Ceremony to receive certificate recognising ‘Hoang Hoa su trinh do’ as Documentary Heritage in Asia and the Pacific under UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme (Photo: VNA)
The two belong to Truong Luu village in Kim Song Truong commune of the province’s Can Loc district.
Last year, the provincial People’s Committee sent a document to the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO on the nomination of ‘Hoang Hoa su trinh do’ as World Heritage.
In the coming time, more books on "Hoang Hoa su trinh do" will be published and introduced on the mass media.
"Hoang Hoa su trinh do” (literally translated as maps and itinerary of the envoy’s journey to China) belongs to the Nguyen Huy family.
With writings, drawings and maps, the book records the diplomatic relationship between Vietnam and China in the 18th century through journeys of Vietnamese envoys. It was compiled and edited by Nguyen Huy Oanh (1713-1789) based on documents of previous envoys and historical records as well as notes from his own journey in 1766-1767, during which he worked as the chief envoy of the Vietnamese delegation.
According to Professor Nguyen Huy My, a 16th-generation descendant of the Nguyen Huy family, the book was copied by Nguyen Huy Trien in 1887 from the original version. The manuscript measures 30cm in length, 20cm in width and 2cm in thickness. The main content is a journey map with detailed notes covering 204 pages, describing mountains, rivers, villages, citadels, relic sites and natural landscapes and communication activities between envoys and local authorities and residents.
Meanwhile, Phuc Giang school woodblocks were used to print materials in Chinese and Nom (a classical vernacular script of the Vietnamese language) for learning and teaching at Phuc Giang school, a private school set up by the Nguyen Huy family in mid-18th century.
Each individual woodblock, 25-30 cm in length, 25-28 cm in width and 1-2 cm in thickness, is a unique work of art, aesthetically carved with beautiful calligraphic styles.
The total set originally had around 3,000 blocks, but many have been damaged or destroyed over time. Presently, the set comprises 383 well-preserved blocks. They are the only ancient woodblocks created by a family for education preserved till today in Vietnam./.