Abstract

Hue Tuong is a royal-rooted theatrical form in the world cultural heritage city of Hue. Drawing on ethnographic observation, practitioner interviews, archival materials, and practice-based analysis, this article examines how Hue Tuong’s bodily practice—especially face painting, costuming, choreographic conventions, and a codified character system—embeds cultural memory and fosters identity formation through education. We employed a qualitative design using field observations, semi-structured interviews with master artists, and archival/documentary sources as the main research instruments. Data collection took place in Hue, focusing on rehearsals at the Duyệt Thị Đường Theatre, festival performances, and practitioner testimonies from the La family lineage. Materials such as photographs, costume catalogues, and training manuals were also gathered. The data were analyzed through thematic coding and semiotic interpretation, identifying how colors, lines, beards, costumes, and movement sequences communicate ethical and social meanings. The findings show that face painting and costumes operate as semiotic codes of morality and rank, choreographic vocabularies serve as embodied pedagogy, and character typologies provide moral models. Moreover, Hue Tuong festivals function as “living classrooms,” revitalizing intangible heritage for youth audiences. Implications are offered for curriculum design, teacher education, and heritage-centered arts programs.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.