Third prize winner Nguyen Huy Oanh with the world documentary heritage 'Hoang Hoa Su Trinh Do'

In the 18th century, the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and China were quite stable, with many diplomatic missions between the two countries. From 1702 to 1783 alone, there were 15 Vietnamese delegations with the envoys being famous scholars whose names were recorded in the Temple of Literature such as: Ha Tong Muc (1653 - 1707) went on a mission in 1703, Nguyen Cong Hang (1686 - 1732) went on a mission in 1718, Ho Phi Tich (1665 - 1734) went on a mission in 1728, Le Quy Don (1726 - 1784) went on a mission in 1760, Nguyen Huy Oanh (1713 - 1789) went on a mission in 1765...

As talented people of the country, the Vietnamese envoys in this historical period were all diplomats, political activists, cultural, educational, and great cultural authors of the nation. Therefore, during 2 years of traveling on the Thang Long - Beijing - Thang Long route... encountering many interesting things to contribute to bringing peace to the nation and the region, the Vietnamese envoys left behind many valuable works, creating a unique literary genre: the literary genre of Vietnamese envoys writing about the country of China.

The original copy of the book "Hoang Hoa Su Trinh Do" is kept by the Nguyen Huy family.

While the works of the envoys of this period were basically lost, the works of the envoy with the third rank in the imperial examination, Nguyen Huy Oanh, from Truong Luu village, Lai Thach commune, La Son district, Duc Quang prefecture, Nghe An town (now Kim Song Truong commune, Can Loc district, Ha Tinh province), were preserved in many original copies by his family and descendants.

According to Nguyen Huy's documents, in the year of Tan Ty (1761), the Qing envoy Duc Bao came to our country to pay his respects. Nguyen Huy Oanh was specially granted the rank of Tam Pham to welcome and receive the Qing envoy. In the year of At Dau (1765), the court promoted him to the position of Thiem Do Ngu Su and selected him to go on a diplomatic mission to China.

The books "Lich Trieu Hieu Chuong Loai Chi", "Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu", "Phung Su Yen Dai Tong Ca" clearly state: The delegation led by Chief Envoy Nguyen Huy Oanh crossed the border on December 29, 1766, by land to Minh Ninh district, from here by boat (there were 14 boats) to Nanjing, to Jining then walked to the outskirts of Beijing.

To prepare for this trip, Third Prize Winner Nguyen Huy Oanh spent more than a year compiling the book "Hoang Hoa Su Trinh Do" as a guidebook for the delegation's diplomatic trip.

The document is bound on regular paper, the pink color has faded after hundreds of years of being kept by descendants of the family. The book is 22 x 14 cm in size, has 119 pages, and is made of Do paper.

Opening page of the book; Map of Ha Khau culvert and map of Vinh Thuan district where the Tet Kien festival is held.

Textual research has the following 7 main contents:

Part 1: "Hoang Hoa route map": Includes the first 4 pages, explaining the itinerary, naming the states, districts, prefectures, and post stations from Nam Quan to Beijing.

Part 2: "Song of the Journey to the Two Capitals": Includes 26 seven-word Chinese poems, summarizing the journey the embassy took.

Part 3: “The mission under investigation”: A brief record of the route to Vietnam. The first point is from Kien Nghia communal house to the last point is Nguong Duc platform. Clearly record the date of stay and the ritual activities at each point.

Part 4: “Journey Map”: Map of the border area between the two countries and the points the delegation passed through, the final point is Tan Thanh district, a total of 104 pages. Specifically describes people, citadels, villages, relics, scenic spots… communication activities.

Part 5: "The six roads of the country": The land routes from the Vietnamese capital to the border, listing the posts, stations, Kinh Bac and Lang Son.

Part 6: "Northern envoy's itinerary": Length of the water and land route to the Northern envoy.

Part 7: "Introduction to the Palace": Lists the palace gates and their locations in the capital city of Yen Kinh.

At the end of the book is a preface by Nguyen Huy Trien (5th generation grandson of Nguyen Huy Oanh) and the person who copied it in 1887.

Professor, Academician Nguyen Huy My with the book "Hoang Hoa Su Trinh Do" at his home in Can Loc, Ha Tinh.

“Hoang Hoa Su Trinh Do” has been preserved by the descendants of the Nguyen Huy family in Truong Luu land. In 1989, Mr. Nguyen Huy But (1916 – 2011), the 17th generation of the family, handed it over to Professor, Doctor, Academician Nguyen Huy My. In 1963, after translating it into Vietnamese with the Institute of Han Nom, Professor Nguyen Huy My published this work on the occasion of the “Scientific Conference on the 250th Birthday of the Famous Person Nguyen Huy Oanh”. Immediately after its publication, the work “Hoang Hoa Su Trinh Do” attracted special attention from social scientists in Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Russia, etc.

With the help of UNESCO, local authorities, domestic and international scientists, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huy My (16th generation descendant of Nguyen Huy family) chaired the establishment of the "Documentary ranking dossier of documentary heritage under the Vietnam and the world treaty program". And at the 8th meeting of the Asia-Pacific Memory of the World Program held in GWangu (Korea) from May 29 to June 1, 2018, with the participation of 128 delegates from 29 countries (17 countries with voting rights), the dossier "Hoang Hoa Su Trinh Do" won 100% consensus.

At the conference, UNESCO noted:

- “Hoang Hoa Su Trinh Do” is an ancient document, still preserved in Vietnam, a complete synthesis of the unique diplomatic journey that has great value in many aspects of diplomacy, geography, history, ethnology, fine arts and literature.

- This is a collection of documents that a family still preserves about Vietnam - China diplomatic relations. The records preserve a form of diplomacy that no longer exists.

- The maps in the file, along with detailed annotations about each prefecture, district, route, station, mountain, stream, field, mansion, street, bridge, dam, etc., are very difficult to fake. These maps, from the layout to the beautiful colors, are full of necessary data, have aesthetic value, and also provide directions and valuable information about each typical place and citadel of China.

Vietnamese delegation at the 8th World Conference of the Memory of the World Program in the Asia-Pacific region. Photo: VTV

- The writing is Chinese characters which are highly international.

- The rich content of the book is carefully selected, serious, creative, has personal imprint, clear thinking from historical, cultural, geographical, political, and diplomatic documents of China.

- It is an especially rare original artifact that allows researchers to study many areas of 18th-century Chinese society and to compare and evaluate diplomatic protocols between the Qing Dynasty and Vietnam and other countries such as Japan, Korea, India, and Pakistan.

With the recognition and high appreciation of UNESCO, the book "Hoang Hoa Su Trinh Do" by the diplomat Tham Hoa Nguyen Huy Oanh is being preserved and researched and exploited from many angles for promotion by the Nguyen Huy - Truong Luu family and the authorities. The book has been digitized, printed, made into copies, published domestically and internationally, and transferred to agencies such as the National Library, Nghe An Library, Ha Tinh Library and libraries of some private houses representing the Nguyen Huy - Truong Luu family for storage. Ha Tinh province is promoting the construction of "Truong Luu Cultural Center" to preserve cultural heritages in the area to serve tourism, sightseeing and research to promote the social effectiveness of Truong Luu cultural heritages, including 2 documentary heritages honored by UNESCO: "Phu Giang School Woodblocks" and "Hoang Hoa Su Trinh Do".

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References:

- Heritage file "Hoang Hoa Su Trinh Do" - Stored at Nguyen Huy family.

- "Hoang Hoa Su Trinh Do" DHV Publishing House - 2000.

- Proceedings of the "International Conference on Research on Han Nom Heritage of the Nguyen Huy Family in the 17th and 20th Centuries" in 2020. Preserved at the Nguyen Huy Family.

- Proceedings of the 2008 Scientific Conference on Cultural Celebrity Nguyen Huy Oanh. Preserved at Nguyen Huy Truong Luu family.