Looking for the digital library - The Imperial City
Because the LRCs are relatively new, there are not extensive archives. The lack of available older material is a problem for the digital libraries course, since typically archival materials are chosen for digitizing. Intellectual property issues and the addition of unique materials to the world’s digital collections encourage the digitization of archival materials. In Hué, some preliminary contact has been made by the Hué LRC with families holding old mandarin materials.
However, the digital libraries course needs materials to digitize now. Therefore, Patrick and I have been searching for older library or archival materials. Last Saturday, we went to the Citadel in Hué, not as only tourists, of course, but on a quest to appraise the potential of materials to digitize, such as rubbings, scrolls, and books. It was a professional appraisal visit, although our behaviors were perhaps indistinguishable from other tourists. We were guided by some of the students.
The Citadel was built by the Emperor Gia Long, founder of the Nguyen dynasty, who moved the capital from Hanoi to Hué. Construction began in 1805 and lasted roughly 30 years, and was designed to be three concentric circles. The Forbidden Purple City lies at the center of the Imperial City. The Citadel, the Imperial City, and the Forbidden Purple City are all protected by moats fed by the Perfume River. The Imperial City contains the Emperor’s administrative offices, parks, and dynastic temples, and contains the Thai Hoa Palace (The Palace of Supreme Harmony).
During the battle of Hué in the Tet Offensive, 1968, in the Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975 (The American War), which Stanley Karnow described as the “most bitter battle” of the war, much of the Hué and the Imperial City was leveled. Although the restoration work continues on the Citadel, evidence of the battles is still apparent. In addition to the nine sacred cannons, seized from the Tay Son army in the early 19th century, there is a nearby display of 40 year old cannons, howitzers, and light tanks.
In the quest for library materials, I picked up “Life in the Forbidden Purple City,” by Ton That Binh, Da Nang, Da Nang Publishing House, 2002(?). The unique past of Hué was found at the Citadel, but regretfully nothing to digitize other than this book, which was not archival.
Terry in Hué