Vietnam National Museum
of history
The
National Museum of Vietnamese History is housed in a magnificent example of
Indochinese architecture, which were until 1910 the French consulate and the
residence of the governor general.
The
building was also home to the Ecole Francaise d'Extreme Orient (EFEO), during
which time it became a museum to exhibit EFEO finds. Over time the building
deteriorated, and it was not until the early 1930s, following a seven-year
renovation, that what you can see now was realized. The entrance gives on to an
impressive two-storey rotunda with exhibits all around and in many galleries to
the rear.
The
contents are as fascinating as the building. The ground floor traces Vietnam's
ancient history, from the first Neolithic finds through to those of the 15th
century. Some items date back as far as 10,000 BC and feature more than just
the requisite pottery shards and axe heads. The jeweler, tools and household
items archaeologists have unearthed -- along with human and animal remains --
paint a compelling picture of the people who inhabited the region long ago, and
provide a sense of how they are tied to Vietnam's modern inhabitants. There's
also an excellent selection of bronze drums dating back as far as 500 BC.
Ancient military history is also touched on. Corny dioramas of famous battles
aside, some of the wooden spikes used by Tran Hung Dao to skewer the Mongolian
fleet in 1288 are on display.
The
upstairs of the rotunda has a small though impressive collection of Champa
pieces -- if you missed the Champa Museum in Da Nang, now is your chance. The
rest of the second floor goes from the 15th century up to the 20th. Some
familiar sights are here in terms of temple statuary and pearl-inlay furniture,
but the statue of Guan Yin -- the 'thousand armed, thousand eyed' manifestation
of the Bodhisattva -- is second only to the one in the Fine Arts Museum
Vietnam National Museum of
Ethnology
This
is the most recent yet probably the largest and undoubtedly the most interesting
Museums in Hanoi and Vietnam. The Museum comes out of the recognition that
Vietnam is a multi - ethnic country and that more attention should be paid to
promote socio - cultural diversity. Despite being out of the way compared with
other museums in Hanoi, Vietnam Museum of Ethnology is worth a thorough visit,
for those who are keen to learn about the multiculturalists of Vietnam and for
those would appreciate some green apace.
There
are indoors section while the in - housed exhibition is particularize, the
outdoors display and actives make the museum stand out from the rest. There is
a number of house modeling after the traditional architecture of ethnic
minorities, especially those while live in Northern and Central highlands
You
will be blown away by the elaboration of these architectures, at the same time
being thoroughly need in traditional mages and activities such as water puppet
show, calligraphy, stone game (O An Quan). The museum is especially a great
choice for those who cannot find time to visit remote areas where live the
majority of Vietnam ethnic minorities
Hue Museum of Royal Fine
Arts
The
Royal Fine Arts Museum has been relocated from nearby the citadel to a former
royal residence downtown known as Cung An Dinh or An Dinh Palace. It’s an
impressive building that was commissioned by Khai Dinh, Vietnam’s second last
king in the early twentieth century. It was almost totally ruined during its
post 1975 life as the Hue Labour Union headquarters.
The
museum is modest given its subject matter but it’s definitely worth a visit.
It’s located in a small structure in the grounds of the main palace and the
collection includes pottery, porcelain and costumes from the Nguyen Dynasty.
The
main palace building has recently been restored as part of a German Government
aid project with the help of German specialists. It contains a number of large
murals and other ornate wall decorations.
You
can easily combine a visit here with a visit to the Tu Cung residence a couple
of hundred meters away westward along the canal. Information here is even
scarcer than at most of Hue’s historical sites but it seems both the last two
queens lived here at different times during the twentieth century. There are
photos and other memorabilia of Vietnam’s final two imperial families.
Cham Museum in Danang
The
Cham Museum in Danang is the largest collection of Cham sculpture and artwork
in the world. Whenever visiting the museum, you still perceive an individual
atmosphere particular to this place, the reverie of reminiscences.
Situated
in a quiet area of Da Nang City, Cham Museum was built in 1915 according to the
motifs of ancient Cham Architecture. At first it was named the Henry Parmenties
Museum. The museum is officially known as the Museum of Champa Sculpture. The
kingdom of Champa (or Lin-yi in Chinese records) controlled what is now south
and central Vietnam from approximately 192 through 1697. The empire began to
decline in the late 15th century, became a Vietnamese vassal state in 1697, and
was finally dissolved in 1832. At present, the museum houses 297 stone and
terracotta sculptural works made between the 7th and the 15th centuries. These
are impressive works typical of the Cham culture.
According
to Chinese chronicles, the Champa kingdom was founded in 192 A.D and had
different names such as Lin-Yi, Huang-Wang and Chang-Chen. Its territories
stretched from south of the Ngang Pass in Quang Binh Province to the delta area
of the Dong Nai River in Binh Thuan Province. It included the coastal plains,
highland and mountain ranges.
Influenced
by the early Hindu civilization, the Champa kingdom was a federation of several
smaller states called Mandala and comprised several ethnic groups.
The
most important legacy of the Champa kingdom is located in Central Vietnam in
the form of brick temples and towers which are scattered over the coastal
lowlands and highlands. The structures date from between the 7th and 8th
centuries to the 16th and 17th centuries and are concentrated in Quang Nam,
Danang, Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan.
The
Cham Museum was built in Cham architectural style, using thin lines that are
simple and gentle. The museum displays an intensive and diverse collection of
Champa sculpture dating from the 7th to the 15th centuries, when a matriarchal
society prevailed.
The
museum was established at the end of the 19th century by the Ecole Francaise
d'Extreme Orient with a collection of artifacts gathered in central Vietnam,
from Quang Binh to Binh Dinh. They were then displayed at Le Jardin de Tourane
on a small hill by the Han River. This is the site of the present museum. The
building was designed by two French architects, Delaval and Auclair, in
imitation of the most commonly used aspects of Champa towers and temples. At
present, the museum displays approximately 300 sandstone and terra-cotta
sculptures, among which some are made from terracotta. Most of the artifacts
are masterpieces of Champa art and some are considered to be equal to works
anywhere in the world. The sculptures were collected from Cham temples and
towers throughout Central Vietnam, more specifically the area stretching from
Quang Binh to Binh Thuan. All the sculptures are displayed in ten showrooms
named after the localities where the pieces have been discovered.
After
viewing the pieces in the showrooms, you can visit exterior exhibitions. The
arts of the Champa were chiefly sculpture, but the sculptures are only part of
the religious architecture. The temples and towers themselves are considered to
be sculptural artifacts. They are decorated on the exterior of their brick
walls with bas-relief columns, flowers and leaves and worshipping figures
between brick pillars. The tympana, lintels and the ornamental corner pieces
are of sandstones carved with the figures of gods, the holy animals of the
Hindus and flowers and leaves.
The
artifacts displayed at the museum are altars, statues and decorative works
collected from Hindu and Buddhist temples and towers. Champa sculpture displays
various styles. Sometimes they were influenced by other cultures but no matter
at what period or in what style the Champa artifacts were made they always
displayed original characteristics.
Visitors
to the museum will have the opportunity to appreciate the eight centuries of
evolution of Champa sculpture from its golden age to its decline. In their own
way, the artifacts exemplify the rise and fall of the Champa civilization. When
we stand before these artistic masterpieces we can comprehend the noblest ideal
of art, the creation of the infinite from the finite. The eight centuries of art
at the Champa museum is a thick history book reflecting the ups and downs of
Champa art. From inanimate stones came living art, and from these wonderful
invaluable artifacts we can get the feeling that the warmth from the Champa
artists' hand is still there, on the fine skin of the stone-timeless.
The
sculptures displayed here almost have the same drifting life as the very
destiny of the once-glorious culture that generated them. Through the ruins of
time, war and even the oblivion, such original Champa sculptures were hardly
collected and brought here by many human generations. And in this systematic
collection, these works of the ancient Champa artists again have a new life.
Coming
to visit the museum, it seems that you can see again the glorious time of the
past of a nation for whom both the passion for art and the creative talent were
already at a very high level. The mysterious world of deities, the pictorial
legends, the religious symbols, the curving lines of the bodies of dancing
girls, the features of full swelling breasts, the smiles of a vague time, all
of these are shown very lively and in much in details.
The
art of Champa, although influenced by the Hindu themes of India and Southeast
Asia, has many elements that make it distinctive. Temples in Champa were made
of bricks. As a result, artists did not have long expanses of wall to decorate
with bas-reliefs depicting Hindu epics or phases of Buddhist life as seen, for
example, at Angkor Wat. The Chams incorporated their sculptures into their temple
architecture by carving them separately and making them part of the
construction. These carvings are classified into four main groups: Icons;
Pedestals; Pediments; Fragments of architectural decorations at the base or on
various ties of the temple.
War Remnants Museum
War
Remnants Museum, formerly known as Saigon’s Exhibition House of American War
Crimes, portrays the horrors and details of the Vietnam War. At present it is
located within an assemblage of warehouses. However its new building adjacent
to its present location is under construction. This museum standing near the
city’s famous Reunification palace, with its halls filled with gruesome
photographs and a real guillotine, depicts some of the worst brutality that
happened during the Vietnam War.
For
its graphic descriptions of napalm, photographs of victims and actual weapons,
Agent Orange and phosphorus bombs, it is the most crowded of all the museums in
Ho Chi Minh City. One room of this museum is devoted to the protest that went
on across the globe during those days of war. The disturbing displays of the
museum depict the cruelties involved in the killing of innocent civilians,
torturing of prisoners, the spreading of poisonous defoliant and the effects of
the war in the north.
Tanks,
bombs, planes, helicopters used during the Vietnam War are also kept in the
Saigon’s War Remnants Museum. Some rooms outside the museum exhibit cultural
products, giving you a glimpse of the Vietnamese culture. Since its inception
more than six million people have visited this famous museum in Saigon. Among
its millions of visitors around one million are foreign tourists.
This
article written by Lanh Nguyen from Vietnam Heritage Travel
For
original article, please visit:
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