On November 15, Dong Thap Historical Science Association in collaboration with Vietnam Historical Science Association organized a seminar on "Preserving, restoring and promoting the value of Bao Tien relic" located in Long Thang commune, Lai Vung district.
Attending the event were Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Duc Cuong - President of the Vietnam Historical Science Association, Mr. Le Minh Trung - President of the Dong Thap Historical Science Association and more than 30 experts, scientists of history, culture, archaeology from institutes, schools, representatives of the government, people...
In his opening speech, Mr. Le Minh Trung expressed his hope that experts would contribute their opinions and unify the determination of the historical and cultural value of the relic... Thereby proposing solutions and a roadmap for restoration and conservation, in order to promote the value of the relic in the future.
In that spirit, Mr. Trung quoted the enthusiasm of researcher Huynh Minh, author of the work “Old Sa Dec”, first published in 1971: “That is a relic of the Nguyen Dynasty that still remains. We have the duty to protect it so that it will forever exist with the country, to leave it for future generations to remember.”
The seminar was enthusiastically attended by many experts, contributing many ideas to clarify many inconsistent issues, suggesting many scientific and practical solutions for preserving and promoting the value of relics.
Accordingly, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Duc Cuong, Professor Dr. Nguyen Quang Ngoc, Professor Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan, Dr. Luong Chanh Tong... successively presented many documents and historical bases to clarify many important contents.
Experts confirm that this is a type of citadel, a defensive fortress of the Nguyen Dynasty. In Lai Vung district, there are currently two relics, Bao Tien and Bao Hau, meaning that the fortress was built and completed first and the fortress was built and completed later. These two fortresses have a close relationship with Hung Dung General Nguyen Cong Nhan (?-1867). His tomb is also located in this area.
Bao Tien is located in Long Thang commune, with an area of 15,000m2, equivalent to Dien Hai citadel (Da Nang). Although it has been greatly damaged by time and human impact, currently Bao Tien only has the foundation left.
But from the artifacts discovered during the excavation in 2018 by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City National University) in collaboration with Dong Thap Provincial Museum, such as bricks stamped with the words Dinh Tu, Dinh Ngu... along with written sources (Nguyen Dynasty records, Nguyen Dynasty National History Institute, field documents... initially determined that Bao Tien was the only remaining Nguyen Dynasty citadel in Cochinchina.
Bao Tien is not only a heritage of Dong Thap, but also of the whole South. With such importance, many opinions agree that it is necessary to identify these 3 relics as a relic cluster and have an investment policy to turn the relic cluster of Bao Tien, Bao Hau and the tomb of Hung Dung Tuong into a historical - cultural site that is a place to educate the young generation about the tradition of drinking water and remembering its source.
