Báo Đà Nẵng•20/06/2026
Officials from the My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board survey the inscriptions at the heritage site. Photo: MS
The My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board has just completed the inventory, survey, and data systematization of the inscriptions at My Son. Initial findings indicate that the temple complex currently contains approximately 50 inscriptions, including steles and fragments with engraved characters.
Mr. Nguyen Van Tho, Head of the Conservation Department, Museum (My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board), said that the survey process focused on identifying the current state of each inscription and stele; recording the location, form, material, size, degree of integrity, surface condition, signs of weathering, and factors related to preservation work, including comparing with existing sources, records, and research results; thereby systematizing and determining the documentary value of each artifact.
"The inscriptions are not only original artifacts with special historical, cultural, and scientific value, but also direct sources of information that contribute to clarifying the history of the formation and development of the My Son temple complex, as well as the religious, political , and cultural life of the ancient Champa kingdom through many periods," Mr. Tho analyzed.
Having existed and developed for approximately seven centuries, the My Son temple complex possesses unique cultural and artistic elements. Many of the surviving steles feature beautiful patterns and are of great artistic and sculptural value.
However, due to the effects of time, neglect, and human destruction, today only a limited number of intact My Son inscriptions remain, mainly concentrated in the tower groups A, B, D, E, F, G and at the exhibition hall outside the site. Many of these have been chipped, damaged, or eroded by sun and rain, causing the inscriptions to fade.
Nevertheless, the well-preserved steles are truly works of art, showcasing exquisite sculptural techniques such as lotus petal and wave-like shapes.
Furthermore, the size and style of the inscriptions on the steles are quite diverse and innovative, changing depending on the period; some steles are inscribed with ancient Sanskrit or ancient Cham script with square or round strokes, slanted to the left or right… Depending on the content to be conveyed, the steles may also be inscribed on one, two, three, or four sides, and occasionally the door pillars are also inscribed, similar to the inscriptions found at My Son (tower B1).
Architect Le Tri Cong (a researcher of Cham culture) observes that, compared to other existing steles at historical sites and ruins in Da Nang city, the steles at My Son are of extremely important value, conveying almost comprehensively and fully the information about the history and development of the Champa kingdom. In particular, they also reflect most of the unique sculptural styles of ancient Cham people.
The translation of the inscriptions at My Son has helped reveal valuable historical information about a period in the history of the ancient Champa kingdom. Photo: VL
It can be affirmed that present-day posterity knows the history of the formation of the temples and towers, and a part of the history of the ancient Champa kingdom, mainly through inscriptions. Almost every temple complex has one or more inscriptions commemorating the achievements, merits, and offerings... of the king to the gods when building or restoring the towers.
Mr. Nguyen Cong Khiet, Director of the My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board, affirmed that the systematic translation of the inscriptions at My Son is very important, not only for revealing valuable information about the history, culture, and society of the Champa dynasties in Quang Nam and Central Vietnam, but also for the larger goal of building a dossier to propose the recognition of these inscriptions as documentary heritage.
In fact, since the beginning of the 20th century, when French researchers came to My Son, they have translated about 32 inscriptions written in ancient Sanskrit. However, many of these ancient Cham inscriptions have yet to be translated.
Furthermore, war and the passage of time have caused many inscriptions to be altered, not to mention that some inscriptions were moved from My Son by the French to be displayed in museums in their home country... therefore, the process of systematizing and translating the inscriptions is even more urgent.
On May 19th, during a visit to My Son, experts from the French School of Far Eastern Studies (France) pledged to support the translation of the Cham inscriptions at My Son; aiming to build a dossier to nominate Cham inscriptions and stelae as a World Documentary Heritage site.
Mr. Nguyen Van Tho acknowledged that the results of translating the inscriptions not only help identify the value of the inscriptions within the overall value of the heritage site but also create a scientific basis for the My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board to build a dossier to advise relevant levels and sectors to submit to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Department of Heritage for consideration of recognizing the My Son inscription system as a National Documentary Heritage before aiming for the larger goal of World Documentary Heritage.
Source: https://baodanang.vn/xac-lap-gia-tri-van-khac-my-son-3340947.html
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