Hanoi (VNA) - "Hoang Hoa su trinh do”(The Envoy’s Journey to China- literally translated as maps and itinerary of theenvoy’s journey to China) of the Nguyen Huy family in the centralprovince of Ha Tinh has just been listed as one of documentary heritage in Asia and thePacific under UNESCO’s Memory of the World programme.

Thisis not only the pride of the Nguyen Huy family and Ha Tinh province, but alsobrings honour to Vietnam as more valuable cultural heritage is known tointernational friends.

According to the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, "Hoang Hoasu trinh do" is an ancient book describing one of the diplomaticactivities between Vietnam and China in the 18th century. It features the sendingof Vietnamese envoys to China, showing exchanges between countries in theAsia-Pacific region.

With writings, drawings and maps,the book recorded the diplomatic relationship between Vietnam and China in the18th century through journeys of Vietnamese envoys. It was compiled and editedby Nguyen Huy Oanh (1713-1789) based on documents of previous envoys andhistorical records as well as notes from his own journey in 1766-1767, duringwhich he worked as the main envoy of the Vietnamese delegation.

According to Prof. Academician Nguyen HuyMy, the 16th descendant of the Nguyen Huy - Truong Luu family, the book was copiedby Nguyen Huy Trien in 1887 from the original version compiled by Nguyen HuyOanh from 1765 to 1767 under the reign of King Le Hien Tong (1740-1786), whichhas been kept by the Nguyen Huy - Truong Luu family in Can Loc district.
 
The book, 30cm in length, 20cm in width and2cm in thickness, was printed on “do” paper. The main content is a map of Nam Quan to Beijing. There are also some pictures of mountains and rivers, andnatural landscapes. It also described reception forms and the length of the road.

“Hoang Hoa su trinh do” is currently theonly manuscript kept by the Nguyen Huy family's descendants in Truong Luuvillage, reflecting diplomatic relations between Vietnam and China from the 10th century to the 18th century. It is a rare and unique work, valuablein terms of geography, history, politics, diplomacy, culture, customs, and art.

From May 29-31, the UNESCO Memory of the Worldprogramme held its 8thPlenary Meeting in Gwangju, the Republic of Korea (RoK), attracting 125participants from 28 countries.

Dossiers of eight countries,including Tuvalu, Myanmar, China, the Philippines, RoK, Australia, Vietnam, andSolomon Islands were considered at the event.

The dossier of the book received 17 votes from 17members of the panel. It meets all the criteria to be recognised as documentaryheritage of the Memory of the World programme.

Vietnamhas so far had four documentary heritage recognized at the Asia-Pacific regionlevel, including the “Buddhist Sutra Woodblocks of Truc Lam Zen at Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, in Yen Dung district of thenorthern province of Bac Giang;  the "Royal Literature on Hue Royal Architecture”;and the “Woodblocks of PhucGiang School” (Truong Luu woodblocks), and "HoangHoa su trinh do” in Ha Tinh.

Especially, "Hoang Hoa su trinh do" and"Truong Luu woodblocks" were made and kept by descendants of the NguyenHuy family in Ha Tinh.

The Memory of the World Programme is aninternational programme aimed at safeguarding, preserving and facilitatingaccess to and the use of documentary heritage. UNESCO launched the programme in1992. It includes the inscription of significant documentary heritage onnational, regional and international registers.

MOWCAP was set up in 1998 and is the regionalforum for UNESCO’s global Memory of the World (MOW) Programme. MOWCAP aims toassist with the preservation of and universal access to documentary heritage ofthe Asia Pacific region, and also to increase awareness of the existence andsignificance of the heritage.-VNA