Minh Mang was the second king of the Nguyen court. His birth name was Nguyen Phuc Dam (alias Kieu). He was born on 23 April, the Year of the Pig (25 May, 1791) at Tan Loc villge, Gia Dinh province. He was the fourth son of King Gia Long and his queen Thuan Thien Hoang Hau (her birth name is Tran Thi Dang). When he was but a child, the king proved to be intelligent and fond of his classes. He was good at both literature and martial arts; in 1815 he was convened to live at Thanh Hoa palace for apprentice lessons on national administration. In 1820 he ascended the throne in Thai Hoa Palace when he was already 30 years old and, consequently, having known well how to govern the court.
Among the different reigns of the Nguyen Court’s kings (thirteen of them in all), King Minh Mang’s is regarded as owning the greatest affluence and power. The king is credited with great merits in his adminittration of the nation . During his reign of more than 20 years, King Minh Mang carried out a lot of helpful changes as regards domestic and international affairs, as well as reformations concerning the national economy, politics and society, and as well as affairs concerning the royal family.
On 28 December, the Year of the Rat ( 20 Jan, 1841), the king passed away at Quang Minh palace, at the age of 51. His successor, King Thieu Tri, offered him the posthumous title Thanh To The Thien Xuong Van Chi Hieu Thuan Duc Van Vu Minh Doan Sang Thuat Thanh Hau Trach Phong Cong Nhan Hoang De.
Most of the Nguyen kings had their mausoleums built while they were still reigning, and in accordance to that custom, King Ming Mang, after he was on the throne for seven years, sent his courtiers who were good at feng shui to carry out surveys for a feng shui favourable site, “an ever-auspicious location “, for his mausoleum.
In 1826, the courtier in charge of feng shui affairs, Le Van Duc, succeeded to pick out a site at Cam Ke mountain, An Bang hamlet (now Huong Tho commune, Hue city), which was near to the confluence Bang Lang, the site where the two branches of the Perfume river, the Left branch and the Right branch, join to make up the river. It is later referred to as the Tuan confluence. However, the king was careful and asked his mandarins to carry on their researching. It was not until April 1840 that the king went to survey the site in person, and selected it as the location for the mausoleum. He had the name of the mountain, Cam Ke, changed to Hieu Son, and named his mausoleum as Hiếu Lăng. As such, the search for burial site cost the court 14 years.
The construction of Hieu mausoleum was started in September, 1840. While the building was going on, the king passed away on 20 January, 1841. A month later, on 21 February 1841, King Thieu Tri ordered the Ministry of Construction to deploy troops and workers to continue the construction of the mausoleum for Dai Hanh Hoang De Minh Mang (the name by which the court referred to the king while he had died but had not been buried yet). The construction was directed by the high-ranking madarins Ta Quang Cu, Ha Duy Phien, Nguyen Huu Le, Nguyen Tri Phuong, Ton That Duong, with a labour force of about ten thousands of soldiers and workers, all to complete the mausoleum in accordance to the plan agreed to by the Ministry of Construction, and which was ratified by King Minh Mang. The construction was basically finished in 1843.
Hieu mausoleum has an area of about 16.5 hectares. This is a complex of 40 architectural works, big or small, built in accordance to the Confucianist concepts. The architecture appears solemn but still looks well harmonized with the natural background. This points to the talents of the then architects. The mausoleum has its back supported by the two mountains, the lower one is Hieu Son, and the higher one Kim Phung mountain (regarded as the master mountain of Hue) and faces South East. The Perfume river in front is regarded as its “minh đường” [ energy-gathering space]. The range of mountain on the other side of the river is its “tiền án” [the front protective screen]. On the left there is Ngoc Tran mountain to be the “Tả thanh long” [the blue dragon on the left] and on the right there is Ton Son Mountain as “Hữu bạch hổ” [the White tiger on the right]
The main part of the architectural complex of Hieu Mausoleum was laid out along a central axle, đường thần đạo [the Main Access reserved for the king], which is about 700m long. These are works dedicated to the king, which are roofed wih Yellow enamel tiles, while the subordinate works arranged symmetrical on both sides of the central axle are reserved for the mandarins and the ladies. These are roofed with Green enamel tiles.
Hieu Mausoleum included Dai Hong Mon [the Great Gate], The Courtyard, Stelea House, Hien Duc Gate, Sung An Temple, Hoang Trach Gate, Minh Belvedere (Belvedere of Light), The tomb section, The Consecrated Bulwark - The Holy Abode, Subordinate construction works in the mausoleum.