VND48 billion for preserving the Temple of Literature

      Dang Kim Ngoc, director of Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam Culture and Science Centre, talks about the Literature Temple preservation and upgrading project, which is estimated to cost VND48 billion (US$2,699,000).
Though he is not directly involved in the project, Ngoc discusses the matter as a member of managing board of the heritage.
Many wooden works at Van Mieu have been painted in red lacquer in previous upgrades. Will these works be repainted?
The Literature Temple can be divided into two parts:
The Dai Bai area stretches from the entrance gate to Khue Van Cac (constellation of literature) built in the 18-19th century, which has been painted before.
The Thai Hoc area was rebuilt in 2000 and has not been painted with red lacquer and varnish paint. The wooden works should have been painted a few years ago but the task has been delayed for various reasons.
The hall of steles, which was rebuilt in 1994, has not been painted either.
The Thai Hoc area will be painted this time while the Dai Bai area will not be repainted due to budget constraints.
The project also includes gilding some important decorative patterns. Why does it cost so high?
Varnish is to protect the wood, while red lacquer paint makes the wood beautiful like that in lacquer paintings. The traditional technique of lacquer painting is rather expensive, as you can see in the price of lacquer paintings.
There are some types of gilding at the site: gilding with real and fake gold and with silver. Gilding with real gold, which is very expensive, is done in some important and guarded places in the site like altars. Different from gilding with fake gold, gilding with real gold can last for seven decades.
All wooden parts in the whole Thai Hoc area, and eight halls storing steles, will be painted. The announced cost of VND48 billion doesn’t surprise me. That’s why we have mentioned only Thai Hoc area for painting this time.
Which patterns will be gilded?
We have proposed to gild with silver the characters in parallel sentences and gild with gold decorative patterns in altars. The content of the project will clarify which ones.
How do you judge the effect of the painting work? Will it be worth the money?
I think it is necessary to paint and gild timber works at the Literature Temple. It will help enhance the beauty and solemnity of the relic, which is not only a national relic but also an international heritage site. As you may know, we have completed a file to submit to the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation for recognition of 82 steles at the temple as part of the world’s documentary heritage.
We can imagine how glorious the temple will be after being painted and gilded, especially at night when lanterns are lit. It will look like Hue citadel, where 100 per cent of the wooden works have been painted.
Some ancient wooden works have recently been painted by industrial techniques, which has not only reduced aesthetic beauty of the works but also negatively affected the durability of the works. The public wonder how will the new paint affect the appearance of the Literature Temple. Some people hold that the wooden works would look more antique if left plain (without being painted). What do you think?
Well, I think it’s a proper worry. I suppose the techniques should be done with great care in the Literature Temple. Before drafting the project, we have consulted specialists and managers. We have even proposed to use traditional paint made from prestigious paint producers. We even paint as a trial in certain parts to check the colour.