UNESCO recognizes Nguyen Dynasty's royal documents as world heritage

Addressing the ceremony, Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Thai Binh affirmed that the documents were honored for its outstanding values in plentiful contents, unique form, irreplaceable value, and large-scale influence in the region and the world.

Administrative documents signed by the Nguyen Kings (1802-1945), including nearly 200,000 pages on laws, decrees, edicts and instructions for resolving problems in various fields such as politics, military affairs, foreign affairs, economy, society and culture.

It also consists of valuable documents which confirm Viet Nam's sacred sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos.

This is the fourth time UNESCO has recognized Viet Nam’s documentary heritage in the Memory of the World Programme.

The other three Vietnamese entries are wood-blocks of the Nguyen Dynasty in 2007; the stone steles in Ha Noi's Temple of Literature which record the names of noted contemporary doctors in 2010; and a collection of wooden blocks carved with Buddhist sutras at the Vinh Nghiem Pagoda in the northern province of Bac Giang in 2012./.  

By Kim Anh