Artifacts unearthed from a shipwreck have revealed the country'sheritage of trade in coastal regions during its long-standing history.
An exhibition at the National Museum of Historyfeaturing the relics, entitled Vietnam 's Maritime Cultural Heritage,aims at introducing facets of the country's seas and islands as well asaspects of trade between East and West.
Documents,photographs and artifacts displayed in the exhibit support and reaffirmVietnam 's sovereignty in the East Sea .
Thedisplay is arranged into categories ranging from prehistoric times tothe 10th century, from the 11th century BC to the 18th century and fromthe 19th century to the modern age.
"The documents,photographs, and typical artifacts used in the exhibition are vividevidence of Vietnam 's strong integration and important contributionin the history of the formation and operation of the system ofinternational maritime trading," said Nguyen Van Cuong, director of themuseum.
"At the same time, there is also the historicalmessage of Vietnam 's long-standing and continuous sovereignty in theEast Sea ."
Archaeological discoveries inVietnam's coastal region's of the prehistoric period show thatinhabitants of these areas not only had close and enduring ties with oneanother, but also traded and interacted with regions further afield,including peoples and populations of southern mainland China, modern-dayTaiwan, and various other regions of Southeast Asia.
To illustrate the period, pottery tools used in productive labour andshells serving as the food of ancient people are on display.
After regaining independence, the Dinh, Le, Ly, Tran and later-Ledynasties sought to consolidate and develop Dai Viet (the then name ofVietnam ) into a powerful and important Southeast Asian realm.
Thanks to the well-crafted foreign trade policies of this greatpre-modern dynasty, Vietnam continued to be attractive to foreignmerchant ships through the two important gateways of Van Don (in thenorthern province of Quang Ninh) and Thi Nai (in the central coastalprovince of Binh Dinh ).
In particular, theproduction and export of ceramics fed the powerful demands of Japanese,Southeast and West Asian markets. These were all trends attesting to thestrong integration of Vietnam into the great pre-modern system ofinternational maritime trade.
The worldwide voyages ofEuropean overseas exploration and discovery vessels gave rise to a great"commercial revolution" in Western Europe . This led to the creationof new maritime trading networks linking the regions of the East Seato other lands and continents. In this period, Japanese, Chinese,Portuguese, Dutch, English, French and other traders became directlyinvolved in trade with Dai Viet. In response, the domains of the TrinhLords (in the north of Vietnam ) and the Nguyen Lords (in the south ofVietnam ) were opened and integrated strongly into this system.
In this category, the exhibition showcases objects relating to thedifferent cultures of Thailand , Japan , China and Europe .
Visitors can also reach a better understanding of Vietnam 'ssovereignty over the territorial waters marked and identified throughmaps and documents under the Nguyen Dynasty.
Theexposition is organised by the Vietnam National Museum of History, incollaboration with the museums of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Hung Yen, Quang Ninh,Quang Ngai and Quang Nam provinces and Da Nang and Hai Phongcities.
The exhibition will run until November at the Vietnam National Museum of History, 25 Tong Dan Street , Hanoi .
An exhibition at the National Museum of Historyfeaturing the relics, entitled Vietnam 's Maritime Cultural Heritage,aims at introducing facets of the country's seas and islands as well asaspects of trade between East and West.
Documents,photographs and artifacts displayed in the exhibit support and reaffirmVietnam 's sovereignty in the East Sea .
Thedisplay is arranged into categories ranging from prehistoric times tothe 10th century, from the 11th century BC to the 18th century and fromthe 19th century to the modern age.
"The documents,photographs, and typical artifacts used in the exhibition are vividevidence of Vietnam 's strong integration and important contributionin the history of the formation and operation of the system ofinternational maritime trading," said Nguyen Van Cuong, director of themuseum.
"At the same time, there is also the historicalmessage of Vietnam 's long-standing and continuous sovereignty in theEast Sea ."
Archaeological discoveries inVietnam's coastal region's of the prehistoric period show thatinhabitants of these areas not only had close and enduring ties with oneanother, but also traded and interacted with regions further afield,including peoples and populations of southern mainland China, modern-dayTaiwan, and various other regions of Southeast Asia.
To illustrate the period, pottery tools used in productive labour andshells serving as the food of ancient people are on display.
After regaining independence, the Dinh, Le, Ly, Tran and later-Ledynasties sought to consolidate and develop Dai Viet (the then name ofVietnam ) into a powerful and important Southeast Asian realm.
Thanks to the well-crafted foreign trade policies of this greatpre-modern dynasty, Vietnam continued to be attractive to foreignmerchant ships through the two important gateways of Van Don (in thenorthern province of Quang Ninh) and Thi Nai (in the central coastalprovince of Binh Dinh ).
In particular, theproduction and export of ceramics fed the powerful demands of Japanese,Southeast and West Asian markets. These were all trends attesting to thestrong integration of Vietnam into the great pre-modern system ofinternational maritime trade.
The worldwide voyages ofEuropean overseas exploration and discovery vessels gave rise to a great"commercial revolution" in Western Europe . This led to the creationof new maritime trading networks linking the regions of the East Seato other lands and continents. In this period, Japanese, Chinese,Portuguese, Dutch, English, French and other traders became directlyinvolved in trade with Dai Viet. In response, the domains of the TrinhLords (in the north of Vietnam ) and the Nguyen Lords (in the south ofVietnam ) were opened and integrated strongly into this system.
In this category, the exhibition showcases objects relating to thedifferent cultures of Thailand , Japan , China and Europe .
Visitors can also reach a better understanding of Vietnam 'ssovereignty over the territorial waters marked and identified throughmaps and documents under the Nguyen Dynasty.
Theexposition is organised by the Vietnam National Museum of History, incollaboration with the museums of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Hung Yen, Quang Ninh,Quang Ngai and Quang Nam provinces and Da Nang and Hai Phongcities.
The exhibition will run until November at the Vietnam National Museum of History, 25 Tong Dan Street , Hanoi .
