Gaining a better understanding of Hanoi during the French colonial period.

The book "Hanoi in the Modern Era - From Concession to City (1873-1945)" by author Dao Thi Dien gives readers a clearer picture of some aspects of Hanoi's history during the French colonial period.

The book "Hanoi in the Modern Era - From a Concession to a City (1873-1945)" - Photo: T. ĐIỂU

This book is the author's way of conveying her "deep love for Hanoi" to readers who share her love for the city. The author recently launched her book in Hanoi to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the capital. With over 30 years of experience working at the National Archives Center I, author Dao Thi Dien had the opportunity to access valuable documents from both Vietnamese and French archives. Thanks to this, her approach to the history of Hanoi in the modern era – from a concession to a city (1873-1945) – as well as in her other books, is quite unique and distinctive: history is viewed through the lens of archival documents – original documents.

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

This book compiles 40 articles about Hanoi by the author, previously published in newspapers, magazines, and on the website of the National Archives Center. "Hanoi in the Modern Era - From Concession to City (1873-1945)" reveals glimpses of Hanoi's transformation from the two attacks on the citadel by the French expeditionary army in 1873 and 1882 to the construction of the Indochina University campus in Hanoi in 1945 by the French colonial government. The book is divided into two parts: Part I comprises five articles about the tragic period in modern Vietnamese history (1873-1897) through the events of Hanoi being attacked, occupied, and destroyed by the French colonial army. Part II consists of 35 articles about the transformation of 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 was the real author of the Long Bien Bridge? Trams and rickshaws in Hanoi during the French colonial period; How many streets in Hanoi were once named after the great poet Nguyen Du? Or information about a street named Victor Hugo in Hanoi; the construction of the memorial stele for Father Alexandre De Rohdes in Hanoi; The story of the Far East School of Archaeology and its role in protecting historical relics in Hanoi; little-known facts about the Temple of Literature - National University in Hanoi, such as its use as a quarantine place for people with the plague; the truth about the decision to fill in Hoan Kiem Lake in 1925... Of course, this is not entirely new and "exclusive" information about modern Hanoi - from a concession to a city (1873-1945) - that readers may have found scattered information from various sources before. Additionally, the book includes an appendix at the end, a table of street names, squares, and gardens in Hanoi before and after 1954, and a brief list of French figures after whom streets, squares, gardens, and some buildings in Hanoi were named before 1954. These two appendices are very useful for reference and for anyone wishing to learn about the interesting changes in Hanoi's street names throughout history. According to Professor Vu Duong Ninh (Vietnam National University, Hanoi), the author, Dao Thi Dien, defended her doctoral thesis in France and applied rigorous scientific research methods, so her essays and articles on Hanoi are highly reliable.

Tuoitre.vn

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