Tomb of queen mother vandalisation under investigation

Authorities in the former imperial city of Hue are investigating the vandalisation of the tomb of Emperor Duc Duc's mother.

Local authorities find the tomb was vandalised on November 19

Emperor Duc Duc's reign only lasted for three days from July 19 to 22 in 1883. His mother Tran Thi Nga’s tomb was only discovered on July 5 by the Nguyen Phuc family when searching for the family's missing graves in the mountainous area in the south-west of Hue City. Tran Thi Nga died in 1911 and was the seventh wife of Prince Kien Thuy, the fourth brother of Emperor Tu Duc.

The tomb is near Tu Hieu Pagoda and well-preserved featuring carvings and decorations, covering 200 square metres with walls and two entrances. Unfortunately, the burial site was apparently dug up by thieves during 1989-1990.

A headstone before being damaged

The place where the headstone was put up has been vandalised again this month and the damaged headstone was removed from the stand. The headstone was installed around 1905-1906, the same time the tomb was completed.

On the headstone, it is stated that the tomb was made by a son for his mother with surname Tran who was the seventh wife of Prince Kien Thuy and given a posthumous name of Trang Thuan.

Chairman of Thuy Xuan Ward Nguyen Van Hoa suspected that the tomb had been vandalised by people searching for valuables. The Nguyen Phuc family has reported to the Hue Relic Preservation Centre and Thuy Xuan Ward People's Committee to find the culprit.