Promoting the value of national treasures

Tourists visit the original national treasure statue of Bodhisattva Tara at the exhibition space "National Treasures - Heritage in the heart of Da Nang ".

This is a milestone, affirming the dynamism and effectiveness in professional cooperation between museums, relics, and collectors to effectively carry out propaganda work and promote the value of national treasures.

Fostering cultural values and heritage

For the first time, the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture organized the exhibition "National Treasures - Heritage in the heart of Da Nang" to introduce to the people and tourists full information and images of 19 national treasures in the new city of Da Nang.

These are rare artifacts, evaluated according to scientific criteria, with typical, outstanding historical and cultural values contained in each artifact. For the first time, visitors can directly admire 14 original artifacts and two versions. The remaining three treasures, due to their association with the relic and the requirements of preservation work, are introduced through documents and photo sets that are exhibited simultaneously.

The exhibition space "National Treasures - Heritage in the heart of Da Nang" at the Cham Sculpture Museum is a journey back in time, taking the public to discover and admire artifacts from the Dong Son culture with two treasures of collector Luong Hoang Long, reflecting the sophisticated bronze casting technique and the rich material and spiritual life of ancient Vietnamese people in the period from the 3rd to the 1st century BC; The Sa Huynh cultural artifacts are evidence of the unique aesthetic thinking and extremely skillful jewelry making skills of ancient residents in the central region from the 3rd century BC to the mid-1st century. And the artifacts of the Cham culture are evidence of the continuity in the process of development, integration and cultural assimilation of the central region from the 7th to the 13th century, with the profound influence of Hinduism and Buddhism expressed through the sculptures that we can still admire at the world cultural heritage My Son, the Museum of Cham Sculpture, and the Da Nang Museum.

Students of Le Thi Hong Gam Secondary School, Da Nang city during an extracurricular activity at the Museum of Cham Sculpture.

Ms. Le Thi Thu Trang, Director of the Cham Sculpture Museum, said: National treasures can be considered the crystallization of culture, a typical, distinctive and proud identification feature to introduce to domestic and foreign audiences the depth and identity of Vietnamese culture. From the success of the event, we hope this will be a premise for connections and cooperation to create new unique cultural tourism experiences, contributing to making the city a leading destination in the region, both modern and imbued with national cultural identity.

In the context of integration and globalization, the work of preserving, promoting and transmitting traditional cultural heritage values faces many challenges. The cultural sector of Da Nang is making efforts to introduce, promote and arouse pride in national culture, especially among the young generation.

Mr. Danve D. Sandu, Assistant Director, Conservation Expert of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), who is currently working on conservation at the My Son temple complex, said: “Putting the original artifacts, which are national treasures, on display to serve the people and tourists, is a great effort by the Da Nang city government. The previous generations have the responsibility to pass on precious values, while the younger generation needs to proactively receive, preserve and develop those cultural heritages in the new context, which is the most effective way to spread the value of national treasures.”

Building a strategy to promote the value of national treasures

People's Artist, Director Huynh Van Hung, former Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Da Nang City affirmed: In 1919, the Cham Sculpture Museum was built by the French and has been in operation until now. As cultural workers, we are proud and consider the Cham Sculpture Museum as a precious gem of cultural heritage, where the quintessence of Cham culture converges, including many national treasures.

“The fact that Da Nang is displaying the original national treasure for the first time is truly meaningful, contributing to introducing to the domestic and foreign public that Vietnam has a unified culture in diversity, demonstrating the harmony and interaction between ethnic cultures in the community of Vietnamese ethnic groups,” said People's Artist Huynh Van Hung.

International tourists visit the Museum of Cham Sculpture.

Architect and researcher Le Tri Cong proposed the need to develop a strategy to modernize and disseminate the value of national treasures of Cham sculpture. It is necessary to bring the beauty of Cham sculpture out of the glass cage of the museum, becoming a part of popular culture and digital life. One of the most crucial factors is the need for digitization and virtual reality technology. We cannot bring sandstone treasures around the world, but digital data can. This is a prerequisite step and the Museum of Cham Sculpture has done well in the past time.

However, it is necessary to build a virtual exhibition space where viewers from anywhere in the world can “step into” the My Son or Dong Duong holy land in its heyday. There, national treasures are placed in their original positions instead of standing alone as in the current museum. Particularly in the museum space, it is necessary to use 3D Mapping technology on original artifacts and integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into the tour application.

“In order for Da Nang’s national treasures, including the national treasures, to truly shine, we must dare to break the distant sanctification. Let the public “touch” the heritage with technology, with emotions and with modern aesthetics,” researcher Le Tri Cong emphasized.

In the context of Da Nang's current development, recognizing the importance of cultural values and heritage is crucial. Da Nang needs a long-term strategy to maximize the value of national treasures, not only honoring cultural and historical values but also affirming the role of heritage in the sustainable development of Da Nang – a place where the vibrant past and present continue in the journey of preserving and promoting the Vietnamese national cultural identity.

Article and photos: NGUYEN THI ANH DAO

Source: https://nhandan.vn/phat-huy-gia-tri-bao-vat-quoc-gia-post928909.html