Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific

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The Envoy Ship Journeys to China (2018)

The Envoy Ship Journeys to China (皇華使程圖 – literally translated as Maps of the Itinerary of the Envoy’s Journey to China, or Hoàng hoa sứ trình đồ in Vietnamese), is a book that contains various pictures and abundant and valuable information on the itinerary of missions of Vietnamese ambassadors and envoys in the 18th century. It was compiled, edited and annotated by Nguyễn Huy Oánh (1713-1789) from 1765 to 1768, making use of the documents handed down by many previous generations of envoys, and to which he also added details from his own mission that took place in 1766 and 1767.

The inscription is the only restored handwritten and painted duplicate after the original book by Mr. Nguyen Huy Trien (1852-1909) written and painted in February 1887 in the village Truong Luu in Can Loc district, Ha Tinh province. The original was lost. This is a document of considerable significance, providing information pertaining to the Sino-Vietnamese diplomatic relationship and cultural communication as well as Vietnamese understanding on China in the latter half of the eighteenth century. The Vietnamese journeys have been verified by the First Historical Archives of China as having taken place, showing that the  materials, particularly the detailed maps, are authentic and rare.

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Culion Leprosy Archives (2018)

The Archives preserve and protect rare volumes of journals, text books and other reference materials on leprosy.

The  documents are testimony to the struggle of controlling leprosy from the establishment of  the Culion Leper Colony in 1906 down to its transformation to a General Hospital in 2009. The documents provide all traces of segregation of the patients and the efforts of maintaining their own community until WHO declared the elimination of leprosy as a public health problem in 1998.

The Culion Sanitarium was one of the first in Asia which had a successful model of leprosy treatment facilities. The documents are of great significance, as a unique collection of primary sources on the history of one of the most important leprosariums in the Asia/Pacific region. One can learn from these diverse resources the history of the formation of the colony in 1906, the management up to its closure in the early 21st century.  The final document in the collection is from 2015.

The books and archival resources show the global and regional connections between Culion and other leprosy organizations. Their coordination reflects the global medical efforts at containing the disease and finding the cure for it in the end. The effort at maintaining the dignity of those afflicted deserves to be remembered before it is forgotten.

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The Archives of Nanyang Volunteer Drivers and Mechanics (Nanqiao Jigong)(2018)

The Archives of Nanyang Volunteer Drivers and Mechanics  (Nanqiao Jigong) focus on more than 3,000 drivers and mechanics residing in Nanyang (an old Chinese name for Southeast Asia) who provided international material transportation during the Sino-Japanese War and World War II. The nominated archives consist of original, mostly hand-written documents generated in the process of recruitment, deployment and repatriation of overseas chinese volunteers as truck drivers during 1937-1947.

The documents are not only a record of wartime support by civilian volunteers from the overseas chinese community but also a testimony of the distinctive bonds between Chinese homeland and emigrant society in Southeast Asian countries.

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The Anandacandra Stone Inscription (2018)

The stone inscription is important evidence of the early history of Rakhine, especially from the late BCE to the eighth century CE, as no other contemporary inscriptions have so far come to light. It was discovered in the 19th century, and there is no doubt about its authenticity. The physical format of the inscription, engraved on one face of a tall four-sided pillar, is a rare surviving example of its type in South and Southeast Asia.  So far, only one face (in Sanskrit) has been able to be deciphered. Texts on the other faces in three other North Indian scripts have not yet been deciphered, and appear to have suffered significant damage and irrecoverable loss. The legible face is preserved nearly intact, with only the top 6 (out of 72) lines having been already damaged by the time of discovery.

This inscription is important for the dynastic and political history of first millennium Arakan and Southeast Bengal, being the only inscription from Arakan that gives a sequence of ancestors of a ruling king over several centuries, providing a narrative of first-millennium Arakan history, and giving allusions to political connections with Sri Lanka and the Andhra area in India and to religious Buddhist practices. No other reliable chronicles or oral history for Arakan in the first millennium have so far been identified, so this inscription provides new historical information. While Sanskrit inscriptions in verse form are widespread throughout South and Southeast Asia, there is no other extensive and relatively intact document that is formulated in Sanskrit verse style. In the context of Myanmar, Sanskrit has only ever been used extensively in Arakan, and never in the other parts of the country, and this inscription is by far the most extensive and best preserved example.

There are concerns regarding preservation. The pillar is preserved in a tiny hut where there are problems of humidity and salinity in the ground, and access by birds and other animals.

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Agreements with Native Governments 1893-1916 (2018)

The Agreements with Native Governments are the only original documents that are evidence of when each of the Ellis Islands submitted to the British Empire.

The  documents are of significance as they provide evidence of a major cultural change that occurred with the impact of Western countries in the region. The Tuvaluan (Ellice Islands) people had their own way of life, however the effectiveness of these agreements gave power and authority to the British Empire over the Tuvalu (Ellice Islands) Islands people. Under the rule of the British Empire the people were also introduced to new rules, regulations and punishment which they never had encountered in their traditional way of life.

The documents are very rare, and are one of the few ways that the people of Tuvalu (Ellice Islands) can identify who were the Chiefs and Councillors in their island at the time the Agreements were made.  The islands face a threat from climate change and are vulnerable to the disaster.

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Pyeon-aek : Hanging Wooden Plaques in Korea (2016)

The wooden plaques are hand carved and were hung at the centre of a traditional Korean building. The 550 unique plaques, cared for at the Advanced Center for Korean Studies (ACKS), were produced from the 16th century to the 20th century and entrusted to the Center’s care by clan families and Confucian academies. The industrialisation of Korea from 1960 has resulted in the disappearance of the traditional buildings on which wooden plaques were usually hung, and those that remained were at risk of damage or theft if left on the outside of buildings.

The inscriptions on the plaques are relevant to the different types of building on which they hung. Those on residential buildings were inscribed with ancestor’s moral values, those on memorial buildings commemorated ancestors learning and virtues, those on education buildings were inscribed with letters of educational ideology, and those on meditation rooms reflected the contemplative lives of virtuous scholars (seonbi).

The letters used are the artwork of kings, famous calligraphers, literary people and seonbi and form a distinctive calligraphic genre. Cultural exchanges between Korea, China, Japan and Vietnam over the period also had an impact on the calligraphies used on the plaques and they are representative of the styles of Eastern Asia as well as Korea.

The plaques represent the spiritual world, ideals and character of seonbi during the Joseon dynasty (1392-1897) and reflect their moral world and values such as filial duty and passion for and confidence in academic learning. They incorporate the artistic values of calligraphy with the Confucian view of human spirituality.

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Royal Literature on Hue Royal Architecture (1802-1945) (2016)

The Royal Literature on Hue Royal Architecture consists of 2,679 verses and picture panels located in thirteen buildings in the Royal City in Hue, Vietnam. The buildings were constructed from 1802 to 1945 and the verses were chosen from the works of the Nguyen emperors at the time each building was constructed. They are arranged in two configurations, either with one verse panel and one picture panel side by side, or one character panel and one picture side by side. The picture panel is decorative and not an illustration of the verse panel beside it.
The verses cover the many changes in Vietnam during the time they were composed. Topics covered include independence, sovereignty, Confucian teachings, the Nguyen emperors, international relations, ancestors’ merits, weather, harvests and the beauty of Vietnam. The To Temple has 685 verses, which is the most of any of the structures, and the Noon Gate has the least, with 8 verses.

Most of the royal literature is carved on enamel, concrete and iron wood and is set on longitudinal and horizontal framed boards. The script is written on these hard materials by engraving, encrusting, enamelling or covering in bas-relief and so is higher or lower than the surface on which it is carved. The number of words and lines in the poems vary and use succinct language to express important ideas. Some of the panels have been lost because of war and the climate. In 1993 Hue Monuments Complex was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

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Phuc Giang School Woodblocks (18th-20th Centuries) (2016)

The system of Confucian education and examinations expanded from the royal capital city to villages and included both public and private schools. It was in this context that the Nguyen Huy family founded the Phuc Giang private school in the mid-18th century. The woodblocks were derived from books written by members of the Nguyen Huy family and were carved from 1758 to 1788 as part of the family’s education and cultural activities. Books printed from the woodblocks were used for educational purposes throughout Vietnam and at the school until 1919 The essence of Confucian culture and education in the wider region, as well as in Vietnam, is captured in the content of the woodblocks. They testify to the influence of Chinese texts which have been supplemented with references from Vietnamese history and a specific Vietnamese focus has been given to some Confucian ideas of the time. They contain information on many topics including history, politics, society, ideology, culture, external relations, and the adoption and development of Confucianism in Vietnam.
They also preserve the handwritings, seals and insignia of the Nguyen Huy family, many of whom were appointed to prestigious positions. The 379 woodblocks are engraved on wood from the Thi tree (Decandrous Persimmon) in classical Chinese characters and use refined calligraphy styles.

They also use varied design styles and follow the standards of ancient books from countries of similar socio-cultural backgrounds in East Asia. The set is not complete as some have been lost or damaged due to war and the climate. It is rare to find woodblocks of such significance preserved by a family.

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Official Records of Macao During the Qing Dynasty (1693-1886) (2016)

 

The official records consist of 3,600 documents mainly from the mid eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. They are the official correspondence between the Chinese authorities in the Guangdong region of China and the Portuguese authorities in Macau, and are written in both Chinese characters and Portuguese. Some non-government records are also included in the collection.

The port of Macau was the gateway to China and of strategic international importance for the development of EastWest trade and the exchange of ideas and knowledge between China and the rest of the world. The records are evidence of this importance and the topics covered include, economic and trade issues, Christian missionary activity, shipping and diplomatic relations between Macau and Asian and European countries. The records also include activities within Macau such as urban development, industrial and agricultural growth and trade. They are a major original source for understanding the Qing dynasty’s policies during the period of Western colonial expansion in China.

The collection was transferred to the care of the Senhora da Graça Convent in Lisbon, Portugal, in the late 19th century and then transferred to the National Archive of Torre do Tombo (Portuguese National Archives). It is likely that the collection was first transferred from Macau to Portugal by missionaries who recognised its importance and the need for more secure storage. In 2015, a memorandum of understanding between Macau and Portugal was signed for the management of the records and includes agreement for collaboration on the conservation and digitization of the collection.

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Turkestan Collection (2016)

The Turkestan Collection is a comprehensive collection of 594 volumes of printed material relating to the history, culture, ethnography, geography, economics, social life and traditions of Turkestan and Central Asian countries from the 1867s until 1939. The collection also includes material about the region written in other parts of the world. It is the most comprehensive resource available for the study of the region over the period as it brings together both published and manuscript material in one place. Some of the published materials are now only available in this collection because other copies have been destroyed during wars and revolutions.

The collection was started in 1867 when Russia identified the need to understand the industrial potential of the region. There was a scarcity of information available at the time, but once the collection was started the reports of scientists and researchers were quickly added.The early collection was supplemented by a number of translations of foreign documents. This also coincided with the time when the first articles on the politics, economy, history, ethnography and culture of Central Asia were being published, and with the time of the establishment of the Russian administration. The early part of the collection therefore also includes detailed information on the relationship of the Russian administration with the local people.

Later volumes cover many topics including trade in Central Asia, coal exploration, the construction of railways and Russian military operations in Samarkand, Bukhara, Kokand and Khiva and in other regions. The collection’s diversity is also illustrated by the inclusion of topographic surveys, astronomical observations, statistical information, reports on expeditions and geological research.

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