As the trend of book collecting becomes popular in Viet Nam, many publishing houses have decided to renew and enhance history books in order to satisfy readers’ interest in collecting these kinds of books.
VIETNAMESE HISTORY: A new edition of Viet Nam Su Luoc (Outline of History of Viet Nam) compiled and edited by educator and historian Tran Trong Kim. — Photo courtesy of Dong A Publishing House
The Dong A Publishing House has released new editions of two great books on history of Viet Nam with beautiful covers and numerous illustrations.
They are Viet Nam Su Luoc (Outline of History of Viet Nam) and Viet Nam Van Hoa Su Cuong (A Historical Outline of Vietnamese Culture).
Viet Nam Su Luoc was compiled and edited by educator and historian Tran Trong Kim (1883-1953) and first published in 1920.
Being considered as the first history book in Vietnamese, it covers important historical events of the country from the Hong Bang Dynasty (2879 - 258 BC) to the early 20th century.
The book was reprinted in 1928, 1954 and 1971.
The new edition has 565 colour pages and a hard cover decorated with Vietnamese cultural characteristics.
The publisher selected and added more than 60 illustrated images and folk paintings in the books. The images are sourced from old pictures, drawings and newspapers kept in museums.
There are maps of Viet Nam published in 1928 and 1954 as well.
The publisher also gives a bonus of eight postcards and a map of Ha Noi in 1873 for the new edition.
CULTURAL HISTORY: Viet Nam Van Hoa Su Cuong (A Historical Outline of Vietnamese Culture) by late researcher Dao Duy Anh has 108 illustrations. — Photo courtesy of Dong A Publishing House
Viet Nam Van Hoa Su Cuong was compiled by the late educator Dao Duy Anh and first published in 1938, featuring an overview of Vietnamese life from the old days to the early 20th century. It portrays different fields, such as culture, tradition, society, economy, religion, literature, arts and science.
The 368-page book has more than 108 new illustrated images from old documents in museums and other sources such as L'Illustration, a weekly French newspaper published in Paris from 1843 to 1944, and the book L'Art Indochinois by Albert de Pouvourville.
The illustrations also feature a painting by the late painter Thang Tran Phenh, one of the first students at the Indochine College of Fine Arts, and six photos by late French photographer and postcard publisher Pierre Dieulefils.
Do Quoc Dat Nhan, Dong A’s editor, said at the book introduction in HCM City that two books by Tran Trong Kim and Dao Duy Anh contained a wide range of knowledge on the country’s history which would satisfy any history lovers and researchers.
Nhan added the publisher decided to renew and beautify the books to catch more readers’ attention. “When readers see a beautiful book, they feel curious and want to approach it.”
“We hope the reprints of the two books can spread love to history and reading among people, especially young people,” he said, adding that beautiful books could satisfy many book collectors as well.
Beautiful books
IMPERIAL HUE: A premium version of the book Hoi Uc Kinh Thanh Hue Dau The Ky XIX (Souvenirs of Hue Citadel in Early 19th Century) with a cover made from truc chi. — Photo courtesy of Thai Ha Books
In 2020, Thai Ha Books Joint Stock Company released two different special editions of the book Hoi Uc Kinh Thanh Hue Dau The Ky XIX (Souvenirs of Hue Citadel in Early 19th Century), a Vietnamese version of Souvenirs de Hue written by Michel Duc Chaigneau (1803-1894).
Chaigneau, a son of a French official and a Hue woman, grew up in Hue during the reign of Emperor Gia Long and the first five years of the reign of Emperor Minh Mang. His book features memoirs of the author about ancient Hue and life inside and outside the citadel walls.
The book is translated and annotated by translator Le Duc Quang.
Apart from regular editions, Thai Ha Books introduced two premium versions of the book.
One has a cover made from truc chi (a kind of paper made from bamboo) and lacquer which was designed by artist Phan Hai Bang with the effect of making the book brighten in the dark.
For this version, the company released only three copies. All profits from selling the books was given to the Hue Culture Foundation.
Another version has a cover made from lacquer, a traditional material using for paintings.
Although its price was up to VND1.39 million (US$59.45), all seven books were sold out.
According to a representative of Thai Ha Books, the company will continue to release both premium and regular versions of cultural and history books to spread love for reading among people as well as serve book collectors.