Hue's garden houses - A humane living space - Final part

Some say, "Because of its sparse population, Hue has abundant land for building garden houses." Others disagree, saying, "As the capital of a country, a place where the nation's human resources converged for nearly two centuries, how can you say it's sparsely populated? Hue has many garden houses because that's the lifestyle of the people of Hue."

I think differently. It was the natural conditions that influenced the temperament and sensibilities of the people of Hue, shaping the garden houses in this imperial city. For the people of the Red River Delta, living in a densely populated delta environment, their perception of nature was almost inextricably linked to the low-lying rice paddies. Therefore, if a garden existed in their minds, it had to be a productive one, with a fish pond, livestock pens, vegetable gardens, and a few fruit trees to ensure the family's self-sufficiency. Just as depicted in Nguyen Khuyen's poetry:"A deep pond with abundant water makes it difficult to catch fish with a net. A large garden with a sparse fence makes it hard to chase away chickens."Meanwhile, the people of Southern Vietnam live in fertile fields where egrets fly freely, so in their minds, there is no image of bamboo groves or rows of tea plants to define gardens or garden houses—concepts that always contain spatial limitations (!). For the people of Southern Vietnam, there is only the vast orchards with abundant fruit trees, not the kind of garden that is sheltered or enclosed as the word itself implies.Pill(園) in Chinese characters, with radicalVi(囗) surround.

Ancient Hue was formerly Thuan Hoa, known as "O Chau, the land of evil," a treacherous region with dense forests and poisonous waters, where the feudal dynasties of Dai Viet exiled criminals. During their southward migration, Vietnamese people from Thanh Hoa and Nghe An who settled in Thuan Hoa had to confront this harsh natural environment. They had to battle ferocious animals, strange terrain, and unfavorable weather. Furthermore, due to Thuan Hoa's role as a "borderland" of the nation, the Vietnamese settlers there constantly faced harassment from bandits, especially from Cham warriors who never accepted the reality that the O and Ly regions of the ancient Champa kingdom were now part of the southern territory of neighboring Dai Viet.

Living in such a volatile environment, the people of Hue chose to create gardens as a form of defense. With gardens, they felt safer, as the gardens pushed the wildness of the mountains and forests further away from their homes. The more numerous and expansive the gardens, the greater the distance between humans and the wild, unpredictable nature. The gardens of the people of Thuan Hoa at that time served a defensive purpose, creating a minimum safe space for their owners against the threats of nature, animals, and enemies. This is why Hue today has so many gardens, and they are all large. This is what makes Hue's garden houses different from those elsewhere.

The people of Hue live in a unique landscape: looking up, they see majestic mountains; looking down, they encounter the vast ocean; to the south, a winding green river flows; and to the north, endless stretches of sand dunes lie. Nature unfolds before the eyes of the people of Hue, encompassing mountains, hills, rivers, streams, lagoons, and the sea. The land of Hue is not fertile enough for trees to bear abundant fruit to sustain its people. The sky of Hue..."When it's sunny, mud turns to stone; when it rains, stone turns to mud."(from Phung Quan's poem), therefore, the harvests could not be abundant. Living in such a natural environment and climate, the people of Hue had no intention of establishing gardens for profit.

Gardens are merely places for recreation, expressing the worldview of the people of Hue. The wealthy and educated apply feng shui principles to the mountainous terrain of Hue, with its valleys, hills, and plains, to create picturesque natural landscapes for their own enjoyment. Others seek quiet, tranquil spaces for relaxation and contemplation. Even the poor, lacking sufficient land for a garden, strive to create a small garden beneath their roof, as a way of showing their connection with nature.

Researcher Liu Shangwen commented:“Originally, gardens were a sign of human habitation, a link to other communities. Gardens connected, bringing houses in to fill the barren spaces of newly cultivated areas. Therefore, gardens were bridges of camaraderie among people, not ‘gaps’ between relationships, as a garden today often suggests. This unique characteristic, apart from the gardens of Hue, is rarely found anywhere else, bestowed by history with this strange ‘cultural essence.’ Hue gardens are places that harbor close relationships with one another, with the people around them.”. (Lieu Thuong Van, "Hue Garden",Perfume River(No. 6/1998, p. 71).

From the early "defensive" gardens, the people of Hue gradually transformed these living spaces into "cultural gardens." In particular, the combination of Hue gardens with traditional houses, a typical form of folk architecture in Central Vietnam, has created a distinct and unique cultural heritage:Hue garden houseFurthermore, the emergence and existence of the Nguyen dynasty in Hue for nearly a century and a half laid the groundwork for the formation of Hue's garden house architectural style. Besides the imperial gardens within the Citadel, the Imperial City, and the tombs of the emperors, the mansions and residences of the Nguyen aristocracy and officials in the Citadel, An Cuu, Vi Da, Kim Long, Nguyet Bieu, Phu Cat, Phu Hoi... gave Hue its distinctive name:garden city.

Today, even though the appearance of the garden city has changed, there are still famous garden houses that fully embody the spirit and characteristics of Hue's garden houses, faithfully reflecting the essence and lifestyle of the people of Hue. Amidst the bustling streets, amidst the rows of narrow, modern houses trying to put on a glamorous facade, one can still find garden houses with arched gateways, ornate Chinese couplets made of ceramic, and ancient stucco screens that seem to shield the tranquil, traditional houses inside from the hustle and bustle of the city outside.

In those ancient gardens and old houses, Hue culture is preserved with all its beautiful values ​​and its unsettling conservatism. The humanistic essence of Hue culture and the meticulousness of the Hue way of life permeate every room, every carving on the rafters, beams, and panels, every tree, and every corner of the garden. The people of Hue seem to try to integrate all their perceptions of feng shui, history, culture, gratitude to ancestors and nature, compassion for fellow human beings, and an inexplicable adherence to hierarchy in the construction of a garden house. They create screens and winding paths to avoid invisible evils and visible abruptness, as well as to maintain the reverence of the house. They create ponds (or shallow pools) with rockeries in front of the house to maintain feng shui balance and ward off misfortune. They create solemn worship spaces inside the house to express gratitude to Heaven, Buddha, and ancestors. They divided their homes into separate spaces to maintain family hierarchy and discipline, instilling in their children doctrines that many "modern-day" individuals considered outdated. They decorated their homes, carving or gilding where necessary to transform their residences into works of art and to showcase their education and aesthetic sense. They selected suitable trees, planting them in layers from the outside in, and using them for specific purposes: some for their fragrance, some for their fruit, some for their flowers, and others simply to provide shade for travelers wandering through the sweltering midday heat of Hue. And when someone in the family passed away, they hung mourning cloths on the trees as if they were close family members.

Hue's garden houses are places that hold such sacred things. Perhaps that is why Hue's garden houses hold a special place in Hue culture and have become one of the symbols of the land of the Perfume River and Ngu Mountain.

Text and photos:Tran Duc Anh Son

The Thanh