Nine Dynastic Urns Hue

The capital of Thua Thien province, Hue is known for the magnificent architecture of its citadels, palaces, royal tombs, pagodas and temples contrasted against a luxuriant scenic background of greenery on the banks of the Perfume River.One of the famous Historic sites of Hue is the Nine Dynastic Urns, Hue.

In 1836, Emperor Minh Mang was cast the Nine Dynastic Urns, Hue to be a symbol of sovereignty of the dynasty. These nine big bronze Uurns are the biggest Uurns in Vietnam and placed in the shade of the Hien Lam Pavilion, in front of the The Mieu Temple.

Each of the Nine Dynastic Urns, Hue is named after the posthumous title of the emperors worshipped in the Dynastic Temple - The Mieu Temple . For instance, Cao Urn is named after Emperor The To Cao (Gia Long), Nhan Urn is named after Emperor Thanh To Nhan (Minh Mang), Chuong Uurn is named after Emperor Thieu Tri, Anh Urn is named after Emperor Tu Duc, Nghi Urn is named after Emperor Kien Phuoc, Tuyen Urn is named after Emperor Dong Khanh and Thuan Urn is named after Emperor Khai Dinh.

Corresponding to these seven Urns, only seven altars were constituted in The Mieu Temple (till 1958) because Du Urn and Huyen Uurn did not exist so far.

When the casting was completed, the Nine Dynastic Urns, Hue were placed accordingly with the temperament of the altars in the Mieu Temple. Cao Urn is placed in the center and in the first row. The other Urns line behind the Cao Urn and are placed symmetrically on both sides. 17 traditional Vietnamese patterns like stars, rivers, mountains, seas and oceans, vehicles, valuable forestry and sea products, etc are sculptured on each Urn. The 153 patterns on the Nine Dynastic Urns represent an actual encyclopedia on the country.

At first glimpse all the Nine Dynastic Urns, Hue look alike though each one varies in size, weight and markings. Every Urn is named after the posthumous title of the emperors, worshipped in the Dynastic Temple.

Name	Height	Height of handle	Legs	Mouth	Weight
Cao Urn	2.50m	0.48m	1.05m	1.38m	2.601kg
Nhan Urn	2.31m	0.42m	0.87m	1.36m	2.512kg
Chuong Urn	2.27m	0.41m	0.95m	1.35m	2.097kg
Anh Urn	2.25m	0.42m	0.94m	1.37m	2.595kg
Nghi Urn	2.31m	0.41m	0.89m	1.37m	2.575kg
Thuan Urn	2.32m	0.42m	0.95m	1.36m	1.950kg
Tuyen Urn	2.45m	0.54m	0.93m	1.37m	2.066kg
Du Urn	2.34m	0.43m	0.96m	1.38m	2.018kg
Huyen Urn	2.31m	0.41m	0.95m	1.41m	1.935kg