The Awakeners of My Son: Discovering a Sanctuary in the Deep Jungle

To have My Son (Quang Nam) recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage like today, many people at home and abroad, through their positions and jobs, have contributed to exploring , preserving and protecting the relic.

More than 100 years ago, only when H. Parmentier, a French architect and archaeologist, and his colleague Charles Carpeaux (an employee of the French School of the Far East) came to study My Son, did people learn about the existence of a majestic temple complex in the deep forests of Central Vietnam.

Build a "fortress" against wild animals

Many documents record that in 1885, a group of French soldiers accidentally discovered the My Son Cham tower complex in the middle of a dense forest. H. Parmentier (born in 1871 in Paris, France, graduated in architecture at the Paris School of Fine Arts) and Charles Carpeaux were the first people sent to My Son to study architecture and art. According to The Archaeology of Ancient Champa: The French Excavations - Pierre Baptiste , on December 22, 1902, in Hanoi , the Governor-General of Indochina issued a decree mentioning "advancing an amount of 1,500 piastres, assigned to Mr. Henri Parmentier, who was responsible for using it for the purpose of archaeological excavations in Central Vietnam".

The article Champa and the Archeaology of My Son (Vietnam), NUS Press, Singapore 2009 , quoted C.Carpeaux's diary and H.Parmentier's excavation report, at the time when both of them came to My Son mainly by packhorses and on foot. The harsh weather combined with the tropical nature with many types of snakes, poisonous insects... seriously affected the health of both of them. Also according to Carpeaux's diary, because they were afraid of wild animals attacking, they chose a high mountain with a panoramic view and isolated in the middle of the valley to build their "headquarters".

The landscape protection forest at My Son relic site has an area of ​​1,158 hectares, bordering the localities of Duy Phu, Duy Hoa, Duy Son communes (Duy Xuyen district) and Son Vien, Que Trung communes (Nong Son district, Quang Nam ).

In the photo book Missions Archéologiques published in France, there is an extremely valuable photo of the experts staying in a wooden house. Looking at the photo, we can see that they hired the natives to build a fence around it with sharpened, dense, interwoven forest trees, about 4 meters high, to protect against wild animals. The scene is no different from a "fortress". Despite its solidity, one worker was once attacked by a tiger and taken away at night.

Valuable documents

Many documents recorded that, because it was too dangerous and hard, many workers left, C.Carpeaux often returned to Da Nang to rest. Only H.Parmentier stayed many days and nights, from March 11, 1903 to February 3, 1904 to survey, make statistics, draw, take photos of architectural works, and study sculptures at My Son Sanctuary.

“Despite the lack of technical means, H. Parmentier’s drawings at My Son are still very detailed and quite accurate. Hundreds of drawings of the floor plans, elevations, and sections of Cham towers along with decorative motifs have become extremely valuable documents for researchers and relic restorers,” said Mr. Ho Xuan Tinh, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Nam.

By 1904, H.Parmentier had published the work Les monuments du cirque de Myson (tentatively translated as Monuments in the My Son Valley ) in the Proceedings of the French School of the Far East (BEFEO). In 1909, he continued to publish a research work titled Inventaire descriptif des monuments Cam de l'Annam (tentatively translated: Descriptive inventory of Cham monuments in Annam ). His drawings are still carefully preserved at the My Son Cultural Heritage Management Board. Cham cultural researcher Tran Ky Phuong also said: "Without the research of H.Parmentier, many Cham architectures and fine arts in general and My Son in particular would have disappeared forever, for example, information about the A1 tower, the tallest in My Son Sanctuary with 28 m, was destroyed by bombs during the war".

In 1915, after a period of collecting statues and typical sculptures in Quang Nam, including My Son, the French built a structure simulating Cham architecture called Les Chams au Musée de Tourane (Cham People in Da Nang Museum). H. Parmentier was assigned to oversee and had great contributions in classifying and arranging the collections by age and style at this museum. This place is now the Cham Sculpture Museum.

The My Son Cultural Heritage Management Board recently held a seminar on "Building a statue garden for those who contributed to the preservation of the My Son temple complex" at the My Son relic site (Quang Nam).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhung-nguoi-danh-thuc-my-son-kham-pha-thanh-dia-trong-rung-tham-185701345.htm