Work set to begin on Queen’s memorial

The commune is about 20km from the city centre. Construction costing VND13 billion (nearly US$743,000) is expected to be completed before next year’s 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi.

The project’s steering board, the Association for Preservation of Thang Long-Ha Noi Cultural Heritage, launched a social programme and asked individuals and organisations to donate to the construction. The commune’s administration allocated 1,148sq.m for the project.

Several studies will cover nearly 20 years in the queen’s life and her contributions to the nation during the Tay Son dynasty (1778-1802) when she became queen.

Several ancient designs for use in the building, such as an altar and chamber, were suggested by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The project’s focus will be o­n building temples for the queen, her husband King Quang Trung and their children and preserving tombs of Han and her mother. The site will also have gates, lobbies, yards and gardens.

Many seminars were held to research her life and career and finalise the memorial in her mother’s village. The association’s president Luu Minh Tri, said the queen was a cultural and historical celebrity. From a graceful and clever princess, she became a fine and talented queen who was devoted to nationally-important works.

Princess Le Ngoc Han (1770-99) was the ninth daughter of King Le Hien Tong (1717-86) of the Later Le dynasty. She spent most of her childhood in the commune, her mother’s birthplace. Historical records indicate she was a talented and beautiful woman.

She married Nguyen Hue (1753-92) at the age of 16. When Hue became King Quang Trung in 1788, she was o­ne his vital advisers until he died in 1792.

Mutinies followed a power shift and Han, as Queen, led the country through difficulties and united it after opposition was suppressed in 1795.

Han died aged 29 in 1799 in Hue city. A renowned writer, she was remembered for her Funeral Oration for King Quang Trung and poem Ai Tu Van (My Own Sorrow), which highlighted her love and faithfulness to her husband.

Han and her two children were buried in the commune between 1804-43 but due to a long-held animosity towards the Tay Son dynasty, King Thieu Tri of the following Nguyen dynasty, ordered workers to throw the trio’s remains into a river.

To continue worshipping their heroine, locals built an empty tomb in the ground where several other residents were buried.

Authorities, struggling to meet the project’s deadline, say it will be a time-consuming relocating graves before starting construction.