Young people reconstruct the appearance of Vietnamese warships

On the morning of November 1, at Ho Chi Minh City Book Street, Kim Dong Publishing House organized a meeting to launch the book "Than Long Kich Thuy - History of Vietnamese warships" by the author group Dong Nguyen and Kaovjets Ngujens.

Cover of the book "Dragon Strikes Water - History of Vietnamese Warships". (Photo: LINH BAO)

This is a new work by Wings Books - the young book brand of Kim Dong Publishing House - recreating the majestic appearance of Vietnamese warships through the ages and revealing the advanced features in the boat design of our ancestors.

From the earliest days of building and defending the country, we have seen the shadow of naval battles and warships. Our country has a very long coastline, with a dense river system. Controlling or not controlling those water routes can be crucial to the survival of any war.

In fact, during 2,000 years of fighting, there has been no war that did not involve naval battles. Therefore, if we do not understand how the ancients fought on water, it will be difficult for us today to imagine how great and arduous the victories of our ancestors were.

Two authors Dong Nguyen and Kaovjets Ngujens answer readers' questions.

According to author Dong Nguyen, the title of the book "Than long kich thuy" (divine dragon splashing water) was inspired by a verse in the poem "Giang dinh huu cam" by the great poet Nguyen Du: "Tien chu kich thuy than long dau" (fairy boat splashing water like divine dragons fighting each other).

Since ancient times, Vietnamese people have compared boats to living creatures, specifically dragons. The boat's ribs are called Long Hiep, the keel is called Long Cot, the crossbeam is called Long Trao, the tail is called Long Vi, the bow is called Long Ti...

With a curious title, “Thần long kích thủy - History of Vietnamese warships” leads readers through 5 chapters to learn an overview of the history of Vietnamese warships through the periods of Tien Le, Ly, Tran-Ho, Hau Le, Tay Son and Nguyen dynasties.

In addition, the team will provide readers with knowledge about the technical aspects of Vietnamese warships such as hull shape, frame, hydrodynamic components, etc.; naval tactics and tools; typical warships in our country such as Mong Dong, Chu Kieu, Lau Thuyen, Ngu Bac, etc.

Scene of the exchange.

In each chapter, the group of authors provides reference sources for comparison and evidence, and at the same time makes careful observations and research on historical documents.

Among the documents the group of authors consulted, it is necessary to mention “Le Dynasty Code” - a work that can be considered the only one that still records the parameters and technical standards of warships during the Le Trung Hung period. Next is “Kham Dinh Dai Nam Code of Laws” which presents in great detail the form of warships during the Nguyen period and “Thuyen Bac Danh Hieu Do Thuc”, a set of diagrams with names of parts of warships during the Nguyen period found and published by scholar Pham Hoang Quan.

Besides, there are also documents of foreign researchers, including the volumes “Esquisse d'une ethnographie navale des pays Annamites” (Sketch of Vietnamese maritime ethnography) by Pierre Paris and “Voiliers D'Indochine” (Indochinese sailing ships) by JB Pietri.

These are rich treasures of images and descriptions of Vietnamese boats in the early 20th century, painstakingly translated by maritime expert Do Thai Binh , annotating folk boat terminology. Complementing the collection is the book “Les jonques chinoises: Indochine” (Chinese Sailing Boats: Indochina) by Louis Audemard, with drawings of 20th-century sailing boats with Chinese names made by Captain Hennique around 1884-1885, helping to piece together the Nguyen Dynasty’s records with Western observations.

The book has many beautiful, vivid illustrations. (Photo: KIM DONG Publishing House)

With rich sources of materials and an interdisciplinary approach of history, technology, culture and military , the book not only recreates the heroic appearance of Vietnamese sailors through the ages but also reveals the sophistication in design and strategic thinking of our ancestors.

The book has many illustrations from details to panoramic drawings by Kaovjets Ngujens, along with photos of Dong Nguyen's boat model at the Vietnam History Museum, and other valuable related paintings and documents.

At the end of the book "Thần long kích thủy" there is also an appendix of Vietnamese boat parts with both folk names, Sino-Vietnamese names in court documents and modern English for readers to easily look up. Besides the notes, the appendix also includes dozens of illustrations of each part so that readers can easily visualize the shape, structure and function. This is a unique content in this book.

Attending the exchange was researcher Do Thai Binh. He is an expert on ancient boats, translator and author of many monographs on boats and Vietnamese maritime, and the editor of the book "Than Long Kich Thuy". Talking about "Than Long Kich Thuy", researcher Do Thai Binh said that the book is very necessary for young readers, especially students majoring in maritime.

"The book not only helps young people today understand the history of Vietnamese warships but also inspires in young people a love for the sea and their country," researcher Do Thai Binh commented.

The book "Than long kich thuy" was written by a group of authors Dong Nguyen and Kaovjets Ngujens. Dong Nguyen specializes in researching the history of customs, costumes and weapons. He is the co-founder of many groups and sites specializing in researching ancient history and culture such as Dai Viet Co Phong, Vietnam Centre, Vuong Su Kien Due...

Kaovjets Ngujens is a Latvian artist of Vietnamese origin, specializing in historical illustrations in various periods, and is the author and main artist in many historical book and documentary projects. The two authors have collaborated on the book project Miraculous Arts - Some Techniques and Technologies on the S-shaped Strip of Land Before the 20th Century published by Kim Dong Publishing House.

LINH BAO

Source: https://nhandan.vn/nguoi-tre-dung-lai-dien-mao-thuyen-chien-viet-nam-post919829.html