A ceremony was held in Hanoi on July 30 to receive a certificate
recognising a collection of official administrative documents of the
Nguyen Dynasty as documentary heritage of the Memory of the World
Programme in Asia-Pacific by UNESCO.
The
collection is comprised of 85,000 documents bearing the seals of 11
Nguyen Kings (1802-1945), including royal edicts and decrees, reports to
the King, and credentials. They are extremely valuable historical
materials reflecting the political thoughts, guidelines and polices of
the Vietnamese State in its internal and external relations.
The documents also serve as an important legal basis for affirming
Vietnam’s sovereignty over its sea and islands. Among them, 18 were
reports to the King providing detailed information on the Nguyen
Dynasty’s exercise of sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa
(Spratly) archipelagoes.
The means
in which people were sent to Hoang Sa and what they did there are
detailed in the documents, which also feature decisions made by the King
to honour those who made great achievements to the development of the
islands and punish those who failed to fulfill their tasks.
The documents also served as a material for Nguyen Dynasty historians
to write the Dai Nam Thap Luc (Veritable Records of Dai Nam)
collection, which also proved Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa and
Truong Sa archipelagoes throughout its history.
The State Archives Department has assigned the National Archives
Centre I to draw up plans to preserve and promote the value of the
documents. 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 documentary
heritage. They are the wooden printing blocks kept at the National
Archives Centre IV in the central city of Da Nang, the Buddhism wooden
printing blocks at Vinh Nghiem Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City and 82 steles
honouring doctors at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi.-VNA