Information about the thesis "A Study of Royal Decrees on Villages and Communes in Thua Thien Hue" by graduate student Nguyen Thi Xuan Hien, specializing in Han Nom studies.1. Student's Full Name: Nguyen Thi Xuan Hien 2. Gender: Female 3. Date of Birth: March 16, 1984 4. Place of Birth: Thuan Phuoc, Hai Chau District, Da Nang City 5. Decision No. 1536/QD-XHNV-KH&SDH dated October 16, 2009, issued by the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi 6. Changes during the training process: None 7. Thesis Title: A Study of Royal Decrees on Villages and Communes in Thua Thien Hue 8. Specialization: Han Nom Studies 9. Code: 602240 10. Scientific Advisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Thuy Vinh; Affiliation: Institute of Han Nom Studies. 11. Summary of thesis results: Through fieldwork and surveys of village and commune royal decrees in Thua Thien Hue, we have initially collected materials from over 350 royal decrees, most of which date from the Minh Menh to Bao Dai dynasties. These royal decrees for village deities under the Nguyen dynasty have painted a picture of the cultural customs and beliefs of this region, with a diverse and rich system of deities, each with its own distinct character. Besides the inherent spiritual and cultural elements of the people who migrated from the North to the O Chau region from the 14th century, and most notably during the time when Nguyen Hoang governed Thuan Hoa, the people in the region also absorbed and integrated various other cultural influences, such as the Champa culture and the Minh Huong people who immigrated to this area. Combined with other Han Nom village documents, royal decrees constitute an important part of the texts that provide us with a comprehensive view of the culture of the Hue region. Due to the large number of villages and communes, the number of imperial decrees we surveyed is only a very small fraction. However, this is still an effort to lay the groundwork for in-depth research into this type of document. Fieldwork has shown that while some of these imperial decrees are carefully preserved, others are in a state of disrepair or loss due to the effects of natural and human factors. Therefore, protecting this valuable heritage requires the attention of many specialized agencies and society, so that the lifeblood of the villages and communes can continue in modern life for generations to come.
INFORMATION ON MASTER'S THESIS
1. Full name: Nguyen Thi Xuan Hien 2. Sex: female 3. Date of birth: March 16, 1984. 4. Place of birth: Thuan Phuoc, Hai Chau, Da Nang 5. Admission decision number: 1536/QD-XHNV-KH&SDH. Dated October 16, 2009 6. Changes in academic process: none 7. Official thesis title: A research on royal ordinances in villages in Thua Thien Hue province. 8. Major: Han Nom 9. Code: 60 22 40 10. Supervisors: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Thuy Vinh.Institution: Institute of Han – Nom studies. 11. Summary of the findings of the thesis: Through the process of conducting research in rural eras and carrying out survey on ancient documents related to villages in Thua Thien Hue Province, initially, 350 royal ordinances, mostly from the periods of King Minh Menh and King Bao Dai, were collected. The royal ordinances conferred to the villages' tutelary gods under the reign of the Nguyen Dynasty provided information of the villages' culture and religion with their own system of various deities. Besides inherent cultural and spriritual factors of dwellers from Northern Vietnam moving to the O Chau region in the 14th century, mostly during the reign of Lord Nguyen Hoang over Thuan Hoa region, local residents also acquire and integrate into other cultural flows such as the cultures of Champa and Minh Huong people who came to settle down in this area. Together with other Han – Nom (Sino – Vietnamese) scripts found in the villages, royal ordinance is considered as an important tupe of ancient documents which provides us a comprehensive view on Hue culture. Because there are a great number of villages, the amount of royal ordinances found in this survey is just a small part of these documents. However, this study is an effort to raise awareness and provide ideas for further research on this type of documents. During the prosess of carrying out this research in rural areas, it is recognized that apart from the well-preserved royal ordinances, many of these ancient documents are in poor condition of being torn or lost due to environmental and human impacts. Therefore, in order to preserve this precious heritage, it is necessary to attract attention of specialized agencies and the society so that village' lifestyle and tradition are continued in modern and future society.
