Relic restoration plan must wait for… investigation conclusion

VHO - Nearly four months have passed since the incident of the water stele related to the Japanese Covered Bridge relic in Hoi An was vandalized, but the authorities have yet to reach a conclusion on the incident. The professional agency has yet to come up with a plan to restore the relic.

Nearly 4 months after the Hoi An waterway stele was vandalized, authorities have yet to reach a conclusion on the incident.

People hope that the authorities will soon find the culprit to take appropriate punishment and prevent similar acts of vandalism of relics.

Regarding the incident of vandalism of the stele monument that occurred on April 1 in Cam Pho ward, Hoi An city, Quang Nam province (now Hoi An ward, Da Nang city), Mr. Pham Phu Ngoc, Deputy Director of Hoi An Cultural Heritage Management and Conservation Center, said that due to the seriousness of the incident, as soon as it was discovered, the Center reported the incident to Hoi An city People's Committee and the relevant agencies of Hoi An city, Quang Nam province.

At that time, Hoi An City also requested the City Police and Quang Nam Provincial Police to investigate and handle the subjects who committed acts of vandalism against the above-mentioned relic according to the law. However, up to this point, the authorities have not yet reached a conclusion on the above incident.

Regarding this issue, on July 30, the former Cam Pho Ward Police (after the reorganization and merger, Cam Pho Ward and the commune units, Minh An Ward, Son Phong Ward, Cam Nam Ward and Cam Kim Ward became Hoi An Ward, Da Nang City) said that up to this point, the perpetrator of the monument destruction has not been identified. The case is still under investigation to find the perpetrator.

Regarding the plan to restore and repair the damaged stele monument, Mr. Pham Phu Ngoc said that we must wait for the investigation results and conclusions of the police before taking the next steps.

Currently, the Hoi An Cultural Heritage Management and Conservation Center, together with relevant local functional units and security guards, are coordinating to strengthen measures to protect the current status of the relic, while calling on the community to join hands to protect other precious cultural values of Hoi An from the risk of encroachment.

The vandalism of the stele on April 1st has caused Hoi An residents, historical and cultural researchers, and scholars to express their indignation and anger at the act of destroying heritage and violating people's beliefs.

Nearly 4 months after the incident, public opinion is still waiting for a specific investigation conclusion on the serious encroachment and destruction of the relic. After the recent incident of the national treasure, the Nguyen Dynasty Throne, being encroached upon, public opinion once again raises the question of when the culprit of the destruction of the stele that blocked the waterway will be found?

Some comments on social networks have also linked the story of the national treasure, the Nguyen Dynasty Throne, to the destruction of this monument stele and asked how to prevent similar situations from happening again if there are no forms of protection and prevention for such situations. We cannot wait until it is damaged before reviewing and strengthening protection. People in the area around the above banyan tree said that the community here highly worships the sacred banyan tree, the stele has played an important role in the spiritual beliefs of the people for generations.

After the incident, people still came to burn incense, clean up the relic every day and voluntarily reminded each other to take care of it more carefully. The destruction of the ancient stele not only caused loss and damage to the relic but also affected the spirit, cultural and historical values of Hoi An. Since the unfortunate incident occurred, people in this area as well as many Hoi An people have been very upset and hope that the authorities will soon find the culprit to take appropriate punishment.

As reported by Van Hoa , according to the people's report, at around 8:30 a.m. on April 1, 2025, the Hoi An Center for Cultural Heritage Management and Conservation and the People's Committee of Cam Pho Ward went to the site of the stele to survey and recorded that the stele had been severely damaged and chiseled. Records at the scene showed that all the Han Nom characters and carvings on the stele's surface had been chiseled, causing almost complete damage.

Initial information collected from local residents said that at around 6am on March 31, 2025, when they went to burn incense at the monument, they discovered that the stele had been vandalized. Before that, at around 1-2am on March 31, 2025, someone saw a motorbike parked on the sidewalk of Phan Chau Trinh Street next to the banyan tree and heard the sound of hammers being knocked.

According to the list of historical and cultural relics of the city, the stele relic is located in the protection area I of the special national relic, the world cultural heritage of Hoi An Ancient Town. The relic is classified as type I conservation value, state ownership.

The stone stele is placed inside a small shrine built of bricks, located in the heart of an ancient banyan tree that was recorded by the City People's Committee in the List of protected ancient trees in Decision No. 2627 dated November 14, 2014; the stele faces North. The stele is engraved with Han Nom characters and images of talismans. In the middle, there are 3 parts, below the central circle is a deeply engraved line: "Bac De decreed to establish the pole of the imperial wind to suppress the water flow" (showing the purpose of suppressing the water flow according to folk beliefs).

Below the right circle of the stele, looking from the outside, is an engraving of the North Star, vertically along the body of the stele, consisting of 7 circles connected by straight lines. At the bottom of the stele are 3 Thai Nhac Son characters spanning the entire width of the stele. Many researchers believe that this stele is used to control water and is related to the worship of the Northern Emperor Tran Vu at the Cau Pagoda relic.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/phuong-an-trung-tu-di-tich-phai-cho-ket-luan-dieu-tra-158701.html