Research book on Vietnamese printing history

Printing is an important premise for the development of culture, especially in the fields of journalism and publishing, however, there has not been any book in Vietnam that actually writes about the Vietnamese printing industry during the colonial period.

The book “Following the Letters” has just been released in Vietnam. (Source: Nha Nam)

The newly released work "Following the Letters" by author Trinh Hung Cuong has outlined the first important basic features in researching and preserving valuable documents about this period in our country's printing history.

Starting from the period when the French first entered Vietnam in the mid-19th century, until the late 1920s, the book collects and analyzes many valuable sources of information in three languages: French, English and Vietnamese.

The author said that he had painstakingly searched for information from official gazettes, yearbooks of the French colonial period and especially important bibliographical documents such as the Bibliotheca Indosinica by Henri Cordier or the Bibliographie de L'Indochine Orientale by Landes.

The highlight of the book is its systematic approach. It arranges and includes a large number of references, newspapers, advertisements and many other valuable documents to complete the picture of the historical context of the Vietnamese printing industry.

The author not only records the names of key printing houses, their founding years and their operations, but also vividly portrays the portraits of pioneers and unique stories about early printing activities.

Trinh Hung Cuong has succeeded in identifying and recording the operating history of most printing houses during the period 1862-1920.

In particular, the author outlined the transition from French printing houses to the emergence of Vietnamese-owned printing houses. At the same time, he provided an overview of the role of the printing industry in the political , economic and social life of Vietnam in the early colonial period.

The content of Tracing the Letters is divided into four parts, in which part one focuses on outlining the characteristics of the history of printing in Vietnam in the early colonial period (1862 - 1920), the remaining three parts of the book respectively mention: Printing in Cochinchina, Printing in Tonkin and Catholic Printing.

In addition, the author also attached three appendices including: List of other printing houses and bookstores in Vietnam (1862-1920); Printing terminology; Diagram of the relationship between printing houses in Vietnam in the period 1862-1920.

Affirming that the printing industry at that time contributed to creating a modern city, literary researcher Lai Nguyen An said that the book has academic value and is a valuable reference for those interested in learning about the history of cultural development, journalism, and publishing in Vietnam.

Author Trinh Hung Cuong was born in 1981 in Bac Ninh city, is a collector of ancient books. Graduated with a bachelor's degree in Physics of Light from Hanoi University of Science and Technology, but with a passion for collecting documents related to history and culture, he also holds the position of a document exploitation specialist at Nguyen Van Huong Library. With a rich knowledge of old books and newspapers, Trinh Hung Cuong often collects, exploits and restores documents related to Vietnamese history, politics and culture.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tap-khao-cuu-ve-lich-su-in-an-viet-nam-299463.html