To keep the documentary heritage alive...

The royal decrees and Han Nom documents are preserved and kept in specialized, temperature-controlled cabinets at Thanh Hoa Provincial Library.

In particular, that treasure trove of knowledge has more than 1,500 ancient books, mainly Han-Nom books and documents (original, translated, handwritten, copied...) with diverse and rich types and fields such as: royal decrees, sacred records, sacred decrees, copied steles, genealogies, village regulations, books on culture - literature, Buddhist scriptures, medicine... Among them, many Han-Nom books and documents have great value in terms of date, theory and profound practice such as: "Kim Van Kieu Tan Truyen", Nom version printed in 1896, during the reign of King Thanh Thai; "Thanh Hoa quan phong" by Vuong Duy Trinh; Preface "Doan Truong Tan Thanh"; "Chinh phu ngam bi luc", "Dai Nam Quoc su dien ca"; medical books by Hai Thuong Lan Ong (Hai Thuong Lan Ong ngoai cam thong tri, Hai Thuong Lan Ong y hai dai thanh - tu tuong tap)...

These types of Han-Nom books and documents are valuable cultural heritages of our ancestors, vivid and convincing evidence of the "lovely" and "spiritual and talented" Thanh land, reflecting the movement and development of villages with cultural and social institutions, beliefs, clan relationships, family traditions... Deputy Head of the Geography Department (Thanh Hoa Provincial Library) Vu Thi Hoa said: "With such a rich and diverse "capital" of ancient documents, Thanh Hoa Provincial Library has attracted many readers, from students, university lecturers, postgraduates, domestic and foreign researchers to research and learn". This not only affirms and enhances the prestige and quality of Thanh Hoa Provincial Library's activities in the national library system, but also contributes to spreading and promoting the cultural quintessence of Thanh in general and the value of Thanh's documentary heritage in particular.

Over the years, Thanh Hoa Provincial Library has been making constant efforts, upholding the spirit and responsibility to carry out practical and effective activities to contribute to preserving, conserving and promoting the value of ancient documents. However, these activities are still small-scale, temporary solutions, lacking synchronization. Due to the impact of time, conditions, and inadequate preservation processes, paper rot, fading/blurring of letters, mold, termites, etc. Many documents are damaged or at risk of damage and obsolescence.

Faced with this situation, the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province issued Plan No. 235/KH-UBND dated October 3, 2022 on the preservation and restoration of ancient and rare documents at Thanh Hoa Provincial Library, period 2023-2025 with a total budget of more than 7.5 billion VND from the cultural and information career budget. The preservation, restoration, translation and editing were carried out with 106 royal decrees and more than 1,000 Han Nom documents dating from the 17th to the 20th century, which are ancient and rare documents with local identity. The purpose is to prolong the lifespan, preserve them for a long time, serve scientific research, learn about the cultural heritage of the nation; serve the work of digitization and documentation to improve the efficiency of document management and exploitation; helps readers to research without having to directly contact the original documents, reducing the risk of loss or damage to documents; increasing the number of readers who have the opportunity to access the document content, meeting the needs of many readers.

To keep the documentary heritage alive...

The book "Kim Van Kieu Tan Truyen", Nom script printed in 1896, during the reign of King Thanh Thai.

Deeply aware of the significance of deploying and implementing this plan, Thanh Hoa Provincial Library quickly coordinated with relevant agencies, professional units and experts and scientists to clean, disinfect, and restore hundreds of Han Nom documents and organize the translation of royal decrees. Deputy Head of the Geography Department Vu Thi Hoa confided: “This work requires carefulness, meticulousness, and a high sense of responsibility. Because this is not simply a professional job but also shows our attitude towards the cultural heritage that our ancestors have painstakingly cultivated and passed down, and it is also a way for us to join hands to preserve and promote the “soft power” of culture in today's life.”

To improve efficiency and optimize conditions for preserving and storing rare documents according to the set plan, Thanh Hoa Provincial Library has equipped rare document preservation cabinets (regular preservation and therapeutic preservation), specialized preservation cabinets for royal decrees; temperature measuring device; specialized hard drive for storing 2Tb data...

Thanks to the attention and facilitation of the province, the dedication and responsibility of the professional agencies, and directly the Thanh Hoa Provincial Library, hundreds of royal decrees and Han Nom documents have been restored, translated, edited and stored and preserved in a guaranteed environment and conditions. That is the premise for these documentary heritages to continue to promote their value, serve the readers' research and study, and blend into the flow of national culture.

Article and photos: Nguyen Linh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/de-di-san-tu-lieu-con-mai-260755.htm