Professor, People's Teacher Vu Duong Ninh introduces the book "Vietnamese People with the Sea" edited by Associate Professor, Doctor Nguyen Van Kim, The Gioi Publishing House, 2011.
For generations, humans have been living on the earth.
Green Planetwith the immense green of mountains and forests, the green of fields and the blue of the immense ocean. The Earth interweaves between continents and oceans, forming an ecological environment for humans with peace and tranquility but at the same time also many storms and harsh challenges. In those natural conditions, through many generations, humans have adapted and overcome, taken advantage of favorable conditions, overcome challenges to survive, to develop and create a diverse and rich life but also with many fluctuations. Vietnam and the Vietnamese people, from the beginning, have converged and grown in such an environment with mountains, forests, plains and oceans. The process of building the country, protecting the country, expanding the territory of our predecessors has handed over to the next generation an S-shaped Vietnam today. The Fatherland of Vietnam is located in a prime location with an ideal "three-dimensional spatial coordinate". In terms of natural geography, culture and history, and strategic position, Vietnam is both a Southeast Asian and an East Asian country, located on the western strip of the Pacific Rim. Therefore, it has formed a cultural environment originating from valleys and deltas of wet rice cultivation, absorbing the influence of Chinese civilization from the Northeast and Indian civilization from the Southeast, and opening the door to the East Sea to welcome the influx of civilization from the West.
That three-dimensional spatial position, naturally, soon formed in the Vietnamese people a harmonious consciousness between the continent and the ocean, between the mainland and the sea, starting with the immortal legend of Lac Long Quan - Au Co taking 50 children to the mountains, 50 children to the sea, building beautiful mountains and rivers for the Fatherland of Vietnam. Generation after generation, the communities living on the territory of Vietnam have reclaimed the land, conquered the sea, established sovereignty, expanded trade, and continued the heroic history left by their ancestors. Along with the process of "opening the country" to the South were the journeys of setting sail to master many archipelagos and many seas. The door to foreign trade opened wide with many seaports and ports welcoming merchant ships from neighboring countries, contacting merchants and missionaries from many Western countries. In modern times, during the arduous resistance war to save the country, along with the Ho Chi Minh trail on land along Truong Son, there is the Ho Chi Minh trail at sea with "numberless ships" sailing across the waves of the East Sea to the battlefield. And in today's construction, the marine economy occupies a very important position in the country's economy. Oil is exploited, seafood is exported, industrial zones are formed, sea tourism is expanded..., all of which make up the breakthrough in integration with the world. Cultural heritages, legendary roads and economic achievements once again prove that the Vietnamese people's consciousness is always connected to the mainland and the sea, an eternal identity originating from ancient times, from thousands of years of history until today and forever. From the perspective of historical research, the work
Vietnamese with the seahas focused on exploiting and explaining the relationship between Vietnam, the Vietnamese people and the outside world through the sea route.
Marine cultural infrastructureBuilt from the myths of the founding of the country, spiritual beliefs to everyday folk tales and records accumulated over many ages, gradually creating an increasingly broad and profound awareness of the sea. Archaeological works have discovered from the ground prehistoric relics of coastal areas, islands along the length of the country from North to South, spreading out to the East Sea.
Trade relationsis a prominent, quite continuous and effective aspect in the country's maritime activities. The early formation and development of commercial relations between Dai Viet and the countries of Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, as well as the communication with the Western East India Companies, through each period has improved the country's economy. There are still many vestiges of once bustling trading ports such as Van Don, Hoi An, Thi Nai - Nuoc Man... and also island ports such as Con Lon, Phu Quoc... Many vestiges of merchants from China, Japan, India, Siam, Cha Va or from Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, France, England... are still recorded through documents and architectural works, commercial products, and discovered shipwrecks. Through that, we can see the scene of maritime trading activities, the prosperity and decline of trading ports and cities, the bustle of maritime routes and open exchanges with the outside. Covering all are maritime awareness, maritime policies of dynasties and maritime trade activities through each period, through the fluctuations of time.
Sovereignty and maritime securityis a topic of interest throughout the history of the country. Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos and many other islands is mentioned through documents recorded in Chinese official history and through the observations of Western merchants and missionaries. They themselves - foreigners and sources of documents - have objectively and realistically stated Vietnam's sovereignty over the archipelagos in the East Sea, and today, protecting sovereignty, maintaining security, and developing the marine economy is a long-term strategic task. The three main contents of the book introduced above are components of the research work in which the authors voluntarily participated, closely linked in
Asian Trade Research Groupwas founded and directly managed by Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Kim. The group was established in 1999 with key members of the Department of World History - Faculty of History (University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi) and the participation of many lecturers from universities, research institutes... who have studied and worked at the Department of World History - Faculty of History and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. In recent years, in research, teaching and international cooperation activities,
Asian Trade Research Groupfocused on the following key directions: 1. The tradition of exploiting the sea of Vietnamese people and regional communities; 2. The consciousness and thinking towards the sea of Vietnamese people; 3. Cultures and cultural spaces of the sea; 4. The formation, operation and role of commercial ports and port towns; 5.
Marine Institutionand the relationship with the
Agricultural institutions,
Forestry institutions; 6. The relationship between
Seawith
Continent, the formation of trade routes, sources of commodities; 7. Vietnamese people's maritime trade activities and the relationship between Vietnamese people and Asian and European merchant communities; 8. The process of communication, dissemination and response of ideology and culture; 9. Awareness of sovereignty, the process of struggle to establish and protect the sovereignty of our nation's seas and islands through historical periods; 10. Building sources of documents, databases, information on seas and islands and research to serve the Vietnam Sea Strategy... From the above orientations, research activities have been contributing towards a more comprehensive and profound understanding of the position and importance of the sea, the rich and diverse potential of the sea, and at the same time contributing to building scientific arguments for planning policies and strategies for exploiting marine resources, developing the marine economy and protecting Vietnam's sovereignty over seas and islands. Works
Vietnamese with the seaedited by Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Kim is one of the new achievements in implementing the above research orientation. The work is the result of the passion for science and the serious research style of the members.
Asian Trade Research Group,simultaneously
is a promise of many more works to follow in the future. I feel honored to introduce to a wide audience this scientific work.
Vietnamese with the seaand expressed confidence that the following works and articles will be welcomed in the determined program of the Research Group as well as members of the Department of World History.
Hanoi, September 15, 2011
