Understanding more about Hanoi during the French colonial period

The book Hanoi in modern times - from concession to city (1873-1945) by author Dao Thi Dien gives readers a clearer picture of some slices of Hanoi's history during the French colonial period.

The book Hanoi in modern times - from concession to city (1873-1945) - Photo: T.DIEU

This is the book in which the author sends her "deep love for Hanoi" to readers who share the same love for Hanoi as she does. The author recently had a book launch in Hanoi on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the capital's takeover. With more than 30 years of working at the National Archives Center I, author Dao Thi Dien has had the opportunity to access valuable documents from both Vietnamese and French archives. Thanks to that, the approach to Hanoi's history in modern Hanoi - from the concession to the city (1873-1945) as well as the author's other books is quite unique and distinct: history is viewed through the prism of archival documents - original documents.

The book provides a relatively comprehensive view of Hanoi's "transformation" in the process of becoming a modern Western-style city, becoming the capital of the French Indochina federation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The book is a collection of 40 articles about Hanoi by the author published in newspapers, magazines and on the website of the National Archives Center I. Hanoi in modern times - from concession to city (1873-1945) shows slices of Hanoi's changes in the period starting with two attacks on Hanoi citadel by the French expeditionary army in 1873 and 1882 and ending with the construction of the Indochina campus in Hanoi in 1945 by the French colonial government. The book is divided into two parts, part I includes five articles about the tragic period in modern Vietnamese history (1873-1897) through the events of Hanoi citadel being attacked, occupied and destroyed by the French colonial army. Part II includes 35 articles about the process of transforming Hanoi from a concession into a "French city", a "miniature Paris" of the colonial government. In particular, in Part II, readers can find interesting information such as: Who is the real author of Long Bien Bridge; trams and handcarts in Hanoi during the French colonial period; how many streets in Hanoi were named after the great poet Nguyen Du. Or information about a street named Victor Hugo in Hanoi; the journey to build a memorial stele for Father Alexandre De Rohdes in Hanoi; the story of the École Française d'Extrême-Orient with the protection of historical relics in Hanoi; little-known things about the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam in Hanoi such as this place was once used as a quarantine area for people with the plague; the truth about the decision to fill up Hoan Kiem Lake in 1925... Of course, this is not completely new and "exclusive" information about Hanoi in modern times - from concession to city (1873-1945) that readers can find scatteredly before in different sources. In addition, at the end of the book, there is an appendix: Table of names of streets, squares, and flower gardens in Hanoi before and after 1954 and a summary of the names of French people who were named after streets, squares, flower gardens, and some constructions in Hanoi before 1954. These two appendices are very useful for both reference and those who want to learn about the interesting changes in street names in Hanoi according to the development of history. According to Professor, People's Teacher Vu Duong Ninh (Hanoi National University), author Dao Thi Dien defended her doctoral thesis in France, applying scientific and rigorous research methods, so the author's theses and articles about Hanoi have a high level of reliability.

Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hieu-hon-ve-ha-noi-thoi-phap-thuoc-2024100109172747.htm