Solutions proposed for demolished tomb of king’s wife in Hue
Hue yet to rebuild bulldozed royal tomb after 15 months

Two red circles on the map show the two tomb sites of the royal concubines Hoc Phi and Le Thuy Thuc Thuan. — Photo thanhnien.vn

The map was discovered by researcher Ho Vinh from Hue City.

The map provides historical information on the site for officials who had previously proposed two solutions to rebuild the tomb, which was bulldozed over by a construction company that was clearing the site to build a parking lot in 2017.

The map, named Hoa Do Lang Tam (Map of Mausoleums) with a scale of 1/2000, includes pictures of Tu Duc King’s Mausoleum in Duong Xuan Thuong Village in Thuy Xuan Commune in Hue City.

It was drawn on tracing paper sized 0.51 x 0.55m and published by the agriculture department of the Thua Thien-Hue Revolutionary People’s Committee in December 1975.

The map was signed and sealed by Van Lang, the department’s deputy director.

The map features land plots of the mausoleum for Royal Concubine Hoc Phi, a wife of the king (in plot number C215), and a mausoleum area for Royal Concubine Le Thi Thuc Thuan (in plot C217).

The images on the map correspond to the same position where the tomb of Royal Concubine Le Thi Thuc Thuan existed before it was bulldozed over in June 2017.

The Culture and Sports Department of Thua Thien-Hue Province previously proposed two solutions, one of them being the resumption of the project to build a parking place for tourists to visit the mausoleums of kings Tu Duc and Dong Khanh.

The project has been delayed after the public voiced concern about the matter since the case was discovered in 2007.

King Tu Duc, born in 1829, was the fourth and longest-reigning (1847-1883) king of the Nguyen Dynasty. He had 103 wives, but few reports on his wives exist.

VNS