Exhibition on Drawing Dragon Maps at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities: Extending the good relationship between Vietnam and the Netherlands

This morning (December 14, 2023), in Hanoi, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH) - Vietnam National University, Hanoi in collaboration with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Vietnam organized a thematic exhibition: "Drawing the Dragon Map: Vietnam in the eyes of Dutch cartographers". Speaking at the reception, Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan - Rector of USSH, VNU emphasized that this is an event to celebrate the milestone of more than 400 years of people-to-people exchange and 50 years of bilateral diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the Netherlands. In the past 500 years, the Netherlands has been a maritime power, the world's leading center for cartographic science. The cartographic heritage that the Netherlands left to the world is enormous, including hundreds of maps of Vietnam in the past 400 years. The Dutch maps are extremely important, not only serving the scientific and historical issues of Vietnam, but also contributing greatly to the research and affirmation of the country's sovereignty, especially the territorial waters and territories. In addition, the Netherlands also has 30,000 pages of handwritten documents (from the 17th century to the early 19th century) with a lot of information about culture, economy, society, customs, and descriptions of the territory and territorial waters.

Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan - Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU shared the honor of the school when welcoming distinguished guests from the Embassy of the Netherlands, former Vietnamese ambassadors to the Netherlands, and scientists to attend the opening ceremony of the map exhibition.

Professor Hoang Anh Tuan said that, as the leading university in Vietnam in research and training in the field of social sciences and humanities, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has coordinated with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Vietnam to organize a thematic exhibition: "Mapping the Dragon: Vietnam in the eyes of Dutch cartographers". This is the first exhibition in Vietnam to introduce to the public a very systematic map collection, along with in-depth exploitation and research, which will contribute to strengthening the friendly cooperation between the two countries, especially serving the issue of planning, territory, and territorial waters of Vietnam in the coming time.

Mr. Kees van Baar - Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Vietnam highly appreciated the meaningful activities of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU in displaying the map of Vietnam by Dutch cartographers.

Appreciating the meaningful activity of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU in displaying the map of Vietnam by Dutch cartographers, Mr. Kees van Baar - Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Vietnam shared: “A map is a story about the history, culture, and the formation and development of a country. Therefore, today's thematic exhibition on dragon mapping reminds us of the culture and history of Vietnam hundreds of years ago”. The Ambassador was delighted to see many scientists, diplomats, especially students of VNU-USSH visiting the exhibition booth, clearly showing their passion for historical research. This is also a testament to the good relationship between Vietnam and the Netherlands.

Mr. Ngo Thuy Truc Lam - Leiden University Library (Netherlands), co-author of the collection of Vietnam maps, shared about the historical and cultural values of the maps.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the exhibition, former Vietnamese Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ms. Dinh Thi Minh Huyen expressed her gratitude to the University of Social Sciences and Humanities for organizing the exhibition of Vietnamese maps made by Dutch cartographers. This is not only a meaningful activity to promote diplomatic relations between the two countries but also has great significance for science and history. According to the former ambassador, the exhibition of valuable map documents is a practical activity and needs to be replicated in universities, in order to provide society with authentic historical documents, besides educating the younger generation, especially students about national sovereignty and sovereignty over seas and islands.

Ms. Dinh Thi Minh Huyen - Former Ambassador of Vietnam to the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Former Vietnamese Ambassador to the Netherlands Ha Huy Thong highly appreciated the significance of the Dragon Map exhibition organized by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Mr. Huynh Minh Chinh - Former Ambassador of Vietnam to the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hong Thao - Member of the United Nations International Law Commission

Some images of the exhibition:

The exhibition “Drawing the Dragon Map: Vietnam in the eyes of Dutch cartographers” held at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, aims to introduce ancient maps of Vietnam’s territory in many periods drawn by the Dutch and published in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Over the centuries, different types of maps, from nautical charts used in maritime navigation to atlases, have been created and printed. They partly reflect the changing political and geographical situation of Vietnam and the Southeast Asian region. Most of the maps in this exhibition show a larger geographical area than Vietnam, providing insight into the relationship between Vietnam and surrounding areas. This exhibition uses maps from the collection of the Leiden University Library (Netherlands) by authors Martijin Storms and Ngo Thuy Truc Lam. The exhibition includes 4 parts:

Charts and the Dutch East India Company;
Vietnam on early Dutch maps;
Book illustration map;
Vietnam in atlases used in schools in the 19th century.

The exhibition is an opportunity for the public to access valuable map documents, directly serving the study, learning and research of Vietnamese history, regional and international history. The exhibition takes place from December 14, 2023 to December 21, 2023 at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi, 336 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi.

USSH