Submitting Nguyen Dynasty's Royal Records as world documentary heritage
Vietnam is building a dossier to submit to UNESCO to recognize the memorials and petitions of the Nguyen Dynasty - the only remaining administrative documents of the feudal dynasty in our country's history - as a world documentary heritage.
Handwriting of 10 Nguyen Dynasty kings
19 Royal documents of the Nguyen Dynasty in an exhibition. Photo:You Cong.
The memorials and petitions of the Nguyen Dynasty from the beginning of King Gia Long's reign (1802) to the last year of King Bao Dai's reign (1945) were "royally approved" and "royally read" by the king. In principle, the royal approval marks must be in vermilion ink, but in some cases, they are only red pencil marks.
This block of Nguyen Dynasty documents is being preserved at the National Archives Center I, under the Department of State Records and Archives. This is a block of administrative documents of the Royal Dynasty, most of which were approved by the Nguyen Dynasty Emperors and left with handwritten notes on the documents.
Over hundreds of years, the Nguyen Dynasty's Royal Records, although damaged and degraded due to climate, war, and storage conditions, are still preserved today and are one of the most precious archival documents. The Royal Records not only demonstrate their uniqueness in form, but the royal notes of the Emperors also contain a wealth of information, with high reliability, reflecting all aspects of Vietnam's socio-economic issues from the early 19th century to the mid-20th century.
The Imperial Archives are the only remaining administrative documents of the feudal dynasty in Vietnamese history.
To have more scientific basis for the construction of the dossier, the Department of Records and Archives and the Vietnam Historical Science Association organized the workshop "Cau Ban Nguyen Dynasty - Potential of documentary heritage" for scientists to evaluate the value of the document block from the perspectives of content, meaning, uniqueness and regional and international influence of the Chau Ban Nguyen Dynasty documents.
At the conference, most delegates highly appreciated the national and international value of the Royal Records. No scientist doubted or denied the rarity, uniqueness, authenticity, reliability and truthful reflection of the Royal Records. Scientists all expect that the Royal Records of the Nguyen Dynasty will soon become a National Treasure and be recognized by UNESCO as a World Documentary Heritage.
After studying the active and effective administrative working method with close and systematic coordination between the king and officials in the Cabinet, the Six Ministries and the Censorate, Hue history and culture researcher Phan Thuan An said: "With its authenticity and high level of reliability, the minutes have become a cultural heritage with strong academic value for the country."
"If we define culture as books and wise people of the past, then Chau Ban deserves to be an integral part of Vietnamese culture.
Sharing the same view, journalist Nguyen Van Ket (Vietnam Archives Magazine) said that, in general, the block of administrative documents of the Nguyen Dynasty created during 143 years of existence has high authenticity, it clearly and specifically shows the state activities of the entire Nguyen Dynasty government system.
According to Mr. Ket, this collection of documents has contributed to creating a new style in the development of the system of Vietnamese administrative documents.
Dr. Vu Thi Phung, head of the Department of Archival Studies and Office Administration, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, commented that administrative documents of the Nguyen Dynasty have many notable characteristics, which are heritages of special value. They were created, circulated, managed, used and then archived on the basis of the strict document regime of the Nguyen Dynasty.
"It is the specific and scientific regulations in the administrative law system of the Nguyen Dynasty on the types, uses, and writing styles of administrative documents that have contributed to ensuring the legal value and high reliability of the information contained in the documents," said Dr. Phung.
According to the doctor, through the administrative documents in the Chau Ban block, people not only understand the contemporary socio-economic situation, but also understand more about the thinking and strict management methods of the Nguyen Dynasty state through the administrative document system.
With the above values, scientists believe that Vietnam
Regarding this issue, Dr. Tran Hoang, Vietnam Archives Association, said that initially, the minutes should be officially honored as rare archival documents and national treasures. This would create more favorable and convincing conditions for Vietnamese agencies to use them.
Dr. Dao Thi Dien, Vietnam Historical Science Association, through the published manuscript of the late respected teacher - Professor Philippe Langlets on a Chau Ban of the Tu Duc Dynasty in 1874, sent out the message: "Perhaps it is time for archival documents to be socialized so that Vietnamese and world scientists do not have to accept the regretful reality like Professor Philippe Langlets."
"And only then can researchers give up the habit of looking for stories told by foreign tourists when researching Vietnamese history.
Previously, the Nguyen Dynasty's Imperial Records were an important source of original historical data for compiling historical books and legal books under the Nguyen Dynasty such as Dai Nam Thuc Luc, Kham Dinh Dai Nam Hoi Dien Su Le, Kham Dinh Viet Nam Su Thong Giam Cuong Muc and Minh Menh Chinh Yeu.
Today, the Imperial Archives are a reliable source of historical data that helps scientists research and reconstruct the history of the Nguyen Dynasty in the fields of politics, economics, and diplomacy.
According to (Vnexpress) - KN