This study explores the hybrid aesthetics embodied in the court architecture under Emperor Khai Dinh (1916-1925) as a distinctive expression of Vietnam’s cultural modernization during the early 20th century. In the transitional period between tradition and colonial modernity, Hue’s imperial monuments, such as Khai Dinh’s Mausoleum, An Dinh Palace, and Kien Trung Hall-became architectural palimpsests that fused Eastern cosmological symbolism with Western stylistic and material innovations. Through a qualitative and comparative approach combining morphological analysis, iconography, and postcolonial aesthetics, this research investigates how Khai Dinh’s architectural projects negotiated power, identity, and modernity. The study situates these works within the theoretical framework of postcolonial hybridity and cultural translation, viewing architectural hybridity as both an aesthetic choice and a political discourse. Findings suggest that the fusion of Baroque, Rococo, and Art Deco elements with Confucian-Buddhist iconography was not merely decorative but reflected an emerging “vernacular modernity,” in which Vietnamese elites redefined cultural identity amid colonial transformation. By reinterpreting these monuments as dynamic cultural texts rather than passive relics, the paper contributes to broader discussions of Southeast Asian architectural modernity and heritage interpretation in postcolonial contexts.

Authors:
Trường Giang Lê Vũ, University of Sciences, Vietnam
Ngọc Tùng Nguyễn, University of Sciences, Vietnam

About the Presenter(s)
Lê Vũ Trường Giang, lecturer at the Faculty of History, University of Sciences, Huế University, is passionate about traveling, painting, and writing novels. He is currently conducting a research project funded by Huế University.

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