VHO - In Quang Ngai, there are currently many royal decrees of feudal dynasties preserved by generations of people. Royal decrees are a special type of administrative document, bestowed by the king on deities, angels or people with great contributions to the country.
Currently, there are many royal decrees of feudal dynasties that have been preserved by generations of people for hundreds of years. The royal decrees are kept in many ancestral temples, mausoleums, temples, pagodas... in the province. What is worrying is that many royal decrees are showing signs of damage due to unscientific preservation. The preservation of royal decrees is done differently in each place.
In the temple of the ancestor Tran Van Dat, in Phuoc Xa village, Duc Hoa commune (Mo Duc), there is currently preserved a royal decree dated July 25, the 9th year of Khai Dinh (1924), conferring on Mr. Tran Van Dat (the person who reclaimed the land and established Van Phuoc village in the 15th century) the title of "Duc Bao Trung Hung Linh Phu ton than".
This royal decree was wrapped in do paper by the descendants of the Tran family of Sau Xa Van Phuoc and preserved in a wooden box. The box containing this royal decree was placed solemnly on the altar and worshiped with incense all year round.
After a hundred years, with many ups and downs, this royal decree still retains its color. However, the red color of the seal has faded and in some places such as the left corner, along the edges of the royal decree, there are signs of rotting and tearing.
In Tu Son village, Duc Lan commune (Mo Duc), the royal decree of King Khai Dinh bestowed on the village's predecessor, Mr. Nguyen Mau Pho (who had the merit of conquering and reclaiming the Tu Son wilderness into fertile fields in the 17th century) was entrusted to the Nguyen Mau family for preservation.
Considering the royal decree as a treasure, every five-year term, the clan organizes the election of a royal decree keeper (the person who keeps the royal decree) to take on the task of keeping and worshiping the royal decree at home.
Then every year, on the 2nd day of the 2nd lunar month, the family organizes a ceremony to bring the royal decree from the house of the person who supervised the decree to Nguyen Mau's temple to perform the worship ceremony. After the worship is completed, the royal decree is brought back to the house of the person who supervised the decree for preservation.
To preserve this royal decree, the Nguyen Mau family pressed the royal decree with plastic, then put it in a wooden box and placed it on the altar. With this method, although people were successful in preventing the royal decree from rotting and molding; the consequence of this method of preservation is that, over time, when the plastic plate becomes old and yellow, it will affect the aesthetics and color of the royal decree.
In addition, when left for a long time, moisture will accumulate inside, accelerating the decay process and when the plastic layer is peeled off, the royal decree is at high risk of being damaged. At the temple of Tran Quoc Cong Bui Ta Han in Quang Phu ward (Quang Ngai city), 23 royal decrees from the time of King Canh Thinh to the time of the Nguyen Dynasty are also being kept by the Bui Quang Phu family in the temple.
Mr. Bui Phu Anh, the 14th generation grandson of Tran Quoc Cong Bui Ta Han, shared that the royal decree is a precious asset, so even after the war, the descendants of the Bui Quang Phu family still take turns keeping the royal decree.
Even when bombs fell and bullets strayed, previous generations were determined to preserve and protect the royal decrees to the end. Of the 23 royal decrees, 9 were granted by the king to Tran Quoc Cong Bui Ta Han. Among them, the oldest royal decree dates back to the reign of King Canh Thinh, more than 200 years ago.
“Generations in the family have preserved and protected the royal decree by hand, by placing it in a wooden chest, then replacing it with an aluminum chest to prevent mold, moisture, and termites.
This aluminum chest is made very large, enough to spread 23 royal decrees in it, not rolled up. Because if rolled up, the royal decrees will easily fold, break, and tear.
After hundreds of years of preserving and maintaining the royal decrees by hand, about 20 years ago, the family had all 23 royal decrees laminated," Mr. Anh added.
Dr. Nguyen Dang Vu, former Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Ngai province, said that the content of the royal decrees contains information about the ranks, titles, and titles of each person who was awarded the decree and approved for local people to worship.
Through many surveys in recent years, the province still preserves more than 100 royal decrees. However, some royal decrees have been torn. Most of the royal decrees from the feudal dynasties that have been preserved to this day are kept at relics that have been ranked at the provincial and national levels.
Meanwhile, most of those responsible for preserving the royal decrees have not received detailed, in-depth instructions on how to preserve them. This is also one of the reasons why many royal decrees are gradually becoming damaged, rotten, and the words are no longer clear.
“Given that reality, the cultural sector needs to soon train and guide relevant individuals and organizations on how to scientifically preserve royal decrees to limit damage over time.
Along with that, it is necessary to specifically count the damaged royal decrees and royal decrees showing signs of damage and mold in order to soon have solutions for conservation and restoration.
On the other hand, the cultural sector needs to consider collecting statistics, researching, translating the entire content of the royal decrees and photocopying and digitizing these royal decrees.
Digitization is necessary and urgent to preserve and maintain the values of the royal decree for future generations," Mr. Vu emphasized.
In the monograph "Han Nom Heritage in Quang Ngai - Typical Types and Values", edited by Dr. Nguyen Dang Vu (published by Hanoi Social Sciences Publishing House, 2020), it is clearly stated that the royal decrees found in Quang Ngai were made of long dang paper, yellow in color, flexible, made by artisans from Lai Nghe village (Hoai Duc district, now part of Hanoi).
The royal decrees are on average 1.2 - 1.3m long and about 0.5m wide. The royal decrees are often decorated with patterns of the four sacred animals, dragons and clouds, or the characters "van" and "tho".
There are royal decrees covered with gold foil like some royal decrees of the Minh Mang period, or silver foil like royal decrees of the Tu Duc period found at Hoa Son pagoda, Nghia Phu commune (Quang Ngai city) and the temple of Tran Quoc Cong Bui Ta Han, in Quang Phu ward (Quang Ngai city).
Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/gin-giu-sac-phong-nhu-bao-vat-103456.html
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