Why did the Nguyen choose Hue as the capital?

Why did King Gia Long choose Hue as the capital?

Phu Xuan was the old capital of the Nguyen Nam Ha lords and the capital of the Nguyen Tay Son dynasty. King Gia Long chose Phu Xuan as the national capital of Vietnam for good reasons.

The fact that King Gia Long chose Phu Xuan as the national capital was not simply because this was the starting land of his ancestors, but because of many reasons related to the rise of the Nguyen Dynasty and the survival and development of the Vietnamese nation. Male.

The book Dai Nam Thuc Luc states: “In Phu Xuan, the people are crowded, the customs are pure, the saints are located here, it is really the most crowded place in the South”.

The book Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi says: “The Sutra is a place where the mountains and the sea come together, standing between the South and the North, the land is high, the mountains and rivers are calm… the big rivers stretch in front, the mountains are high. standing behind, the dragon coils, the tiger sits, the posture is stable, it is arranged by heaven and earth, it is the king’s capital.”

And among the factors that form the basis for the decision to choose the land for the capital, the political factor is the most important.

Gia Long wants to set up a capital in the Central region to facilitate communication with both the South and the North. Because at that time, the means of transportation and communication methods were still rudimentary and slow, going from North to South, whether by boat or station horse, it took ten days, not hours. lake like today.

Hue is the central land of Vietnam, close to Da Nang port, convenient for traffic and trade. If the capital is located here, it is possible to control both Bac Ha and Gia Dinh more easily in transportation and communication with the capital.

Originally, the Nguyen Lords chose Phu Xuan as their capital for many years. Therefore, King Gia Long chose this site to build the Citadel on a larger scale, located on the land of 8 villages: Phu Xuan, Van Xuan, Dien Phai, The Lai, An Van, An Hoa, An Buu and An My.

In terms of feng shui, in front of the citadel is Ngu Binh mountain more than 100 meters high, with a flat top, beautiful shape, balanced in the middle of the plain as a natural screen. The two sides are Con Hen and Con Da Vien, depicting Thanh Long, on the right of Bach Ho (green dragon on the left, white tiger on the right) making the dragon bow to the tiger to show respect for the king. The waterway is a wide section of the Perfume River, lying between two curved dunes like a bow that brings vitality to the citadel.

Historical significance of Hue Citadel

The Hue Citadel was personally selected by Gia Long and marked with landmarks, surveyed in 1803, started construction in 1805 and completed in 1832 during the reign of King Minh Mang. The surface area of ​​Hue Citadel is 520ha.

Hue Citadel has great defensive value. Around the body of the citadel there are 24 fortresses, and a sub-citadel is Tran Binh Dai (Small fish gills). All these works together with the protective outer ring of Ho Thanh Ha created a solid defense system.

Prominent buildings in Hue Citadel include Ngo Mon Gate, Imperial Citadel, and Forbidden City

Ngo Mon is located south of Hue Citadel. This is the main door of the Imperial Citadel and is a complex and massive architectural complex. Looking back from the green, Ngo Mon is like a magnificent and magnificent castle with a hierarchy built from a long open stone slab leading to Ngu Phung floor. This is the check-in place of any visitor when coming to Hue.

The Imperial Citadel is the second citadel of the Hue Imperial Citadel, designed as the residence of the king, the royal family as well as the working place of the court. This is also a place to worship ancestors and kings of the Nguyen Dynasty.

The Imperial Citadel was built in 1804 under King Gia Long. Completed in 1833 under King Minh Mang. The Imperial Citadel is arranged with 4 gates, of which the main door is Ngo Mon. In addition, inside the Imperial Citadel, there are Thai Hoa Palace, Dien Tho Palace, Hien Lam Cac …

The Forbidden City is the innermost citadel of the Imperial Citadel, formerly known as the Citadel. This place was built in 1803 and named the Forbidden City from 1821 – the 2nd year of Minh Mang. The Forbidden City is rectangular in design, the front is Dai Cung Mon. Inside the citadel, there are relics such as Duyet Thi Duong, Can Chanh Palace, Can Thanh Palace, Dong Cauldron…

In the history of Vietnam in modern times, the construction of Hue Imperial Citadel is probably the most massive and large-scale project with tens of thousands of people participating in the construction, millions of cubic meters of soil and stone, with a large amount of work. giants dug trenches, filled rivers, migrated, moved graves, built citadels… lasted for 30 years under two dynasties

The architecture of Hue Citadel is a close intellectual combination between architecture and nature. This is the knowledge and talent of the Vietnamese people in the first half of the 19th century.