There is an urgent need for a specialized research field on Hanoi!

The international conference “Sustainable development of Hanoi Capital, culture, for peace” will open this afternoon, October 7, 2010. This is an interdisciplinary scientific forum for domestic and international scientists to announce and discuss the latest results from comprehensive research projects on Hanoi. On this occasion, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke - Head of the Department of History, University of Social Sciences and Humanities shared his thoughts on the future development of Hanoi Studies. - Dear Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke, when did the concept of Hanoi studies appear and how should it be understood?- Hanoi studies is a term that we are used to saying to each other. But if it is considered the name of a science about Hanoi, then like any other field of study, the word Hanoi itself has defined for us a specific space for research. Hanoi studies all economic factors, geological geography, natural environment, climate, weather... to social and historical issues... that have been, are being and will be formed, affecting all aspects of economic, political and cultural life... of Hanoi. Those potential factors, visible or invisible, have determined the process of formation and development, determined the form of activities of the Hanoi area as the administrative center of the country not only for one century but for many centuries, as the capital of Dai Viet nation, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and now the capital of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Historically, the administrative boundaries of Hanoi have fluctuated under specific circumstances. For example, in the 1830s, it expanded to the South to Phu Li, covering the entire present-day Ha Nam province. In 1978, 1979, the capital expanded to Me Linh area, most of Son Tay, Thanh Tri, Gia Lam, Tu Liem, Soc Son but then Hanoi narrowed down to several inner-city districts and some Dong Anh districts. On August 1, 2008, it expanded to cover the entire old Ha Tay province and expanded to a district of Vinh Phuc province and a few communes of Hoa Binh, still under the name Hanoi. But the core, early and lasting foundation of Hanoi must be mentioned as the natural and social foundation of the land along the To Lich and Red rivers, on which a political and administrative center was formed, the brain of the nation was affirmed.- So how does the Associate Professor evaluate Hanoi's research achievements so far?- Unlike other regions, this area is the political center, administrative and cultural nerve center of the whole country of Vietnam, so from a certain perspective, the study of Hanoi as a constituent element of Hanoi studies has existed very early. All sciences such as history, culture, geology... in one way or another, in general, consider the Hanoi area as a separate element, although there has never been an official scientific field called Hanoi studies in history. For example, as early as 1430-1434, Nguyen Trai wrote a section on Thuong Kinh in Du Dia Chi, talking about the rivers and terrain of the capital, in which there were latent elements of Hanoi studies. In 1960, after we liberated the capital, Hanoi published the History of Hanoi. Those were the foundations for building a view of Hanoi. In 1985, researcher Nguyen Vinh Phuc - a person who devoted himself to and studied Hanoi - was affectionately called a Hanoi scholar by Professor Tran Quoc Vuong and many other professors, since then the term Hanoi studies has become more familiar and popular. In the program leading up to the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long, the Hanoi Department of Culture, the Hanoi Department of Education, and the Hanoi Department of Education designed a Hanoi studies program and compiled a whole set of history and geography to teach in general schools. The general knowledge that the author compiled was a teacher of geography, history, and literature in Hanoi since the 1980s. At Hanoi Pedagogical University, I read and contributed ideas to the draft of the Hanoi studies textbook more than a year ago. So in fact, the geography and nature of Hanoi and ancient Thang Long are the places with the most research works. Hanoi itself is the subject of research for all fields, the strongest being the social sciences and humanities such as History, customs, habits, literature, and culture. However, integrating these studies and looking at them as a whole into a field of study has not been done yet. But clearly this is the ripe time to look at the field of study and research on Hanoi with all the very clear results.- So in the future, should and can Hanoi studies be a separate science?- To build a separate field of study, a separate field of research, we must base on at least two factors: One is the practical needs of today's and tomorrow's socio-economic life. The second is the team of scientists. Those two factors combined together can create the basic conditions to form a field of study. Regarding the team of scientists, we are confident that over the past half century we have inherited the achievements of pre-revolutionary researchers, foreign researchers from Japan, France, Korea, and the US on Hanoi studies. The total of the History Department on Hanoi studies is 5,700 units. The total of our cultural studies on Hanoi is even more "terrifying", with 3,000 items on Hanoi geography alone. Perhaps in terms of locality, Hanoi is at the top, no region or province in Vietnam as a spatial area has received as much attention and research in the past and present as Hanoi. If you ask whether this field of study is necessary, I, as a scientist, would say that it is very necessary. Hanoi Studies is an interdisciplinary science, which will help draw experiences, summarize practices, determine development directions, etc., contributing very positively and effectively to the development of the capital. Obviously, the research achievements on Hanoi itself have created an urgent need for a Hanoi Studies field to directly serve the planning of sustainable development of the capital in the context of industrialization and modernization. But the problem is that Hanoi Studies can only be effective when its research truly serves the decisions of the Central Government and the capital. Do managers really realize that and apply the above research to their management policies? Then let's build Hanoi studies.- So what are the current difficulties and obstacles to making Hanoi Studies a specialized science?- As I told you, a science is built, the training product needs to be used. Otherwise, it is an irresponsible decision for the trainee.- But if we need a prediction for the official formation of a basic science called Hanoi Studies, Professor?- Any incomplete perception of management is only temporary, while the natural flow of science will inevitably pass through the voluntaristic thoughts of people. Because nothing can hinder science, hinder objective laws. For example, people once established a high-level agricultural cooperative but in the end had to return to contracting land to the people, but this had to be paid for very long and very expensively. Or the development planning of Hanoi has had many problems and unreasonable things, finished and then dismantled, filled and then dug up... That is because management does not go hand in hand with science. The difference between managers and scientists is that management is prone to voluntarism, unification, simplification by administrative orders while science is extremely rich, multifaceted and requires creativity and absolute freedom, surpassing all boundaries of human will. Currently, scientists only research Hanoi when ordered. The reason why the History Department, and not other units, received these orders is because we had prepared in advance in terms of awareness and potential to welcome these opportunities. That shows that science is also a long-term vision and a long-term investment.- How does Associate Professor evaluate the significance of the International Conference "Sustainable development of Hanoi capital, culture, for peace" for the development of Hanoi studies in particular and the development of the capital in general?- Perhaps this is a conference and forum that has gathered the largest number of researchers related to Hanoi studies domestically and internationally ever. That has a special meaning, especially since VNU - a large multidisciplinary university center of the country - is the focal unit to implement it. It must be said that the reason our conference attracted a large number of researchers is because we already had "capital", so this is an opportunity to summarize achievements, a product to celebrate the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of the Capital. But more importantly, this activity has demonstrated the very important influence and influence of science in general on the development of the capital Hanoi. Society and especially managers have increasingly recognized the role of science in the future development of Hanoi. The question is, after this conference, what is the responsibility of managers? What is the final perception of managers, can they take advantage of the contributions of scientists for the sustainable development goal of Hanoi Capital?Thank you, Professor!