Some of the 238 national treasures that are featured in the 2023 New Year calendar. (Photo courtesy of National Political Publishing House)
Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – The National Political Publishing House haslaunched a daily wall calendar for 2023 featuring images of hundreds ofnational treasures.
The 356-page tear-off calendar is among three special calendars which the houseis printing for the coming year.
Each page includes images and information of the national treasures tointroduce an overview of the history, culture and daily life of Vietnamese overthe last thousands of years.
"The treasures are kept in different places in the country," said NguyenThai Binh, from the publishing house. "We have to ask for permission toaccess them and take photos. The calendar making takes time and we also receivesupport from relevant bodies, experts and scientists to finish."
The calendar is designed with the two favourite colours of red and yellow whichsymbolise luck and prosperity in the new year.
National treasures include the Ngoc Lu bronze drum, artefacts from the 11th to15th centuries, 82 stone steles at Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam (Literature Temple),24 paintings and others.
The Ngoc Lu bronze drum was recognised as a national treasure in 2012.
It was made by the Dong Son culture, 2,000 to 2,500 years ago and wasdiscovered during a dam construction in Ha Nam province in 1893. In April 1903,the drum was collected by the French School of Asian Studies and kept at LouisFinot museum. It is now in the Vietnam National Museum of History.
The calendar also highlights paintings. One of them is Em Thuy (Little Thuy) byTran Van Can in 1943. Little Thuy stands out among many oil paintings by thegraduates of the French Indochina Fine Arts College and is the best of Tran VanCan, who graduated top of his 1937 class.
Painted in oil with western techniques and materials, the portrait of little Thuydescribes the oriental spirit, according to the Ministry of Culture’s archive.
Critics often show that Little Thuy was typical, if not the best, of theportraits painted in the first half of the 20th century.
The calendar makers aim to honour Vietnamese national treasures and encouragepeople to keep the habit of hanging wall calendars in their home as a featureof Vietnamese traditional culture.
Historian Duong Trung Quoc said that the calendar is an "encyclopedia ofnational treasures” that will help Vietnamese people understand the nationaltreasures better and be more conscious of preserving them.
“Hanging the calendar in the home will contribute to popularise and promoteheritage protection in each family and each locality. It also provides theimage and the information for research and study," said Quoc at thecalendar launching ceremony in Hanoi recently.
The calendar will be displayed at book fairs in Germany and the US.
The publishing house will publish two other calendars with the themes ofnational islands and seas, and the great solidarity of Vietnamese 54 ethnicgroups./.
