, the Khiem Cung Ky stele at Tu Duc Tomb is also covered with visitors' handwriting.

More painfully, at noon on May 24, Ho Van Phuong Tam (born in 1983, residing in Huong Long ward, Phu Xuan district, Hue city) bought an entrance ticket to the Hue Imperial City. Then, he entered Thai Hoa Palace - the exhibition area of the Nguyen Dynasty National Palace, shouted and then assaulted and broke the front left armrest... On May 26, the Investigation Police Agency of Hue City Police is temporarily detaining Ho Van Phuong Tam to investigate and clarify the act of "Intentionally damaging property". According to the investigation agency, Tam was once decided by the People's Court of Tan Binh district ( Ho Chi Minh city) to apply administrative measures to be sent to a compulsory drug rehabilitation facility in 2023.

Strengthening the protection and preservation of treasures

On May 26, after inspecting the work of protecting relics and artifacts, the National Park at locations in the Complex of Hue Monuments, including the Thai Hoa Palace - where the Nguyen Dynasty King's Throne was damaged by bad guys; Permanent Vice Chairman of Hue City People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Binh said that he would re-evaluate the situation, thereby requesting a review and review of the responsibilities of each individual and organization. At the same time, he would draw lessons and develop plans to better protect specific artifacts as well as the overall relics and heritages currently existing in Hue City.

Currently, the Hue City People's Committee has assigned the responsibility to the Center for Conservation of Ethnology to coordinate with the Department of Culture and Sports to develop plans to protect relics and heritages, especially national artifacts, in accordance with the law in the city. This includes increasing the application of technology to preserve and ensure absolute safety for relics and artifacts.

According to cultural researcher Nguyen Xuan Hoa, former Director of the Department of Culture and Information of Thua Thien Hue province (now Hue city), the encroachment of the Nguyen Dynasty's throne is a very rare and unexpected event. Therefore, it is necessary to pose a problem for those responsible for the management and protection of relics, heritage, national parks, etc. "Since it is a national park, a world heritage, how should it be preserved? There must be strict and tight protection solutions for each specific treasure and heritage. In addition, local authorities must have coordinated strategies on conservation, which sectors participate in which tasks to better coordinate the protection of heritage. And most importantly, the people, each person themselves, must be propagandized and educated to protect relics. People must promptly intervene and speak up when they see relics being encroached upon," cultural researcher Nguyen Xuan Hoa shared.

Regarding the encroachment of the Nguyen Dynasty Throne, on May 24, the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism sent a document to the Hue Monuments Conservation Center requesting to strengthen the protection, preservation and promotion of the value of the National Park. Previously, the Department of Cultural Heritage sent a document to ministries, branches, political organizations, socio-political organizations at the Central level and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities requesting to strengthen the protection, preservation and promotion of the value of the National Parks...

On May 25, the Government Office issued a document conveying the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh on handling the case of the Nguyen Dynasty Royal Throne National Park being vandalized. Accordingly, the Deputy Prime Minister requested the People's Committee of Hue City to urgently direct the inspection and assessment of the technical status of the Nguyen Dynasty Royal Throne National Park, and propose solutions for preservation and restoration in accordance with the law.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested the People's Committee of Hue City to direct a comprehensive review, strengthen the management, protection of security and safety of Hue Monuments and relics, antiquities, the National Museum of Hue Monuments as well as the management of relics in the area; proactively develop plans to prevent, detect early and be ready to stop and handle acts of encroachment and sabotage. Step up propaganda and education to raise awareness and perception of cultural heritage protection in the community. The People's Committee of Hue City was also assigned to organize a review, draw lessons and handle the responsibilities of relevant individuals and organizations, to prevent similar cases from happening.

Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh also requested the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to direct a general review and assessment of the work of displaying, preserving, protecting and measures to ensure security and safety of national museums nationwide; promptly strengthen measures to ensure absolute safety of recognized national museums and valuable artifacts and antiques at relics and scenic spots...

Not only in Hue City, the destruction of relics has also occurred in many other localities across the country. Notably, the case involving foreigners has attracted special attention from the public nationwide, that is the case of two Chinese people destroying the tomb of King Le Tuc Tong.
Specifically, in mid-May 2025, Thanh Hoa Provincial Police prosecuted two Chinese citizens, Shen Jiangyang (born in 1982) and Deng Zhiji (born in 1984), for the crime of "Violating corpses, graves, and remains". Previously, on April 28, Shen Jiangyang and Deng Zhiji entered Vietnam through Mong Cai international border gate, Quang Ninh, with the intention of searching for antiquities at the tombs of kings and wealthy people in order to steal buried property. Both of them brought antiquities-finding tools and after arriving in Thanh Hoa City, stayed at a hotel. After that, the subjects rented motorbikes to the tomb of King Le Tuc Tong in the Lam Kinh Special National Monument to survey the terrain. By May 3, the two subjects had conducted exploration and excavation at the tomb of King Le Tuc Tong but did not find any valuable antiquities. When discovered, the two subjects left their tools behind and quickly escaped.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/Tieu-diem-van-hoa/canh-bao-tinh-trang-xam-hai-di-tich-bao-vat-quoc-gia-i769650/