Book: "Sea and continent - Role and exchange network in the Central river basins"

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Europe, a science emerged that synthesized and re-evaluated the changing world situation, that is Geopolitics or Geostrategy. Halford John Mackinder (1860-1947), a British geographer, considered one of the founders of this field of study, in his article The Geographical Pivot of History published in the London (UK) Geography Journal in April 1904, took the interaction between the continent and the ocean through the river system as the most important basis for assessing the potential and forecasting the future development of each country and each region. He did not follow the determinism of geography, but believed that geographical conditions were always of vital importance. He believes that China has a superior geostrategic position compared to all other countries, because China has a large continental territory in the center of the world, a very long coastline and large river systems with many very good natural ports, but until the beginning of the 20th century, China was still just a great continental empire, because it ignored the optimal natural conditions that heaven had given them. Thus, here he leans towards the decisive role of humans in exploiting and using the special advantages of nature.

Without waiting until the beginning of the 20th century, right from the end of the 13th century, at the height of the great victory of the era at Bach Dang on April 9, 1288, Truong Han Sieu affirmed as a truth: "The key to success in a dangerous land is one's high virtue" (Bach Dang River). It is the people who “know others and know themselves”, who understand what nature has given and what it challenges, who have responded appropriately and created great feats in the history of fighting against foreign invaders. Natural geographical factors and the subjective role of humans combine to make history, it is difficult to clearly distinguish which is primary, which is secondary, which is decisive, which is additional.

Vietnamese history, right from the beginning of the era of building and defending the country, was formed and developed in three very typical historical-cultural spaces, mainly divided according to natural conditions: the Dong Son - Van Lang, Au Lac cultural space in the North, the Sa Huynh - Champa cultural space in the Central region and the Oc Eo - Phu Nam cultural space in the South. Later, the entire history of Vietnam was integrated into a mainstream of Dai Viet, Dai Nam and Vietnam, but many typical values ​​of each of the first spaces were still maintained, creating diversity in the unity of Vietnamese history and culture.

The Central region has a narrow plain, high mountains, short and steep rivers, and a coastline that reaches out to the ocean waves. Residents cannot only focus on rice fields, but also have to travel up and down the mountains and seas to make a living, as the old folk song still reminds us: "Whoever returns, tell the source/ Send bamboo shoots down, send flying fish up.”. Nowhere in the country does sea-continent dialogue through the exchange network in river basins take place as regularly, busily, strongly and effectively as in the Central region.

I still remember, in the summer of 1976, exactly one year after the country's reunification, Professor Phan Huy Le led our group to Quy Nhon, up the Con River to An Khe (at that time in Gia Lai - Kon Tum province), then down the Ba River... to research and explain why, right from the beginning, the Tay Son movement had synthesized the sources of strength of the Central Highlands mountains and forests with the plains of Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and the immense ocean, creating a great source of strength that made a series of glorious victories in the conditions when the country was facing countless difficulties and hardships. Later, as the Chief Editor,History of Vietnam30 episodes (calledNational history), at the age of over 80, the Professor still does not mind the storms of Truong Sa and the scorching sun of the Central region, going to the villages of the Central Highlands, the rivers, the ports, the coastal islands and the islands in the East Sea to search for the accurate historical pages of the country that are still hidden in folklore, which historians have not had many opportunities to invest in exploiting.

Under the direction of Professor Phan Huy Le, on December 18, 2016, in Hanoi, the Vietnam Historical Science Association and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi organized a scientific conference with the theme:Sea and continent - Role and exchange network in the river basins of the Central regionThe conference gathered 25 scientific reports from experts, including many leading experts in the fields of History, Archaeology, Cultural Studies, Geography, Ecological Environment... from Hanoi National University, Vietnam Historical Science Association, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, experts in Hanoi, Quang Tri, Hue, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Ninh Thuan and international experts (Japan). Most of the reports were written with great effort with rich sources of documents, especially field investigation documents and with profound and new assessments and comments.

Putting all the articles in a general relationship and through the extremely lively exchange of opinions throughout the day of the conference, it is possible to clearly see the connection into a unified entity between Truong Son - Tay Nguyen with the coastal plains of the Central region, the organic connection between the coastal mainland and the open sea and the path of the Vietnamese people advancing to the great sea... all are molded, blended into the characteristics of the historical - cultural space of the Central region. The thread that connects, combines, synthesizes and multiplies the strength of the resources of mountains, forests, plains and seas is the rivers and water ports of the homeland. In the end, the history of the Central region is not outside the general rule of the history of the country and the history of humanity that the land dominates the sea and the especially important role of rivers.

I know that after the success of the conference, some authors continued to deepen their research, add more information, documents, and reinforce their assessments and comments. Although the book that readers have in hand cannot avoid some limitations and minor shortcomings, it is still a relatively complete work on a historical area with a very special position in the Central region, which is the interaction between the sea and the continent through the connecting role of rivers, which not many people have paid attention to systematically researching before.

Nearly 30 authors of 25 articles in the book, some are direct students, but there are also many who have never heard Professor Phan Huy Le lecture. Although our expertise, age and working environment are different, when we gathered together on a topic of Central Vietnam history, we all tookcomprehensive approach to Vietnamese historyinitiated by Professor Phan Huy Le as a unified implementation principle. Unfortunately, the book was not completed before Professor Phan Huy Le passed away. We respectfully send our deepest gratitude to him and hope that his noble thoughts and career will live forever with the history of our homeland and country.

We would like to thank everyone who has loved, cared for, and helped us in organizing the Workshop and the Editorial Team in completing the book manuscript. We would like to introduce the book:Sea and continent - Role and exchange network in the river basins of the Central regionwith readers.