The “soft power” of Vietnamese agarwood culture

Agarwood is one of the precious products that nature has bestowed upon Vietnam. From historical records and modern statistics, Vietnamese agarwood has long been recognized as the best quality, most abundant and most economically valuable agarwood in the world.

In Vietnam in particular and in the world in general, in the first decades of the 21st century, the agarwood industry has developed very strongly, with an estimated transaction value of up to billions of USD each year, and agarwood originating from Vietnam accounts for a large proportion, sought after worldwide.

The book is a thorough research, with profound theoretical and practical value on Vietnam's agarwood culture. Photo: T.Du

With the great potential of Vietnamese agarwood products, along with the context of comprehensive and extensive globalization, identifying, defining and developing the Vietnamese agarwood brand is an urgent requirement, closely linked to the strategy of enhancing the national cultural "soft power".

The book “Vietnamese Agarwood Culture” by Dr. Nguyen Duy Thai is an elaborate research work with profound theoretical and practical values. The work consists of 3 chapters: “Agarwood culture in the overall Vietnamese culture”, “Identifying Vietnamese agarwood culture”, “The role of agarwood culture and enhancing the “soft power” of Vietnamese agarwood culture”.

With a scientific, systematic and practical approach, the book not only provides a systematic and methodical view of the origin, characteristics and foundation of Vietnamese agarwood culture, but also points out the role of agarwood in the fields of production, daily life, beliefs, arts and diplomacy . The author affirms that agarwood culture is not only a phenomenon “in Vietnam” in the geographical sense, but is a part “of Vietnam” - carrying elements of ownership, origin and identity.

The book also shows that agarwood should be considered a purely Vietnamese cultural symbol, just as the world has known pho, ao dai, or conical hat - typical representatives of Vietnam on the global cultural map. At the same time, the book proposes specific solutions to protect heritage, promote creativity, and develop agarwood-related cultural industries in a sustainable, modern, and profound way.

In the context of the agarwood production industry making new strides in both quality and quantity, research on the history and culture of agarwood like this project will, on the one hand, contribute to preserving the traditional beauty of our ancestors, and on the other hand, help spread the cultural value of Vietnamese agarwood globally, enhancing the "soft power" of Vietnamese culture.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/suc-manh-mem-van-hoa-tram-huong-viet-nam-703350.html