VNU scientists play key role in compiling Vietnamese History

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam takes a photo with scientists from VNU.

The draft of the National History consists of 25 volumes of general history and 5 volumes of historical event chronicles, which is the result of the implementation of the National Social Science Project "Research and compilation of Vietnamese History", with the participation of nearly 300 scientists, starting in 2014. Of the 30 volumes of the National History, 16 volumes are chaired, edited/co-edited by scientists from VNU; 10 volumes are chaired by units within VNU. Almost all historical researchers from VNU have been mobilized to participate in this project.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam emphasized: no other S&T project after the acceptance step at the grassroots level has a handover ceremony like the National History Project. Among thousands of topics and S&T projects at the State level that have been accepted, if we consider the number of scientists participating, the implementation budget, or the manuscript pages... the National History Project is not the largest. However, this Project has many special features, attracting widespread attention because of its meaning of respecting the past, recognizing past eras of the country's history.

The Deputy Prime Minister also said that the research process for the National History or Encyclopedia... has just completed the acceptance at the grassroots level. There will be further steps to complete and publish. However, the results handed over today are a recognition of the tireless contributions of scientists, including the late Professor Phan Huy Le. "Scientists have created a product that is the crystallization of the "sacred soul of mountains and rivers" to last forever," said the Deputy Prime Minister.

The project began to be implemented in 2014, with the Ministry of Science and Technology as the approving and implementing agency. The management apparatus includes the National Fund for Science and Technology Development and the Project Management Board. The tasks under the project are national-level social science topics. This is the first scientific project to be implemented by the method of allocating funds to the final product according to Joint Circular No. 27/2015/TTLT-BKHCN-BTC dated December 30, 2013 of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance.

The Project Management Board and the Project's Scientific Council are mainly scientific staff of VNU such as: Late Professor Phan Huy Le, Professor, Doctor of Science Vu Minh Giang, Professor, Doctor Nguyen Quang Ngoc, Professor, Doctor Nguyen Van Khanh, Associate Professor, Doctor Vu Van Quan...

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Cong Tac said that this is a particularly large Project in terms of scale and scope of research, receiving the attention of scholars at home and abroad and the general public. Among the Programs and Projects of research on social sciences and humanities, this is the first Project to develop a compilation regulation to ensure consistency and thoroughness of the compilation principles of the work. The regulation clearly defines the general requirements of the work, the relationship between the volumes and specific regulations on the content layout and regulations in the presentation of each volume, ensuring this right from the start of implementation. The Editorial Board of the topics has accordingly implemented it on a unified trajectory.

At the reception ceremony, members of the Project Management Board representing the topic groups (ancient - medieval period, modern - modern period and historical event chronology) reported on the implementation process as well as the content of each volume in the entire History of Vietnam. Deputy Minister Pham Cong Tac said that after receiving the manuscript, the Ministry of Science and Technology will organize expert appraisal and State-level acceptance assessment for the topics under the Project.

"The topics will continue to be completed according to expert opinions and conclusions of the Scientific Council, comparing between the General History and Chronicle volumes, to ensure the quality of compilation and consistency of the National History series before editing and publishing" and are expected to be completed by the end of 2020 according to the set schedule.

Products of the Vietnamese History Series, edited by scientific staff of VNU as Chief Editor/Co-Editor: