Description
Book SynopsisExplore Vietnam’s rich literary and graphic design history. Vietnam has a strong literary culture that dates back to Confucian influence and has remained important today. Using Vietnamese books, documents, and manuscripts from the collection of the British Library,
Vietnam Documented gives a window into that heritage and represents key incidents in Vietnamese social, cultural, and political history. It also highlights the visual sophistication of Vietnamese design, drawing on Chinese and French models and socialist styles in art and design. An informative text by the long-time Keeper of the Vietnamese collection, Sud Chonchirdsin, introduces the book.
Among the earliest documents in the Library's collection is a 17th-century royal letter to the English East India Company. Other highlights include a travel diary of a member of one of the last of Vietnam's tribute missions to the Imperial court in China (1880) and a beautifully illustrated manuscript of the classic Tale of KiÊ`u. The strength of the collection lies in materials collected during Vietnam's twentieth-century struggle for independence—including rare periodicals from North Vietnam—that show how artists were mobilized in wartime. This accessible, full-color introduction to an under-appreciated design heritage is a welcome view into a beautiful culture.
Table of ContentsPreface
Introduction
The formation of the Vietnamese collection
Vietnamese manuscripts
Vietnamese theatre
Fifty shades of Kiê`u
Mythical creatures in Vietnamese culture
Vietnam and dragons
Early dictionaries of Southeast Asian languages
Classes and costume in traditional Vietnamese society
Vietnamese traditional markets
Vietnam War art
Women and the Vietnam War
Children in the Vietnam War
War cartoons and propaganda from North Vietnam
Anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War
Vietnamese collection milestone:
Retroconversion of the card catalogue
Bibliography
