History books of Nguyen Dynasty record that after ascending the throne in 1802, Emperor Gia Long established the medicine agency to serve the court. However, it was not until the reign of Emperor Minh Mang that the structure of Thai Y Vien (Imperial Medicine Institute) was gradually completed. From then on, the recruitment of personnel to Thai Y Vien was extremely tight and serious.

The Union of Science and Technology Associations of Thua Thien Hue Province has just launched a book titled “The Imperial Medicine Institute (Thai Y Vien) of the Nguyen Dynasty: History and development prospects”, which is a 440-page book published by Hue University Publishing House.

Thai Y Vien was a form of medical service in ancient Hue. How to exploit this heritage, making it into a tourist product and service is what people involved are seriously thinking about.

Few people think that common fishy ingredient can be used to make that strange che (a sweet dish). But more than that, in Minh Mang’s era, Thai Y Vien (the Medical Institute) studied and adjusted the ingredients to make it one of the 25 royal sweet dishes.