Thua Thien-Hue (VNA) – The “R♋oyal Literature on Hue Royal Architecture” and “Phuc Giang School Woodblocks” were named as documentary heritages by the Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) on May 19.

Both Vietnamese nominations were awarded the title during the 7th MOWCAP General Meeting held in Hue City, central Thua Thien-Hue province from May 18-21. They were among 16 nominations from ten Asian countries, including China, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Japan, Singapore, Iran, Myanmar and Mongolia. The Royal Literature on Hue Royal Architecture is heritage that reflects the perspectives of the Kings of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) on the country’s history and culture and their method for ruling a nation, said Director of the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre Phan Thanh Hai. According to Hai, it features poetry and literacy quotes with varying forms of expression in terms of materials and motifs placed in different places in royal buildings. These were carved and inlaid into wood, lacquered and then plated with gold. They also appear on ceramic objects. They are not only decorations but also represent a unique way of archiving, he added. The Phuc Giang School Woodblocks, which date back in 1858, comprise of 379 blocks produced to print textbooks, said Director of the Ha Tinh Museum Nguyen Chi Son. The two-century-year-old set of woodblocks is heritage of the Nguyen Huy family in Truong Luu village, Can Loc district of central Ha Tinh province that has been preserved by the family’s descendants, he noted. They are the only ancient woodblocks created by a family for education preserved today in Vietnam. Vietnam received recognition from the UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme for the 82 stone steles in Hanoi’s Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam (the Temple of Literature) honouring the names of 2,313 doctorate holders who passed the court exams during the Le – Mac Dynasty (16th – 18th centuries); Nguyen Dynasty’s royal administrative documents, woodblocks of the Nguyen Dynasty; and the collection of wooden blocks carved with Buddhist sutras at Vinh Nghiem Pagoda in Bac Giang province.-VNA