Monday, October 23, 2006

The Graduates 151006

This is a medical school and the graduates' names are proudly inscribed on these ancient stone tablets ...



... carried by huge tortoises.


The names are all in classical Vietnamese scripts (similar to Chinese writing system). This wonderful script has since been replaced by the boring Latin script by the French colonists in the 19th century.


Characters are very similar to Chinese, thanks to Chinese influence in the old days.


And I wonder if anybody at present can actually read and understand them. It's a lost heritage.