A ceremony was held in Hanoi on July 30 to receive a certificaterecognising a collection of official administrative documents of theNguyen Dynasty as documentary heritage of the Memory of the WorldProgramme in Asia-Pacific by UNESCO.
Thecollection is comprised of 85,000 documents bearing the seals of 11Nguyen Kings (1802-1945), including royal edicts and decrees, reports tothe King, and credentials. They are extremely valuable historicalmaterials reflecting the political thoughts, guidelines and polices ofthe Vietnamese State in its internal and external relations.
The documents also serve as an important legal basis for affirmingVietnam’s sovereignty over its sea and islands. Among them, 18 werereports to the King providing detailed information on the NguyenDynasty’s exercise of sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa(Spratly) archipelagoes.
The meansin which people were sent to Hoang Sa and what they did there aredetailed in the documents, which also feature decisions made by the Kingto honour those who made great achievements to the development of theislands and punish those who failed to fulfill their tasks.
The documents also served as a material for Nguyen Dynasty historiansto write the Dai Nam Thap Luc (Veritable Records of Dai Nam)collection, which also proved Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa andTruong Sa archipelagoes throughout its history.
The State Archives Department has assigned the National ArchivesCentre I to draw up plans to preserve and promote the value of thedocuments. A Vietnamese-English bilingual website will be established,while more publications on them will be introduced to the public.
Earlier, UNESCO recognised three items of Vietnam as documentaryheritage. They are the wooden printing blocks kept at the NationalArchives Centre IV in the central city of Da Nang, the Buddhism woodenprinting blocks at Vinh Nghiem Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City and 82 steleshonouring doctors at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi.-VNA
Thecollection is comprised of 85,000 documents bearing the seals of 11Nguyen Kings (1802-1945), including royal edicts and decrees, reports tothe King, and credentials. They are extremely valuable historicalmaterials reflecting the political thoughts, guidelines and polices ofthe Vietnamese State in its internal and external relations.
The documents also serve as an important legal basis for affirmingVietnam’s sovereignty over its sea and islands. Among them, 18 werereports to the King providing detailed information on the NguyenDynasty’s exercise of sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa(Spratly) archipelagoes.
The meansin which people were sent to Hoang Sa and what they did there aredetailed in the documents, which also feature decisions made by the Kingto honour those who made great achievements to the development of theislands and punish those who failed to fulfill their tasks.
The documents also served as a material for Nguyen Dynasty historiansto write the Dai Nam Thap Luc (Veritable Records of Dai Nam)collection, which also proved Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa andTruong Sa archipelagoes throughout its history.
The State Archives Department has assigned the National ArchivesCentre I to draw up plans to preserve and promote the value of thedocuments. A Vietnamese-English bilingual website will be established,while more publications on them will be introduced to the public.
Earlier, UNESCO recognised three items of Vietnam as documentaryheritage. They are the wooden printing blocks kept at the NationalArchives Centre IV in the central city of Da Nang, the Buddhism woodenprinting blocks at Vinh Nghiem Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City and 82 steleshonouring doctors at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi.-VNA
