Cover of the book "220 years of Vietnam's National Name - Historical Journeys (1804-2024)"

As we know, the National Name plays an important role and position in all aspects of national life, it is the official name used in all administrative documents of the country. In terms of diplomacy , the National Name has legal value, is the legitimacy of the country, is recognized by other countries and peoples, and is international.

In our country's history, the name Vietnam has appeared for a long time, but it was not the official national name until the year of Giap Ty, on the day of Dinh Suu, February 17 (March 28, 1804), when King Gia Long held a Khanh An ceremony at the Thai Mieu (in the Imperial Citadel) and named the country Viet Nam. The national name Viet Nam was maintained for nearly 4 decades, through the reigns of two kings Gia Long and Minh Mang. In the 19th year of Minh Mang (1838), the king changed the national name Viet Nam to Dai Nam.

In 1945, the August Revolution succeeded, ending the Nguyen Dynasty. On September 2, 1945, President Ho Chi Minh in the Declaration of Independence declared the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam - now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Throughout historical periods, the National Name of Vietnam has affirmed the position of an independent and unified country.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Duc Cuong, President of the Vietnam Historical Science Association, the event in 1804, when the country was officially named Vietnam, was an extremely important event in the country's development over the past two centuries.

The entire Vietnamese people have made great contributions to maintaining and developing, so that today, Vietnam has an increasingly important role and position in the international arena in the fields of politics, economics, culture, society, and Vietnam integrates into the world community as a responsible and prestigious country.

Major General, Dr. Nguyen Hoang Nhien, Director of the Institute of Military History, said that when studying the national name of Vietnam in the resistance wars against foreign invaders, he affirmed: Resistance wars against foreign invaders are a major content of Vietnam's military history in particular, and Vietnam's history in general. The 21 resistance wars against foreign invaders spanning 22 centuries, left important marks in the history of building and defending the country of the Vietnamese people. These resistance wars against foreign invaders are always associated with the national name of Vietnam in historical periods.

As for Associate Professor, Dr. Hoang Chi Hieu and Dr. Le Thi Qui Duc, who researched the topic of the National Name of Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh's thought before 1945, the two authors expressed their opinions: "...Since the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam (1930), Nguyen Ai Quoc - Ho Chi Minh has affirmed the name Vietnam for all of his thoughts and actions. Loyal to that decision, we can see that all the revolutionary organizations that he founded later are associated with the name Vietnam. This is the inheritance of tradition and the highest crystallization of Nguyen Ai Quoc - Ho Chi Minh's thought about a name that has a long history and also realizes the aspirations of many generations of patriotic Vietnamese people in the first half of the 20th century".

NGUYEN ANH TUAN