A book about the material civilisation of the
Vietnamese people by painter and fine arts researcher Phan Cam Thuong has been
available to readers in Ha Noi.

Entitled Van Minh Vat Chat Cua Nguoi Viet (Material
Civilisation of Vietnamese People), the book is the product of 20 years of
research and six years of writing. The completed book is 664 pages.

With 959 photos and 505 illustrations, the book features
stories about several objects made and used by the Vietnamese people.

Humans have created a material world through objects and
continue to shape this world. The material civilisation of objects plays a
significant role in the human development process, according to the author.

To collect the necessary material for the book, Thuong
conducted several field studies in different regions across the country. He
travelled from the northern Hong (Red) River Delta, to the central and southern
regions. He also visited China, Japan and the US for his research.

“Many countries pay significant attention to the role of the
material civilisation in historical process, while we haven’t.

People give
prominence to agricultural tools in Asian countries, while in the US, people
appreciate the electric generator. It is evidence that Americans and Europeans
tend to invent motorised machines while Asians have a closer attachment to
manual tools,” said the author.

According to fine arts critic Nguyen Quan, the Material
Civilisation of Vietnamese People is a unique book. “A writing style mixing
scientific judgement and artistic feeling, it is an interesting book that
contains great value. The book is really worth reading.”

Painter Le Thiet Cuong: “It is an important book because
nothing similar has been published in Viet Nam. Several different historical
periods of the country can be seen through the objects mentioned in the book.”

Thuong devotes the book to the youth. “Through the book, they
can learn about how their forbearers lived, thus understand Vietnamese culture.”

The Material Civilisation of Vietnamese People costs VND165,000
(US$8) and is available at the Tri Thuc (Knowledge) Publishing House, 53 Nguyen
Du Street, Ha Noi, and at the Phuong Nam bookstores nationwide.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News