La gente se endeuda por millones para ser enterrada en este cementerio 💀💰

Summary

This video script explores the extravagant tombs of Hue, Vietnam, where people invest in opulent resting places for the afterlife. From the mausoleum of Emperor Hai Din, with its unique art and short sculptures reflecting his stature, to the 'City of Ghosts' filled with modern, expensive tombs for ordinary people, the script delves into the cultural significance of death and respect for ancestors in Vietnamese society. It also touches on the historical context of migration and wealth influx, leading to the current ostentatious burial practices.

Takeaways

• 💰 The tombs in the cemetery are extremely expensive, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, reflecting the high value placed on resting places by some cultures.
• 👷‍♂️ Ordinary people work their entire lives to afford such lavish tombs, using expensive materials and intricate details to honor the deceased, akin to the resting places of emperors.
• 🕍 The video is set in Hue, the ancient capital of Vietnam, known for its opulent and impressive tombs, including the 'City of Ghosts'.
• 🎨 The artist responsible for the impressive ceiling paintings in one of the tombs created the artwork using his feet, showcasing a unique and skillful creative process.
• 🤴 The tomb of the penultimate emperor of Vietnam, Hai Din, is highlighted, emphasizing the extravagance of tombs as architectural works.
• 🗿 Human sculptures in the tombs are made short to reflect the stature of the emperors, who were not tall, indicating a desire for consistency in the afterlife.
• 🤹‍♂️ A peculiar historical fact is shared about the requirement for eunuchs to work in the royal lands to prevent any temptation towards the king's wives.
• 🏺 The emperor's representative tomb is a mystery, with its true location unknown, and only a few workers privy to the secret, many of whom were killed to preserve the secret.
• 🌄 The City of Ghosts, a massive cemetery spanning over 250 hectares, contains extravagant tombs for ordinary people, reflecting a shift in cultural values and wealth.
• 💸 The extravagant tombs are a result of remittances from Vietnamese living abroad, especially in the United States, who have sent money back home, leading to the construction of lavish homes and tombs.
• 🙏 The importance of respecting the dead in Vietnamese culture is evident, with altars for ancestors common in homes and businesses, and the belief in communicating with the afterlife through incense.

Q & A

Why are the tombs in the cemetery so expensive?

The tombs are expensive due to the intricate details, use of expensive materials, and the belief in providing a resting place worthy of an emperor for the deceased, even by people with ordinary jobs.

What is the significance of the city of Hue in Vietnam?

Hue is the ancient capital of Vietnam and is known for its opulent and impressive tombs, including those of emperors.

What is unique about the mausoleum of Emperor Hai Din?

The mausoleum of Emperor Hai Din is unique for its impressive architecture, the fact that it covers about 5000 m² for a single burial, and the human sculptures made with short stature to not exceed the emperor's height.

How did the artist responsible for the ceiling painting in Hai Din's mausoleum work?

The artist painted the ceiling using his feet, climbing ladders and placing the brush on his little fingers, demonstrating extreme skillfulness.

Why are the sculptures in the emperor's tomb small in stature?

The sculptures are small because the emperor was only 1.42 meters tall, and he did not want any other human being to be bigger than himself.

What was the requirement for anyone who wished to work for the king in the royal lands?

To work for the king in the royal lands, one had to be a eunuch, castrated before crossing the gates to the estates to avoid temptation with the king's wives.

Why is the exact value of the emperor's tomb unknown?

The exact value is unknown because, in addition to the cost of construction, the tomb could contain an unknown amount of gold, and the location of the actual burial site is a secret, known only to a few.

What is the cultural significance of incense in Vietnam, especially in relation to tombs?

Incense is believed to allow communication with the afterlife through fire, and it is common to see incense stores near cemeteries and used in shamanism ceremonies.

How did the City of Ghosts, or the City of Millionaire Spirits, come to be?

The City of Ghosts came to be as a result of Vietnamese migrants sending money back home from abroad, allowing the construction of luxurious tombs despite the area previously being a poor fishing community.

What is the reason behind the ostentatious tombs in the City of Ghosts?

The ostentatious tombs are a reflection of the locals' belief in respecting the dead and the desire to provide a grand resting place, even for ordinary people.

Why do some tombs in the City of Ghosts have partially covered floors and protective mica on the tombstones?

These features indicate that the tombs are for people who are still alive, with the floors waiting to be uncovered upon death and the protective mica hiding the names until the individuals pass away.

Outlines

00:00

🏰 Opulent Tombs and the Legacy of Vietnamese Emperors

The video script introduces viewers to the extravagant tombs in Hue, Vietnam, where ordinary people invest their life savings to ensure a regal resting place. The focus is on the mausoleum of Emperor Hai Din, showcasing the impressive architecture and detailing the unique features, such as the short human sculptures reflecting the emperor's height and the ceiling paintings created by an artist using his feet. The script also delves into the emperor's personal life, including his height, the number of wives, and his infertility. It discusses the historical practice of castration for those working in the royal lands and the mystery surrounding the emperor's burial site, which remains unknown despite French attempts to locate it. The economic impact of the tombs is highlighted, with the potential value being in the millions, including the cost of construction and the speculated hidden gold.

05:01

🌿 The City of Ghosts: Modern Luxurious Tombs and Cultural Shifts

The script continues with a visit to the City of Ghosts, a vast cemetery with over 250 hectares, housing luxurious tombs of ordinary people from modern times. It contrasts with the previous paragraph by emphasizing the non-royal origins of these tombs and the recent wealth influx from the Vietnamese diaspora. The narrative explains the historical context of the area, which was once a poor fishing community until the economic reforms of the 1990s allowed migrants to send money back home, leading to the construction of extravagant tombs and houses. The script also touches on the local belief in respecting the dead, the importance of incense in communication with the afterlife, and the craftsmanship and artistry involved in tomb construction. It concludes with a reflection on the contrast between the luxurious tombs and the unknown living conditions of the tomb owners.

10:04

🏡 The Curious Customs of Vietnamese Funerals and Ancestral Respect

The final paragraph delves into the peculiar customs surrounding Vietnamese funerals and the cultural emphasis on ancestor worship. It describes the partially constructed tombs with protective mica on the tombstones, indicating the names of family members who are expected to be buried there in the future. The script humorously speculates on the potential for family disputes and the impact on one's place in the family tomb. It also reflects on the investment in cemeteries compared to the living conditions, questioning if the same level of luxury is present in their homes. The video concludes with a broader contemplation of the human desire to prove oneself even after death and a farewell to the viewers until the next video.

Keywords

💡Tombs

Tombs are burial chambers or vaults, often for significant figures such as emperors or the wealthy. In the context of the video, tombs symbolize the lavish expenditure and respect for the afterlife, with some costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. The script mentions the tombs in Hue, Vietnam, as examples of opulent and impressive structures, reflecting the societal values and beliefs about death.

💡Emperor

An emperor is a sovereign ruler, often of an empire, and the term connotes power and grandeur. The video discusses the mausoleum of the penultimate emperor of Vietnam, Hai Din, to illustrate the extravagance of tombs built to honor such figures. The emperor's stature and the desire to have no other human representation exceed his height are highlighted, showing the tomb's personal significance.

💡Afterlife

The afterlife refers to the belief in a realm or state of existence following death. The video's theme revolves around the elaborate preparations and structures created for the afterlife, such as the tombs and mausoleums. The script mentions the 'next plane' and the belief that incense can facilitate communication with this otherworldly plane.

💡Architectural Works

Architectural works are designs and constructions that reflect artistic and engineering skills. The video describes the tombs as impressive architectural works, emphasizing their grandeur and the resources spent on them. The mausoleum of Hai Din is cited as an example, where the space and craftsmanship are indicative of the high regard for the dead.

💡Inference

Inference in this context refers to a deduction or conclusion drawn from evidence and reasoning. The script uses inference to discuss the emperor's height and the resulting artistic choices, such as the short stature of human sculptures in his tomb, to avoid overshadowing the emperor.

💡Craftsmanship

Craftsmanship denotes the skill and quality of work produced by craftsmen. The video highlights the craftsmanship involved in creating the tombs, with the artist painting the ceiling using his feet and the detailed work on sculptures and mosaics, showcasing the dedication to artistry in honoring the dead.

💡Eunuch

A eunuch is a man who has been castrated, often historically for service in harems or royal courts to ensure fidelity. The video mentions the curious practice of requiring eunuchs to work in the royal lands to prevent any temptation towards the king's wives, illustrating the extreme measures taken to maintain loyalty and purity.

💡Capitalist Region

A capitalist region is an area where economic and political systems are based on private ownership and the pursuit of profit. The script refers to the historical context of Vietnam being a capitalist region before 1975, which influenced the economic migration and the subsequent wealth that enabled the construction of lavish tombs.

💡Migration

Migration is the movement of people from one region or country to another. The video discusses the mass migration of Vietnamese people in the late 1970s due to political changes, leading to the establishment of Vietnamese communities abroad and the eventual economic impact on the homeland, including the funding of extravagant tombs.

💡Incense

Incense is a substance that releases fragrant smoke when burned, often used in religious or spiritual ceremonies. The video describes incense as a significant element in Vietnamese culture, used to communicate with the afterlife. The script provides an example of how incense is made and its importance in the local industry and rituals.

💡Respect for the Dead

Respect for the dead is the act of honoring deceased individuals, often through rituals, ceremonies, or commemorative structures. The video's main theme is the extent to which Vietnamese culture invests in tombs and the afterlife, indicating a profound respect for ancestors and the deceased, which is evident in the elaborate tombs and the prevalence of altars in homes and businesses.

Highlights

Tombs in the cemetery can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, reflecting the effort of ordinary people to secure a resting place as grand as an emperor's.

The city of Hue, Vietnam, is known for its opulent and impressive tombs, some of which are visited in this transcript.

The mausoleum of Emperor Hai Din showcases impressive architecture and the unique practice of making sculptures shorter to reflect the emperor's stature.

An artist painted the ceiling of Hai Din's mausoleum using his feet, demonstrating extraordinary creativity and skill.

The tomb of an unnamed emperor covers more than hectares and features small sculptures due to the emperor's short stature.

The emperor had over 100 wives but no children due to infertility, and a curious historical fact about eunuchs working in the royal lands.

The emperor's actual burial site remains a mystery, possibly hidden within the 10-hectare complex under lakes or guarded by fish.

Only four workers knew the true burial site, while over 200 others were killed to keep the location secret.

The French attempted to find the emperor's burial site by digging around the area, affecting the mosaics' appearance.

The value of the tomb is incalculable due to the extensive use of craftsmanship and potential gold reserves.

In Vietnam, incense is used to communicate with the afterlife, with a thriving incense industry and unique methods of making incense.

The City of Ghosts, a massive cemetery with over 250 hectares, features extravagant tombs for ordinary people.

The extravagant tombs are a result of remittances from Vietnamese migrants who became successful abroad.

The craftsmanship and art in the tombs are indicative of the high costs involved in their creation.

The local belief system emphasizes the importance of respecting the dead, with altars in homes and businesses.

The contrast between the lavish tombs and the simple lives of the people reflects the cultural values and priorities.

The City of Ghosts includes tombs for people who are still alive, with names inscribed and spaces prepared for future burials.

The transcript provides a deep cultural insight into the Vietnamese perspective on death and the afterlife.

Transcripts

In this cemetery, many of the tombs cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

People with ordinary jobs work all their lives to be able to have a rest worthy

of an emperor, from all the details to the expensive materials they use.

The beliefs people have about death will never cease to amaze.

We are in the ancient capital of Vietnam, the beautiful city of Hue, and today

we will concentrate on visiting Thombs.

Some of the most opulent and impressive tombs in the region are located here.

We will even visit the one known as the city of ghosts.

A tremendous adventure full of absurd contrasts, legends and respect for the

next plane, the afterlife, awaits us.

We start at the mausoleum of the penultimate emperor of Vietnam, Hai Din.

This is another example that some of the most impressive architectural works of

our planet are always tombs, they have always wasted hundreds of thousands,

millions of dollars to pay respect to a dead, to a corpse.

In this space of about 5000 m², only one person is buried.

The human sculptures that can be seen were made with a short stature, because

the emperor was about one meter sixty and he did not want any other human being

to be bigger than himself.

Are you looking at the impressive paint job on the ceiling? Well, the artist

responsible for this did it entirely with his feet.

He was a very creative artist here, very crazy.

And yes, it is said that he used to climb ladders, he would put his brush on his

little fingers, like a little dog, extremely skillful.

Who are we to judge the creative process of a genius? What we have just seen has

no comparison with the tomb of the emperor, I hope I am pronouncing it

correctly, which has more than hectares of surface.

It is said that this emperor was very small, that he was only 1.42 meters tall,

and that is why all these sculptures that we see are quite small.

And yes, look, they are all very small. My brother-in-law was probably nicknamed

the nun, because she was a little mother.

It is said that this emperor had more than 100 wives, but curiously, he never

had a single child, because he was infertile.

A curious and rather obscure fact is that anyone who wished to work for the king

in the royal lands had to be a eunuch.

They were castrated before crossing the gates to the estates so that they would

not be tempted to mess with one of the king's wives.

Wow, how disturbing, how dark working in the royal fields, but at what a cost.

This is the emperor's representative tomb, and I say representative because no

one really knows where he is buried.

It could be anywhere in the 10 hectares, under the waters of the lakes, among

the fish, well guarded, with all his gold, because he did not want anyone to

steal it.

Greed at its best.

It is said that only four of his workers knew where he was buried, because the

more than 200 who helped in the process of being buried were killed by the dynasty.

Many years later, when the French arrived in the territory, they dug the

surrounding soil with the intention of finding him.

That, in fact, is why you see two different shades of mosaics. Nothing new, just

Europeans, plundering territories as they have done throughout history.

So, yes, to know the exact value of this tomb, how much it cost, is something

impossible, because in addition to the millions it surely cost to make the lakes

and the tombstones and all the craftsmanship, it could be more than triple in

the valuable resource of gold.

Just as in many parts of the world it is common to see large flower markets

outside cemeteries, in this region it is more usual to see many incense stores.

The explanation for this is because it is believed that through fire one can

communicate with the other plane, with the afterlife. In fact, we are now

commenting on a shamanism ceremony for the channel.

I recommend that you go and watch it in case you are interested in this subject.

I personally find it fascinating.

And yes, in many, many countries in Asia you will see that there is a huge

incense industry and it is really very beautiful.

They make beautiful figures with the colors, the aromas are enchanting, to the

point that it has even become something very touristy.

Here the saleswoman friends show you how incense is made, which I had never

thought of. Basically, it is dry wood.

Look at this thing we are seeing here, quite wet, isn't it? Yes, this texture is excremental.

It is basically wood extract, to which they then put natural flower essences.

And then, by rolling it like this you can... Look, let's see, like this, like

this, like this, like this. Here we go.

There is more or less my incense, you roll it on a stick and then you rub it

with the powder, which will make it burn easier and smell good.

According to many religious or simply spiritual ideologies, fresh incense must

always be present in the tombs.

Hey, how nice it is to travel in Vietnam, how warm the people are, they love the

photos, the videos and it is being very easy to move around using my GPS, my

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Let's continue.

We have arrived at the City of Ghosts, also known as the City of Millionaire Spirits.

This cemetery with more than 250 hectares of surface, to put it in a more

understandable way, more than seven times Disneyland, where there are about 3000

tombs of up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

And wow, it is very impressive the level of detail they put into it.

I want to clarify that unlike the ones we saw before, these tombs do not belong

to royalty, ancient emperors.

These tombs are of ordinary people and of modern times.

In fact, in many of them there is not even someone buried yet, but people in

life are still building the spaces in which they will rest with their relatives

once they retire from our plane, the plane of the living.

And the reason why this luxurious and ostentatious cemetery exists, in fact, has

a most peculiar context, because until a few decades ago the town where it is

located was a fishing community in which there was no money to spare and

suddenly they are wasting tens of thousands of dollars on tombs that seem to

belong to kings and emperors.

We should know that this whole area of Vietnam used to be the capitalist region

until 1975, when the country was divided in two.

Once the Communist Party ruled the whole territory, people here were very much

afraid of being persecuted, imprisoned.

That is why at the end of the 70's a massive migration movement took place in

which literally millions of Vietnamese left the territory in small heavy boats.

Fishing boats, to refugee camps in Hong Kong, to later be sent to other

countries around the world.

As a result, to date, more than 2 million Vietnamese live in the United States

and it was not until the early 1990s, when an economic relationship began to

develop between the two countries, that the migrants were able to start sending

money to their families in the United States.

Then, the people who lived in this poor fishing village where property is quite

cheap, began to receive economy in dollars and were able to start building huge

houses and tombs worthy of a king himself.

In fact, as you drive through the streets, it is shocking to see the size of the

properties and how luxurious they look.

They build palace-like gates and adorn them with intricate mosaics.

Many of the buildings we are seeing are valued in the tens of thousands of

dollars, some even in the hundreds of thousands. When I first read this, I

didn't believe it.

I was like, how ostentatious can they be, what is so much money going into.

But seeing the level of detail that goes into it, I did believe it, because

craftsmanship is well known to be very expensive.

And seeing the complexity of art that exists here, because that's what it is,

it's art, of course I can imagine how so much money would be wasted.

How curious to think that the ideology of the people here dictates them to work

all their lives for the day of their death.

We are flying the drone and this is how you can see how massive the site is and

how impressive many of these structures are.

See, this one even has a lake. Wow, that was very, very expensive. More than

tombs, these are mausoleums.

This is an example of a tomb of people who are still alive.

We can tell by how the floor is partially covered, as if waiting for its owners

to pass away and lift it up and bury it.

And likewise, by the tombstone that has the names written behind a protective

mica, as if they already know which members of the family are going to be here.

And all at once they wrote the names there waiting for them to die. What a crazy

and harsh mentality, drinking your name on a tombstone when you are still alive.

And what that week you made your grandfather mad, then your grandfather took you

out of his will: Ay, ungrateful grandson.

And he had the tombstone made, so you are no longer there, all your cousins are

there, your uncles and aunts are there.

And you just because you pierced your ears, painted your hair and your

grandfather told you: I dishonor you, you no longer go out there. No, look how

hard all this is.

And look, for example, at this stone sculpture, how long did it take to make it

and how much did it cost? Yes, all this makes us think and see, I make this

comment not as a criticism, merely as an observation for us to think, to analyze.

Will their houses be as luxurious and beautiful in life as their houses will be

in their times of death? If someone were to bring me here without context and

tell me that this is a centuries-old religious temple, I would believe him.

But no, it turns out that this tomb might belong to Aunt Nguyen, who owns the

little shop on the corner.

And the fact that locals invest so much in their cemeteries makes a lot more

sense when you understand the importance given to respecting your dead in Vietnam.

For example, every store you go into will have altars, every person's house will

have an altar for the deities, for their dead.

Yes, they believe very much in paying respect to their ancestors.

Well, what a level of tombs we have seen today.

A strong reflection of the complexity of the human mind that makes us want to

continue proving something, even when we are no longer alive.

Thank you very much for joining me. See you, as always, as you know, in a few

days with a new video. Goodbye.