The Collection of Han Nom Documents (1689-1943) is a rare and unique collection of documents on the honors, conferments, and transactions between the royal court and the community with the people of Truong Luu village (now in Kim Song Truong commune, Can Loc district, Ha Tinh) for their contributions to social, cultural, and educational activities, and is a popular form of document in Northeast Asian countries during the monarchy.
Currently, Vietnam in particular and the world in general are facing unprecedented challenges, slowing down the implementation of sustainable development goals. In that context, culture is increasingly affirmed by UNESCO to play the role of both an agent and a driving force of sustainable development.
In recent times, through cultural conventions, UNESCO has recognized more than 3,500 titles, Vietnam has 57 (8 world cultural and natural heritages; 15 intangible heritages; 9 regional and world documentary heritages; 11 biosphere reserves; 3 global geoparks; 3 global learning cities; 1 creative city; 1 city of peace; 6 international celebrities). Ha Tinh is honored to have 4 titles (3 of Truong Luu, Great Poet Nguyen Du) and 2 related titles: Ca Tru, Vi Giam. To be recognized, each title must meet the criteria and have outstanding value.
Representative of the UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for the Asia-Pacific region presented a certificate to the working delegation of Ha Tinh province (November 2022) on the registration of "Han Nom documents of Truong Luu village" as a world memory documentary heritage.
The Collection of Han Nom Documents of Truong Luu Village (1689-1943) is the 4th UNESCO title of Ha Tinh with outstanding content and value (hereinafter referred to as the collection). The collection includes 26 decrees of the Emperors of the Le and Nguyen dynasties honoring, giving gifts, and conferring titles on some Truong Luu people; 19 documents between the Nguyen Dynasty agencies and Truong Luu people; 3 banners of the 3 families Nguyen Huy, Tran Van and Hoang Van, written in Han and Nom on special Do paper and silk, engraved on wooden boards, during the period from 1689-1943 (254 years).
This is a rare and unique document about the honor, conferment, and transactions between the royal court and the community with the people of Truong Luu village due to their contributions in social, cultural, and educational activities, and is a popular type of document in Northeast Asian countries during the monarchy period.
These documents provide authentic evidence in the study of the fields: history, education, politics, culture, celebrities, especially gender equality and the honor of women, promoting the tradition of learning and respecting the elderly. Each document itself is a unique work of art. The collection fully meets the criteria of the Asia-Pacific Memory of the World Program such as: rare, unique, historical significance, gender equality...
An administrative document sent by the government to the people of Truong Luu commune in the collection.
The collection is a rare document on the culture and education of a village in Central Vietnam, which has been preserved through many events. These are original documents that help research the social relations and development history of the village in ancient times, especially during the turbulent historical period from the late 17th century to the mid-20th century. In addition to the value of information content, the documents themselves have gone through nearly 300 years with many events of time, war, natural disasters..., becoming valuable antiques.
The collection is a unique, hand-engraved and hand-written copy, with no duplicates, so if lost or damaged it will be very difficult to restore.
Royal decrees, diplomas, and banners are types of administrative and exchange documents during the monarchy. This type of document appeared early and was popular in countries with similar cultures such as China, Japan, and Vietnam. The emperor and administrative agencies often issued decrees to confer titles and honors on those who had made achievements or passed exams, and assigned tasks to subordinates. People could also submit petitions to all levels of government. The community also had many forms of cultural exchange activities such as celebrating longevity, celebrating passing exams, and celebrating promotions. This is a unique and rare source of documents to supplement the national official history system. The nominated heritage is a supplementary document to Vietnamese history, a part of world history on the following contents: history of social activities, cultural education of famous people in Truong Luu village and their contributions to their homeland and country; history of officials in the monarchy and the arrangement and assignment of officials in the monarchy in Vietnam; relationship between state agencies and those performing assigned tasks.
A royal decree granted by King Le to the Nguyen Huy family, dated Canh Hung year 44.
The collection is meaningful when studying the form of administrative documents in the medieval period; studying the reward policy of the feudal court through the granting of titles and ranks; honoring people with contributions to culture and education; notable traditional customs such as: studiousness, building cultural families, honoring learning, gender equality, honoring the elderly... The collection shows the changes of administrative units; religion, and rituals of worshiping gods and saints.
The collection includes 6/48 documents related to gender equality: the decree of the Goddess Nguyen Thi Ho; the decree of the main lady Phan Thi Truu and Nguyen Thi Khoat; the decree of the women Phan Thi Trang and Tran Thi Ba. The documents are evidence of the contributions of women in Truong Luu village in protecting family traditions and taking care of children since ancient times, which have been respected and promoted by the community.
Five royal decrees and one banner related to the role of women have been selected by the UNESCO Information and Communications Agency in Bangkok to be introduced at the exhibition “Women in History - Telling HERstory through memory of the world” from March 8, 2021.
The nominated heritage goes beyond the borders of a country, featuring activities honoring people who contributed to the development of the country, honoring educated people and women of the monarchical state of Northeast Asian countries, and is an important documentary heritage for world memory.
Truong Luu ancient village (Kim Song Truong commune, Can Loc district) owns a unique system of relics, including: Phuc Giang school woodblocks, Hoang Hoa su trinh do, and Truong Luu village Han Nom documents recognized by UNESCO as world heritages (photo 1). Professor Nguyen Huy My and delegates visited the area displaying pictures of typical relics of Kim Song Truong commune (photo 2). The event displaying the system of cultural heritages took place at Truong Luu Cultural Heritage Conservation Center, attracting a large number of teachers and students to participate (photos 3 and 4).
The fact that the UNESCO Memory of the World Program for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) honored the documentary heritage of the Han Nom documents of Truong Luu village (1689-1943) is a source of encouragement for individuals, families, villages, clans, etc. to nominate more heritages, enriching the MOWCAP list.
Ha Tinh has just announced the Provincial Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050. With 4 current UNESCO titles, combined with Nghe An and Quang Binh, we can completely build a tourist route according to the UNESCO titles: Kim Lien (Uncle Ho), Tien Dien (Nguyen Du), Truong Luu (3 documentary heritages) and Phong Nha Ke Bang - serving the sustainable development of this region through 6 honored titles. The tourist route can connect more sites and relics of the famous person Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac and possibly add more to the Third Prize winner Nguyen Huy Oanh, the famous person Nguyen Huy Tu and La Son Phu Tu Nguyen Thiep.
Content: Professor Nguyen Huy My
Photo: Thien Vy - Hoang Nguyen and documents
Design & layout: Huy Tung - Khoi Nguyen
6:24:06:2023:05:16
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