30/10/2021
AREA STUDIES - VIETNAMESE STUDIES: A VIEW FROM THANH HOA - XỨ THANHThanh Hoa is not only seen as an administrative unit simply, but also the land – named Xứ Thanh. This is open, dynamic and transitional land between East- West, South- North. Humans arrived in this land a lot early and left their cultural prints from the Stone, Bronzen to Iron Age and continuing development until present. Therefore, Xứ Thanh became a typical historic- cultural area of Vietnam. During the process of construction and defence the nation, Thanh Hoa always held the key position. Especially, in a thousand years of Feudal period, this land produced and contributed to the nation many dynasties and lords, gifted people, preeminent heroes, famous scholars and talented military leaders. Thanh Hoa precisely deseves to be ‘the sacred land with preeminent heroes’. From the early 20th century to present, specifically after the Renovation (1986), a large number of researches on Area studies- Thanh Hoa studies have been interested by both Vietnamese and Foreign researchers and achieved significant results that clarifies some traditional historic- cultural spaces as well as several changes in coastal, delta and moutainous areas. This is a basic ground to have a perceptive analysis about Xứ Thanh and vital contribution to Area studies and Vietnamese studies.
