"Hoang Hoa su trinh do” (literally translated as maps and itinerary of the envoy’s journey to China) belongs to the Nguyen Huy family in Truong Luu village (now Truong Loc commune, Can Loc district).
With writings, drawings and maps, the book recorded the diplomatic relationship between Vietnam and China in the 18th century through journeys of Vietnamese envoys. It was compiled and edited by Nguyen Huy Oanh (1713-1789) based on documents of previous envoys and historical records as well as notes from his own journey in 1766-1767, during which he worked as the main envoy of the Vietnamese delegation.
According to Professor Nguyen Huy My, the 16th descendant of the Nguyen Huy family, the book was copied by Nguyen Huy Trien in 1887 from the original version. The manuscript has 30cm in length, 20cm in width and 2cm in thickness. The main content is a journey map with detailed notes covering 204 pages, describing mountains, rivers, villages, citadels, relic sites and natural landscapes and communication activities between envoys and local authorities and residents.
From May 29-31, 2018, the UNESCO Memory of the World programme held its 8th Plenary Meeting in Gwangju, the Republic of Korea (RoK), attracting 125 participants from 28 countries.
Dossiers of eight countries, including Tuvalu, Myanmar, China, the Philippines, RoK, Australia, Vietnam, and Solomon Islands were considered at the event.
The dossier of the book received 17 votes from 17 members of the panel. It meets all the criteria to be recognised as documentary heritage of the Memory of the World programme.
Vietnam has so far had four documentary heritage recognised at the Asia-Pacific region level, including the “Buddhist Sutra Woodblocks of Truc Lam Zen at Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, in Yen Dung district of the northern province of Bac Giang; the "Royal Literature on Hue Royal Architecture”; and the “Woodblocks of Phuc Giang School” (Truong Luu woodblocks), and "Hoang Hoa su trinh do” in Ha Tinh.
Especially, "Hoang Hoa su trinh do" and "Truong Luu woodblocks" were made and kept by descendants of the Nguyen Huy family in Ha Tinh.
The Memory of the World Programme is an international programme aimed at safeguarding, preserving and facilitating access to and the use of documentary heritage. UNESCO launched the programme in 1992. It includes the inscription of significant documentary heritage on national, regional and international registers.
