The book "The Sun & Chrysanthemum - Symbols of Vietnamese Royal Power" by author Vu Kim Loc (published by Information and Communication Publishing House in December 2023) is a valuable source of information in researching and learning about ancient dynasties.
Researcher Vu Kim Loc, whose real name is Vu Van Giot, was born in 1957. With many years of experience in the jewelry industry, along with a passion for historical research, he has become the first and only crown restorer in Vietnam to date.
Sharing at the book launch, researcher Vu Kim Loc said: Sun - chrysanthemum and vice versa are terms I coined to avoid verbosity in the description, in which it is understood the intention of the ancient artist. Like sun - chrysanthemum means in the sun there is chrysanthemum; and chrysanthemum - sun means in chrysanthemum there is sun.
At the same time, this is also a distinction of class, such as on the king's hat is the sun - chrysanthemum, while on the mandarin's hat is the opposite. Regarding the circle with a dot in the middle or the concentric circle with a dot in the middle, I interpret it as the symbol of chrysanthemum in Dong Son culture, because in fact, chrysanthemums themselves such as immortelle, gerbera, marigold..., are circular; then the layers of petals inside and the pistil in the center are also circular.
Thus, the natural structure of the flower is already circles or concentric circles with dots in the middle. Therefore, we should not doubt that: Dong Son artisans stylized by choosing the most typical, condensed features of this flower to become a symbol. As for the circles with tangents, perhaps they represent a way of combining flowers.
The book includes an introduction introducing the similarities of the chrysanthemum image of Vietnam and other civilizations in history, the next 8 chapters include chapter 1 introducing the chrysanthemum, chapter 2 - 8 images of the sun - chrysanthemum from the time of Van Lang Au Lac to the Nguyen Dynasty. Accompanying the content are many illustrations from the author's own field trips and surveys or collected by the author from many reputable sources.
According to the author, the number of sun-chrysanthemum images that have been carved, printed, cast, and embroidered in our country over the past 2,500 years is very large and the number that still exists today on artifacts, relics, especially temples and pagodas, must be nearly hundreds of thousands.
In particular, on architectural relics, the sun - chrysanthemum has been decorated as a national emblem throughout the country, from the capital Hue to village gates and pagodas. This is an important basis for the author to propose to make the image of the sun - chrysanthemum a unique cultural symbol of Vietnam. In addition, the author also pointed out that some circular patterns with sparks must be the sun, not the moon as has long been mistaken.
To bring this book to readers, we must also mention the editing efforts of Dr. Tran Duc Anh Son - Dong A University. According to Mr. Son, this is one of the books that he has worked the hardest to edit, due to the massive amount of information and details that author Vu Kim Loc has written.
It must be added that Mr. Son is extremely meticulous, strict and rigorous in editing, which is also a guarantee for the scientific content and completeness of this book.
Hardcover book, including 8 chapters, more than 300 pages, cover price 350 thousand VND, with many sharp color images, currently sold at bookstores nationwide.
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