Vietnam has gained two more UNESCO world heritage items following a consensus at the 7th Memory of the World Committee for Asia and Pacific summit.

The summit was held in Hue on Wednesday and Thursday.

The items recognised in the Memory of the World Regional Register for Asia and Pacific are the Phuc Giang School Books’ Wooden Blocks and the Royal Literature on Hue Royal Architecture.

The wooden blocks were created by scholars of the Nguyen Huy family in central Ha Tinh Province in the 18th century. The blocks were used to ink books for the Phuc Giang School, which was located in the old Truog Luu Village.

Some 400 blocks are still well preserved at the family library.

The Royal Literature on Huế Royal Architecture include poems, literature works and word puzzles by emperors and royal family members in mandarin under the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) and are inscribed on buildings.

The royal literature can be found inscribed on different materials -- wood, concrete, bronze, stone, enamel and paint. These were used to convey messages related to the kingdom’s power, the nation, on living matters and to decorate the buildings, all at the same time.

Both the items are rare, unique and contain valuable content. These were accorded UNESCO status after close deliberations by the summit members on 16 nominations, including those from Japan, Korea, Malaysia and China, as well as Myanmar and Mongolia.

The other four Vietnamese items recognised in the Memory of the World Regional Register for Asia and Pacific list are the Nguyen Dynasty’s wooden blocks and the royal records, the Van Mieu stone stele and the Vĩnh Nghiêm Pagoda wooden blocks.  

VNS