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My
Son, located 69 km southwest of Danang, was
an imperial city during the Cham dynasty,
between the 4th and 12th centuries. My Son
Sanctuary is a large complex of religious
relics that comprises more than 70
architectural works. They include temples
and towers that connect to each other with
complicated red brick designs. The main
component of the Cham architectural design
is the tower, built to reflect the divinity
of the king.
According
to records on the stone stele, the prime
foundation of the ancient My Son
architectural complex was a wooden temple to
worship the Siva Bhadresvera genie. In the
late 16th century, a big fire destroyed the
temple. Step by step, historical
mysteries were unveiled by scientists.
Through stone stele and royal dynasties,
they proved My Son to be the most important
Holy Land of the Cham people from the late
4th to the 15th centuries. For many
centuries, the Cham built Lip, a mutually
linked architectural complex, with baked
bricks and sandstone. The main temple
worships the Linga-Yoni, who represents the
capability of invention. Beside the main
tower (Kalan) are several sub-towers
worshipping Genies or deceased kings.
Although time and the wars have destroyed
some towers, the remaining sculptural and
architectural remnants still reflect the
style and history of the art of the Cham
people. Their masterpieces mark a glorious
time for the architecture and culture of the
Cham, as well as of Southeast Asia.
Each
historical period has its own
identity, so that each temple worshipping a
genie or a king of a different dynasty has
its own architectural style full of
different impression. All of the Cham towers
were built on a quadrate foundations and
each comprises three parts: a solid tower
base, representing the world of human
beings, the mysterious and sacred tower
body, representing the world of spirits, and
the tower top built in the shape of a man
offering flowers and fruits or of trees,
birds, animals, etc., representing things
that are close to the spirits and human
beings.
According
to many researchers of the ancient Cham
towers, the architectural art of the Cham
towers at My Son Sanctuary is the
convergence of different styles, including
the continuity of the ancient style in the
7th-8th centuries, the Hoa Lai style of the
8th-9th centuries, the Dong Duong style from
the mid-9th century, the My Son and My
Son-Binh Dinh styles, etc. Among the
remnants of many architectural sites
excavated in 1898, a 24 metres high
tower was found in the Thap Chua area and
coded A I by archaeologists and researchers
on My Son. This tower is a masterpiece of
ancient Cham architecture. It has two doors,
one in the east and the other in the west.
The tower body is high and delicate with a
system of paved pillars; six
sub-towers surround the tower. This two
storey tower looks like a lotus flower. The
top of the upper layer is made of sandstone
and carved with elephant and I ion designs.
In the lower layer, the walls are carved
with fairies and water evils and men riding
elephants. Unfortunately, the tower was
destroyed by US bombs in 1969.
After
the My Son ancient tower complex was
discovered, many of its artifacts,
especially statues of female dancers and
genies worshipped by the Cham people,
worship animals and artifacts of the daily
communal activities, were collected and
displayed at the Cham Architecture Museum in
Danang city. Although there are not many
remnants left, those that remain display the
typical sculptural works of cultural value
of the Cham nationality. Furthermore, they
are vivid proof, confirming the history of a
nationality living within the Vietnamese
community boasting of a rich cultural
tradition |
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