Vietnamese history told through Nguyen Dynasty’s woodblocks

An exhibition on the woodblocks made during the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) is taking place in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat on the 10th anniversary of their inclusion in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme.

A picture depicting the process of engraving texts on the woodblocks (National Archives Centre IV)
A picture depicting the process of engraving texts on the woodblocks (National Archives Centre IV)

On display are the typical materials selected from more than 34,000 plates of woodblock being kept at the National Archives Centre IV.

The first section, entitled “Woodblocks - Imperial Treasures”, exhibits 10 large pictures measuring 1.22x2 metres depicting woodblock engraving activities before and during the Nguyen Dynasty.

The pictures have been created from the information contained in the woodblocks.

Moving on to the second part, visitors are introduced to woodblocks which contents record significant events in Vietnamese history, from Ngo Quyen’s victory over the Southern Han army in 938 to Nguyen Trai’s Great Proclamation on the Pacification of the Ming in 1428.

Attending the exhibition, history researcher Duong Trung Quoc recounted the history of inception and development of imperial woodblocks as well as the history of safeguarding them up till now.

Besides the exhibition space, visitors will also have an opportunity to see the artisans demonstrate the processing of engraving texts on the woodblocks and printing administrative documents in the past.