East Sea - Truong Sa in Vietnamese history and culture

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Kim – Vice Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi – is an expert in the history of trade and diplomatic relations in East Asia. He represented the University in participating in Working Group No. 8 (with the participation of the Navy Command, the Navy Region 4 Command, the Ministry of Education and Training, Khanh Hoa Province, Vinh Phuc Province and a number of agencies and organizations in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Hai Phong) to Truong Sa archipelago in late April 2013. The trip left him with many emotions and thoughts about the East Sea and Truong Sa from a historical perspective.

USSH would like to respectfully introduce to readers the article titled "East Sea - Truong Sa in Vietnamese cultural history" in the series of articles by the teacher on this topic after the trip..

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In the minds of many ancient Vietnamese communities, the East Sea - the East Sea isSacred spaceclosely associated with the founding of the nation. Generations of Vietnamese people have reminisced about their origins, about the legends of Lac Long Quan - Au Co, Son Tinh - Thuy Tinh, Tien Dung - Chu Dong Tu, Mai An Tiem... From the legends of the Vietnamese people to the legend of Hon Dien - Lieu Diep of the Oc Eo - Phu Nam residents... all contain philosophies of life, the mysterious colors of a diverse and unified Vietnamese cultural tradition. Those myths and legends have opened up many thoughts about the communication between regions and cultural spaces, the strength of economic centers, the responsiveness between humans and the natural world, the connection between cultural traditions, the impulses and even the driving forces that created endogenous and exogenous factors in the great transformation of our nation during the founding of the nation.

In the vast sea space of the Vietnamese people, right from the beginning, it has contributed to the creation of great cultures and cultural traditions such as Dong Son in the North, Sa Huynh - Champa in the Central region and Oc Eo - Phu Nam in the South of Vietnam. The cultural environment and marine economy have created strong driving forces for the rise of many cultures and the formation and development of the first ancient states in our Fatherland. Therefore, in the current study of Vietnamese history and culture, along with the wayDelta thinkinggoodContinental thinking, researchers have been moving towards a new approach,Thinking from the seagoodThinking from the ocean(View from the Sea). That perspective and approach not only clarified historical and cultural characteristics but also brought about new, more comprehensive and systematic perceptions of Vietnamese history and culture.

It is noteworthy that, from considering fishing as a basic source of livelihood, the ancient residents soon reached out to the sea, developed the marine economy, expanded foreign economic relations and trade at sea... Those economic activities brought great benefits to the governments and many communities living along the coast and at sea. The economic strength and great potential of the ocean became the driving force attracting many people to explore coastal and island areas. And they brought to the coastal and sea cultural spaces the cultural imprints typical of the deltas and even of the midlands and highlands. Through archaeological sites and cultural symbols, it can be seen that generations of Vietnamese people soon demonstrated their ability to exploit the sea and conquer the open sea. With simple means of going to sea, the ancient communities, the owners of cultures from Ha Long to Dong Son, Sa Huynh, Champa, Phu Nam... reached out to control the islands and archipelagos. On the other hand, elements of marine and island culture also penetrate and blend with mainland cultural traditions. For the islanders of the Central region, typical ceramic pieces of Sa Huynh culture with typical wave-shaped motifs have been discovered not only at coastal archaeological sites on the mainland but also in offshore island chains and in the Truong Sa archipelago of the Fatherland.

After the restoration of national independence, in the 10th century, in the rise of an autonomous nation, the Ly (1009-1225), Tran (1226-1400) dynasties as well as the following dynasties such as: Le So, Mac or the Le - Trinh government in Dang Ngoai, Nguyen government in Dang Trong... strongly expanded and mastered the East Sea. It is important to emphasize that, in the face of a powerful Song empire, the Ly dynasty still strongly turned to the sea, exploited the potential of the sea, and developed trade relations. In 1149, King Ly Anh Tong (1138-1175) openedpageVan Don simultaneously developed into the largest foreign economic center in the northeastern sea and islands of Dai Viet. With a broad vision, the king himself repeatedly toured the islands, observed the terrain of the mountains and rivers, visited the residents and ordered people to draw maps of the islands. Historically, in the face of the invasion of regional empires, our people organized many naval battles, decisive battles at sea and completely protected the national sovereignty and exclusive economic zones of Vietnam.

Not only famous for their seafaring profession and rich naval tradition, generations of Vietnamese people are also famous for their ability to trade and have diplomatic relations at sea. Located on one of the main routes of the Asian maritime trade system, throughout history many commercial ports and foreign economic centers have been established. These commercial ports once played the role ofRegional economic center, Inter-regional,Inter-world economic centersuch as: Van Don (Quang Ninh), Pho Hien (Hung Yen), Hoi Thong (Ha Tinh), Thanh Ha (Thua Thien - Hue), Hoi An (Quang Nam), Thi Nai - Nuoc Man (Binh Dinh), Cu Lao Pho (Dong Nai), Ha Tien... In modern times, that tradition is still continued with commercial ports such as: Hai Phong, Da Nang, Saigon, etc... These are all large commercial ports, the destination of many domestic, regional and international merchants for many centuries.

With the Truong Sa archipelago, on the islands of Truong Sa Lon, Nam Yet, Song Tu Tay, An Bang... in the years 1993-1999, a number of archaeological surveys, explorations, and excavations were carried out. Archaeologists and historians found many artifacts, ceramics from the Sa Huynh, Champa eras to typical artifacts of the Tran, Le So dynasties to the Nguyen dynasty. Those archaeological evidences not only showearly appearancebut also convincing scientific evidence aboutthe continued presence of Vietnamese peopleon the country's islands. Those artifacts, along with historical documents recorded in historical books such as:Dai Nam Thuc Luc, Preface,The Imperial Code of Dai Nam, Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi, Phu Bien Tap Luc, Lich Trieu Chinh Hien Chuong Loai Chi… are historical evidences, contributing significantly to affirming and protecting the sovereignty of our country.

In the 16th-18th centuries, during the golden age of the Asian maritime trade system, the Nguyen lords in Dang Trong soon recognized the important role and great potential of the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos and established the Hoang Sa and Bac Hai teams to send to the Hoang Sa, Truong Sa, Con Lon, and Ha Tien islands to collect marine products and assert sovereignty. The Nguyen lords such as Nguyen Phuc Nguyen, Nguyen Phuc Lan, Nguyen Phuc Chu... or the Nguyen kings, typically Gia Long, Minh Mang..., continuously sent militia and navy forces to build temples, draw nautical charts, measure sea routes, and erect sovereignty steles on the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos and many other island areas in the East Sea.

Also during that period, in the process of exploration, search, and development of trade relations with the East, many Western navigators and explorers such as Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, England, France, etc., when passing through or stopping by the waters of Vietnam, made quite detailed notes, descriptions, and maps of the locations of the archipelagos.ParacelsandSpratly(ie Hoang Sa - Bai Cat Vang, Truong Sa) as well as other sea and island areas of Vietnam. Along with domestic sources of information, those international sources of information and documents have been and are being thoroughly exploited to serve the economic development strategy; research and planning of cultural and social spaces while contributing to protecting the sovereignty and economic resources of the nation.

In the context of integration and globalization, clearly recognizing the new characteristics and development trends ofOcean Century, Our Party and State have had many policies and guidelines to develop the marine economy, protect sovereignty and maritime security. In recent decades, Vietnam's maritime position and marine economic activities have become important areas in the country's development. Revenue from oil and gas, maritime activities, transportation, marine services; exploitation and fishing... are accounting for a significant proportion of the total national income. On the other hand,while expanding national thinking to the sea, we also see that the East Sea, including Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, is a place where many regional and world economic and political conflicts exist; it is one of the "hot spots" in international relations. The East Sea is a place where opposing sides, advantages and difficulties, cooperation and struggle, peace and the risk of instability, multilateral and bilateral disputes are concentrated; it contains conflicts in both defense and foreign economic security. To protect the sovereignty of the sea and islands, Vietnam has been actively coordinating with regional countries to implementUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982andDeclaration of the Parties on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea in 2002Vietnam advocates resolving disputes and issues that exist in the East Sea peacefully, but is also ready to take necessary measures to protect its sovereignty over islands, territorial waters and exclusive economic zones.

As a developing country with rich marine potential, the marine economy has become a key economic sector. Vietnam is striving to achieve the goal of sustainable development, linking economic development with the protection of national sovereignty and security; striving to become an industrialized country, a strong maritime country, rich from the sea, comprehensively developing marine industries and occupations by 2020, contributing to the successful implementation ofVietnam's maritime strategywhich the 4th Conference of the 10th Party Central Committee proposed.Maritime strategyis a major policy and decision, demonstrating the vision and mettle of our nation in the context of globalization.

Vietnam is a country withSea Traditionand haveSea culture. The sea is a vast world, rich in potential but also very vulnerable due to the economic and political ambitions of regional powers. Since ancient times, the sea has been the living environment, the economic development environment, the cultural exchange of Vietnam and at the same time the prospect of the future of the region.