Thua Thien Hue in the first half of the nineteenth century (1802 - 1858)
The rules are roughly the same as those of the Le dynasty. Under the king, everything was done by the Ministry: the Ministry of Domestic Affairs, the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of Laws, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Infantry. In addition to the six ministries, there is a censorate. In 1834, Emperor Minh Mang established the Privy Council to discuss the issue of the national army.
Gia Long Emperor divided the territory from north to south into 23 Tran and 4 Doanh. In the 12th year of Minh Mang (1831), the court divided from Quang Tri to the North into 18 provinces, and after 1832, continued to divide from Quang Nam to the South into 12 provinces. The whole country now has 30 provinces and Thua Thien province. In the 15th year of Minh Mang (early 1835), the court added 3 more districts in Thua Thien: Phong Dien, Huong Thuy and Phu Loc. Thus, up to this point, Thua Thien has all 6 districts: Phong Dien, Quang Dien, Huong Tra, Phu Vang, Huong Thuy, and Phu Loc.
In the nineteenth century, Thua Thien Hue included the capital, so it was often paid attention by the Hue court to the people, developing all fields to create a firm place for the dynasty.
Economically, the Nguyen Dynasty had preferential policies for agricultural development in Thua Thien, banned the purchase and sale of public land, set up Thuong Binh warehouses, Cultivale department, Plantation department, Binh Thua Depot, Tien Nong esplanade, tax exemption in case of crop failure, construction of irrigation works, embankment of saltwater dam, canal excavation, river excavation. In 1808 the Duong Xuan River was dug, in 1814 the An Cuu River (Loi Nong) was dug, in 1835 the Pho Loi River was dug. However, until the first half of the nineteenth century, the level of technology in agricultural production was still limited, tools had not made important advances and crop yields were still low.
Together with agriculture, handicrafts Thua Thien Hue in the first half of the nineteenth century, there was also a significant development, many craft villages became famous: Phuoc Tich pottery village (Phong Dien); Trieu Son hat village (Huong Tra); Su Lo Dong (Phu Loc), Phu Cam (Hue); iron smithing and smelting villages in Phu Bai (Huong Thuy), Hien Luong (Phong Dien); copper casting in Duong Xuan; embroidery in Hue; carpentry and sculpture of My Xuyen... The handicraft operation has two divisions, in addition to folk craft villages, there is also a handicraft workshop managed by the court. The crafts have contributed to the face of Hue culture, boldly imprinted on the physical architecture and in the spiritual life of people. In addition to the handicrafts, in Hue, there are also the most famous sea salt production villages, Diem Truong and Phung Chinh (Phu Loc).
A large part of the craftsmen gathered in a professional organization was the Tuong Cuc (statue)(called Ty, or Doi in Gia Long period). The number of Tuong Cuc in the capital is many, statues can be produced independently or become a part of a large workshop - the imperial court.
The development of handicrafts not only contributed to meeting the needs of royal life and the construction of the capital but also created a source of goods to promote business development. In the first half of the 19th century, the network of district markets was evenly formed throughout Thua Thien Hue such as Gia Hoi, An Van, Thanh Ha, Kim Long, Nam Pho, An Cuu, An Nong, Phu Le, Dai Loc...., the markets are the center of exchange between localities in the region and with Hue capital. In addition to the market, there is also a system of village markets. In particular, the development of Bao Vinh trading port plays an important role in the trade between Thua Thien Hue province and foreign countries.
In general, handicrafts and trade in Thua Thien Hue in the first half of the nineteenth century had a significant development compared to the previous one. However, due to the imperial government's "agricultural policy", handicrafts and trade have not yet developed to their full potential, and are still subject to many constraints of feudalism and smallholder agriculture.
In terms of transportation, in Thua Thien Hue under the Nguyen Dynasty, in addition to waterways on rivers, on lagoons and along the sea, many bridges were built. Along the roads, stations are established: Thua Nong, Thua Hoa, Thua Luu and Thua Phuc stations in Phu Loc district; Thuan Lan station in Phu Vang; Thua An and Thua My stations in Phong Dien. Roads and stations played an important role in communications at that time.
In terms of culture, cultural and educational achievements in the first half of the nineteenth century the country is most clearly reflected in Thua Thien Hue.
Under the Nguyen Dynasty, the school system was opened up to districts. Quoc Tu Giam was also opened to train talents to serve the country. Along with the school system, the examination is also regular, Huong exam is held from the sixth year of Gia Long (1807) and the Hoi exam has been held since the third year of Minh Mang (1822). Every three years, Huong exam is held, the following year, the Hoi exam is held. Thua Thien Examination School was built in 1825 and continuously hosted examinations under the Nguyen Dynasty.
Under Minh Mang, in 1836, the court also founded a special school specializing in teaching foreign languages, called Tu Dich Quan to train people who are good at foreign languages to serve the relationship with other countries.
The National History of the Nguyen Dynasty, founded in 1820 has collected thousands of ancient books of previous times, and published many important historical and geographical works such as Kham Dinh Viet Su Thong Giam Cuong Muc, Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi, Dai Nam Thuc Luc, Dai Nam Liet Truyen,...
Music, stage: All kinds of court music are circulated with Nha Nhac, Giao Nhac, Mieu Nhac, Ngu Tu Nhac, Dai Trieu Nhac... In addition, Hue music has two main lines: Hue folk music and Ca Hue. The Tuong stage developed strongly, besides the Tuong line serving the court, there was also a folk Tuong line.
Hue has a royal architecture with many monumental and large-scale architectural works built through the reigns of Gia Long, Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, Tu Duc, which are the main parts of Hue relic complex recognized by Unesco as a world cultural heritage. Besides, there are also architectural lines of pagodas, temples, communal houses, and rustic housing architecture.
Religion: The early kings of the Nguyen Dynasty were aware of the important role of Confucianism in consolidating the centralized feudal regime, so they attached great importance to Confucianism. For Buddhism, although there are strict regulations on the construction of pagodas, casting bells, decorating statues, vegetarian pagodas... "From now on, only restored the damaged pagodas and temples, built new pagodas and statues, casted bells, vegetarian festivals, are all banned" (National History of the Nguyen Dynasty Dai Nam Thuc Luc, vol 1, p 586), but many Nguyen Dynasty kings carried out renovation of pagodas, construction of many public pagodas (pagodas built by the court) such as Thien Mu, Giac Hoang, Dieu De, Thanh Duyen.... In general, the Nguyen kings did not completely reject Buddhism but had an attitude of reconciling Confucius - Buddha. For Christians, the Nguyen Dynasty enforced restrictive policies.
Regarding the social life of the people of Thua Thien Hue in the first half of the nineteenth century, being a scribe's land, although it is more favored than other areas in the country, the people's lives are still miserable, and tax and faction are heavy. The social divide deepened with the formation of the aristocracy and the commoner class. More than anywhere else, in Thua Thien Hue, the people clearly feel the weight of the feudal hierarchy, order, and class.
Construction of Hue Capital under the Nguyen Dynasty
After defeating the Tay Son dynasty, on May 5, 1802 (the year Nham Tuat) Nguyen Anh chose Phu Xuan as the capital, set up the altar of heaven and earth, and ascend the throne, setting the era name Gia Long. In 1804, Emperor Gia Long changed the national name to Vietnam.
On April 4, 1805, the Nguyen Dynasty started the construction of the Imperial City. More than 3 soldiers and civilians from Quang Binh to Quy Nhon were mobilized to Hue. By 1807 an additional 80.000 soldiers in Thanh Nghe and Bac Thanh were put to work day and night. In the beginning, the wall was covered with soil, and the wood covered the outside. In the 17th year of Gia Long (1818) newly built bricks on two sides West and South. The North and East sides were built in 1822. In 1832, during the reign of Minh Mang, construction was completed and then renovated many times.
The location of the original Hue Imperial City was chosen by the Nguyen Lords to be the capital of the land of Dong Trong from 1687 to 1775, and then the Tay Son dynasty was used as the capital of the country from 1788 to 1801. King Gia Long chose this place to build the Imperial City 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.
The citadel was built in the Vauban style, with an almost square shape, area of 520ha, and circumference of over 10.500m. The system of citadels (including Citadel (outer citadel), Imperial City (the second citadel), and Forbidden City (inner citadel) are all located on an axis, facing south-southeast, built based on the terrain of Ngu mountain, Huong River. The main axis of this system runs through the middle of the Ngu Binh mountain peak.
The Imperial City was the most important political and administrative center of the imperial court, built in 1804 and upgraded and completed in 1833. The Imperial City has an area of 36ha, with a nearly square shape, each side about 600m. In the Imperial City, there are more than 100 beautiful architectural works divided into many different areas, keeping their own functions.
The Forbidden City in the heart of the Imperial City is the living area of the king and the royal family. The Forbidden City has an almost square shape with a circumference of 1.200m. In the Forbidden City, there are more than 50 large and small architectural works, including many golden, splendor and magnificent palaces.
Hue Citadel has great value in terms of defense. Around the city, there are 24 fortresses, with a sub-citadel Tran Binh Fort (Mang ca nho). All of those works together with the outer protective ring of the Citadel have created a solid defense system.
The architecture of Hue Citadel is an intellectual combination of architecture and nature. This is the knowledge and skill of the Vietnamese people in the first half of the nineteenth century.