Vietnam has two more named in Asia-Pacific documentary heritage list

Two heritage pieces of Vietnam were recognised as part of documentary heritage in Asia and the Pacific on November 26, at the 9th general meeting of the Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) in Andong city, the Republic of Korea.

Of the newly recognised, the 78 “ma nhai” steles on Ngu Hanh Son Mountain in central Da Nang city features writings of various genres by kings and mandarins of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802 - 1945), monks, and scholars who used to set foot in the scenic landscape between the first half of the 17th century and the 1960s.

The steles comprise 76 with writings in the Chinese script and two with writings in the Nom - an old script of Vietnam - according to the Cultural Heritage Department of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The other heritage is a collection of handwritten Chinese and Nom documents in Truong Luu village of central Ha Tinh province. They consist of 26 title conferring documents by kings of the Le and Nguyen dynasties, 19 diplomas, and three silk tapestries written in the Chinese and Nom, scripted between 1689 and 1943.

These documents are rare about culture and education in a rural village in central Vietnam. They are original materials helping with the study of society between the late 17th century and the mid-20th century.

Aside from the Vietnamese heritage, MOWCAP also included others in the Asia-Pacific documentary heritage list, including one from Singapore, one from Indonesia, one from Iran, two from the Republic of Korea, and two from China.

With the two abovementioned pieces, Vietnam now has nine in documentary heritage lists of UNESCO, including three in the world list and six in the Asia-Pacific list.