The Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945) worked hard to protect the nation,producing many documents that confirm Vietnam's sovereignty over theHoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) and archipelagoes. Todaythese can be found in Hue, the former royal capital.
Researcherssay the founder of the Nguyen dynasty, Emperor Gia Long (1762-1820), sawthe sea as integral to the existence of the nation.
The spiritwas later preserved and upheld by his descendants, especially his son,Emperor Minh Mang. During his reign from 1820-1840, Minh Mang conductedmany works related to the sea and the protection of sovereignty over theHoang Sa Archipelago. Researchers have found 14 reports on the workprepared by mandarins.
"The sea border area of the nationincludes the Hoang Sa Archipelago, a place of great importance," oneroyal document said. The king deployed a surveying team to draw anaccurate map of the islands and surrounding waters. This work was donein six years, from 1834-1839. Every year, he sent a team to inspect thesea zone.
At the same time, the king ordered the team to mark theborder using wooden and stone markers and implemented a policy tosupport marine surveillance teams and penalise those who neglected thesetasks.
In 1835, the king had nine tripod urns carved out ofbronze, each representing a king. They were placed in front of the TheMieu temple inside the Imperial City.
The Mieu is a templedevoted to worshipping the kings from that dynasty. On the outside ofthe urns, researchers found many carved patterns, some of them denotingthe East Sea and the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes and othersshowing warships, surveillance ships and o (black) ships, which couldtravel at higher speeds and were used for coastal protection.
PhanThuan An, a dedicated researcher of Hue's royal culture, said thesovereignty of Vietnam over the East Sea and the archipelagoes wasdepicted clearly on the urns. The middle urn, which represents EmperorGia Long, features East Sea carvings and other urns depict the seas andships.
Going through the dynasty's 143 years of rule under 13kings, there were 200,000 documentary sheets issued by 11 kings toaddress sea and islands affairs, 19 of which refer clearly to theadministration of Vietnam on the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands as wellas activities to protect marine and islands sovereignty. The documentsalso refer to fishing activities by Vietnamese fishermen on the seasaround the achipelagoes.
Others included stories aboutassistance given to Western trading ships by royal Vietnamese soldiers.The last king of the dynasty, Bao Dai, continued issuing royal decrees,official letters and other documents stating sovereignty over thearchipelagoes in 1939.
These documents can be found in remotevillages in the localities as well. The communal house of My Loi villagein the southeast district of Phu Loc in Hue has some. According toNguyen Hao, 82, head of the village council, the house stores Han-Nom(Sino-Vietnamese) documents issued by the Nguyen dynasty. The house,which was built in 1808, has experienced three restorations, but thedocuments are in good condition.
Researchers have worked with thevillage council to interpret some of the documents, which weretranscribed as ordered by the royal government to unite resources in thevillage with adjacent ones to assist the marine troops in protectingthe archipelagos. The village participated in rescues of royalsurveillance ships troubled at sea, supplying human resources and foodto the troupes.
Phan Nhu Y, chief of Vinh My commune, whichincludes the village, said the village was working with related agenciesin Hue to hand these documents to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asproof of Vietnam's sovereignty over the achipelagoes.
ResearcherHo Tan Phan said that there were many documents in Hue that showed proofof Vietnam's sovereignty over the seas and islands, and that they werestored by village authorities as well as researchers and residents.
"Weneed a prestigious agency to collect them all and categorise them intofunctional topics," he said. "Those should be examined for legal valuedomestically and internationally in order to be strong evidence ofnational sovereignty." According to Phan, it was also necessary toexamine documents related to the islands being stored in France, Japan,and even China in order to show that China's claims of sovereignty overthe sea and islands of Vietnam were false.-VNA
Researcherssay the founder of the Nguyen dynasty, Emperor Gia Long (1762-1820), sawthe sea as integral to the existence of the nation.
The spiritwas later preserved and upheld by his descendants, especially his son,Emperor Minh Mang. During his reign from 1820-1840, Minh Mang conductedmany works related to the sea and the protection of sovereignty over theHoang Sa Archipelago. Researchers have found 14 reports on the workprepared by mandarins.
"The sea border area of the nationincludes the Hoang Sa Archipelago, a place of great importance," oneroyal document said. The king deployed a surveying team to draw anaccurate map of the islands and surrounding waters. This work was donein six years, from 1834-1839. Every year, he sent a team to inspect thesea zone.
At the same time, the king ordered the team to mark theborder using wooden and stone markers and implemented a policy tosupport marine surveillance teams and penalise those who neglected thesetasks.
In 1835, the king had nine tripod urns carved out ofbronze, each representing a king. They were placed in front of the TheMieu temple inside the Imperial City.
The Mieu is a templedevoted to worshipping the kings from that dynasty. On the outside ofthe urns, researchers found many carved patterns, some of them denotingthe East Sea and the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes and othersshowing warships, surveillance ships and o (black) ships, which couldtravel at higher speeds and were used for coastal protection.
PhanThuan An, a dedicated researcher of Hue's royal culture, said thesovereignty of Vietnam over the East Sea and the archipelagoes wasdepicted clearly on the urns. The middle urn, which represents EmperorGia Long, features East Sea carvings and other urns depict the seas andships.
Going through the dynasty's 143 years of rule under 13kings, there were 200,000 documentary sheets issued by 11 kings toaddress sea and islands affairs, 19 of which refer clearly to theadministration of Vietnam on the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands as wellas activities to protect marine and islands sovereignty. The documentsalso refer to fishing activities by Vietnamese fishermen on the seasaround the achipelagoes.
Others included stories aboutassistance given to Western trading ships by royal Vietnamese soldiers.The last king of the dynasty, Bao Dai, continued issuing royal decrees,official letters and other documents stating sovereignty over thearchipelagoes in 1939.
These documents can be found in remotevillages in the localities as well. The communal house of My Loi villagein the southeast district of Phu Loc in Hue has some. According toNguyen Hao, 82, head of the village council, the house stores Han-Nom(Sino-Vietnamese) documents issued by the Nguyen dynasty. The house,which was built in 1808, has experienced three restorations, but thedocuments are in good condition.
Researchers have worked with thevillage council to interpret some of the documents, which weretranscribed as ordered by the royal government to unite resources in thevillage with adjacent ones to assist the marine troops in protectingthe archipelagos. The village participated in rescues of royalsurveillance ships troubled at sea, supplying human resources and foodto the troupes.
Phan Nhu Y, chief of Vinh My commune, whichincludes the village, said the village was working with related agenciesin Hue to hand these documents to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asproof of Vietnam's sovereignty over the achipelagoes.
ResearcherHo Tan Phan said that there were many documents in Hue that showed proofof Vietnam's sovereignty over the seas and islands, and that they werestored by village authorities as well as researchers and residents.
"Weneed a prestigious agency to collect them all and categorise them intofunctional topics," he said. "Those should be examined for legal valuedomestically and internationally in order to be strong evidence ofnational sovereignty." According to Phan, it was also necessary toexamine documents related to the islands being stored in France, Japan,and even China in order to show that China's claims of sovereignty overthe sea and islands of Vietnam were false.-VNA
