This is a book to learn more about the famous person Yersin and more importantly, to learn more about the circumstances and ethnic groups in the mountainous and highland regions of Vietnam in the late 19th century.
The journeys through the highlands of Indochina are like a travel diary of Alexandre Yersin about the days he traveled through the mountainous regions of the Indochina countries.
Previously, the unexplored areas of the Truong Son mountain range, located between Central and Southern Vietnam, were considered inaccessible to the Vietnamese in the 1890s. And Yersin was not afraid of the long and dangerous journey, nor of strange peoples, to embark on this challenging journey.
Book "Travels through the Highlands of Indochina"
During three consecutive trips, the French doctor - who later became very familiar with Vietnam - explored the Kontum plateau, the Dak Lak region, and especially the Lang-bian plateau at an altitude of 1500 meters, where a few years later the city of Da Lat was built on his advice.
We will follow Yersin to enjoy the magnificent nature, which at that time seemed to be an endless treasure. We will witness the ethnic minorities, the villages, and the special wine drinking rituals.
Bahnar community house.
We also follow him along streams and into swamps with his pack elephants, his attendants and interpreters. We also see tribal wars, prisoners of war, and the village chief's harsh demands for new tribute.
On his journey, Yersin recorded meticulously with a specific goal: to move forward, to discover new tribes, new people. And those stories themselves radiate strong emotions.
Alexandre Yersin arrived in Indochina in 1890, when France was still in the process of consolidating its power in the plains and deltas inhabited by Vietnamese people, and had not yet paid attention to the mountainous regions and their inhabitants.
His book is a diary of an adventure expedition, in which he writes about his journey, new discoveries, difficulties and challenges that always await him. Thanks to that, readers know more about him, about his valuable discoveries about ancient peoples.
The book was translated by Cao Hoang Doan Thuc and has just been published by Tre Publishing House.
According to TT&VH
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