The book "Place Names of Quang Ninh Past and Present," a 1,032-page, 16x24cm book, published by Hong Duc Publishing House, is a monumental work, considered a very useful reference dictionary of place names, personal names, river names, and mountain names in Quang Ninh, both past and present.
To produce this book, the authors spent many years collecting and researching. The idea of creating a book about the place names of Quang Ninh, past and present, originated very early, right after the publication of the Quang Ninh Gazetteer. The initiating authors were the folk culture researcher Tong Khac Hai (now deceased), Mr. Nguyen Canh Loan, Chief of the Office of the Quang Ninh Historical Science Association, and Mr. Nguyen Van Ai, an officer of the Cartography Department, General Staff, Vietnam People's Army. Compared to Mr. Nguyen Van Ai's first draft and the 1996 draft, the newly published "Place Names of Quang Ninh, Past and Present" has approximately six times more pages.
Since 2017, the project has received participation from members of the Vietnam Folklore Association, the Quang Ninh Folklore Association, some staff from the Quang Ninh Museum, and staff from the Communication and Culture Center and the Culture and Information Departments of localities in the province. The book's contributors conducted hundreds of field trips to various localities to collect and record materials. Each place name, village name, river name, and mountain name visited by these individuals holds immense significance for scientific research as well as practical life. Through these place names, we can gain a deeper understanding of the formation and development of Quang Ninh province. The project also mobilized the collective intelligence of hundreds of people from various localities. The author group distributed 2,198 survey questionnaires and compiled a list of over 41,000 place names of various types, including land names, river names, mountain names, and village names.
Each place name (entry) summarizes the characteristics of the place and explains the legends and meanings surrounding it. According to Ms. Phan Thi Thuy Van, Director of the Information, Preservation and Promotion Center for Cultural Heritage, Quang Ninh Museum, researchers must rely on place names to identify related locations. For example, Doc Dinh certainly means a temple is nearby, or the name Mieu Rung Nghe, or Bai Mieu at Yen Cu temple, the place name Lung Nghe near Lung Xanh waterfall in Uong Bi, Nghe Goc Lim near Nam Mau coal mine in Uong Bi, Dong Dinh in Phong Du commune (Tien Yen district). Many place names in Quang Ninh are associated with ancient temples and shrines.
Each place name in Quang Ninh today is imbued with the imprints of social history, sometimes linked to momentous events of the nation. Therefore, the process of researchers studying place names is essentially studying cultural history, a noble need stemming from love for one's homeland and country. Place names subtly reflect the process of perception and, on the one hand, serve as a measure of the process of social organization. Place names also constitute a vast vocabulary, rich in distinctive nuances within the national language treasury, and are vivid evidence of the rich history of the beautiful Quang Ninh region where we live.
From that data, the editorial board compared it with ancient administrative documents and discovered that our province has over 100 district and commune names that are between 100 and 700 years old. Some of these names are still in use today. Many of these place names help us understand more about the migration and settlement process of the San Diu, San Chi, Dao, and Tay people, initiating research on the culture of ethnic communities in Quang Ninh.
Having obtained such a vast amount of data, the authors had to embark on an equally arduous process: classifying place names and arranging them according to the manuscript's structure before publishing the book. The book "Place Names of Quang Ninh: Past and Present" was created in three parts. Part 1 introduces readers to toponymy and the formation process of various place names. Part 2, an overview of Quang Ninh province, analyzes and systematically introduces the distinctive features of events and valuable documents. Part 3 helps readers understand each place name in Quang Ninh, especially those associated with historical figures and events. Regarding administrative place names at the district, town, city, provincial, commune, ward, and township levels, the authors provide readers with the formation and development process of each place name.
With rapid urbanization, many new, modern architectural and transportation infrastructure projects have been built, meeting the needs of socio -economic development and the aspirations of the people. The authors of the work "Place Names of Quang Ninh Past and Present" have provided the database of place names with additional historical figures, major events, and ancient place names in the area. This is a significant work; although not a dictionary in the true sense explaining each entry, it helps readers conveniently look up the names of lands, rivers, mountains, and villages.
The book highlights the value of many cultural tourism projects in Quang Ninh, especially in providing information for young people and those interested in cultural research. Therefore, the book has been placed in the library of Ha Long University, the Provincial Library, and the community library system of districts, towns, and cities in the province, and has initially received attention from readers. Ms. Dao Thi Hoai Thu, Head of the Reader Services Department at Quang Ninh Library, shared: "This is a very useful reference book. We have now placed it in the local history collection. Readers can come to Quang Ninh Library to search for and borrow it."
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