[Video] Professor Phan Huy Le answers VTV1 about the Nguyen Dynasty's Imperial Archives

The Nguyen Dynasty's imperial archives consist of memorials, decrees, edicts, proclamations, reports, registers, and diplomatic documents belonging to the Nguyen Dynasty's court archives, which were reviewed or approved by the Emperor. Before approving, the Emperor consulted the opinions of the Cabinet and the Six Ministries, then personally gave his opinion and orders. The Emperor's annotations were written in red ink, hence they were called "imperial annotations" or "imperial handwriting." Documents that had received imperial annotations were called imperial records. Imperial annotations symbolized the supreme power in the country, so documents that had received imperial annotations could not be amended further. Vietnam Television conducted an interview with Professor Phan Huy Le (Chairman of the Vietnam Historical Science Association) on this matter.