HCMC HISTORY - The book Đô Thị Sài Gòn - Chợ Lớn Trước Năm 1945 Qua Tài Liệu Lưu Trữ (Sài Gòn – Chợ Lớn Before 1945 through Archive Documents) wins the 2024 Trần Văn Giàu Prize. VNA/VNS Photo Thu Hương

HCM CITY – The book on the history of Sài Gòn before 1945 won the prestigious annual history prize named after the revolutionary and philosopher Prof Trần Văn Giàu.

Đô Thị Sài Gòn - Chợ Lớn Trước Năm 1945 Qua Tài Liệu Lưu Trữ (Sài Gòn – Chợ Lớn Before 1945 through Archive Documents) was compiled by a group of authors from the HCM City-based National Archive Centre II under the State Records and Archives Management Department of Việt Nam.

Published by the HCM City General Publishing House, the 550-page book consists of two parts describing the establishment and development of Gia Định from the 17th century to 1859, and the administration and infrastructure planning of Sài Gòn – Chợ Lớn from 1859 to 1945.

Cù Thị Dung, a group member, said at the awards ceremony in the city on Saturday that her group spent a lot of time researching and seeking documents on Sài Gòn – Chợ Lớn from the works of predecessors, and articles from archive centres.

Dung added that the issues in the book were just a few pieces in the puzzle of the leading city in the south. Therefore, it was necessary to have the participation of many different generations to write about Sài Gòn – Chợ Lớn and the southern region.

AWARD-WINNING - Two representatives of the group of authors from the National Archive Centre II (middle) receive the prize. VNA/VNS Photo Thu Hương

Phan Văn Mãi, Chairman of the city People's Committee, said that studies on the city and southern region would provide the city with more precious documents and references for making future cultural and social development strategies and policies.

He also said the Trần Văn Giàu Prize should be promoted among organisations and researchers in the country and abroad, so they can send their research, particularly in the culture and ideology, to compete for the award.

The Trần Văn Giàu Prize was established in 2002 to encourage and honour Vietnamese history and culture research.

Giàu, born in 1911 in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Long An, was the former secretary of the Việt Nam Communist Party in the south of Việt Nam and chairman of the South Việt Nam’s Resistance Committee.

He is the author of many scholarly and philosophical works about Việt Nam, especially about the south, as well as the teacher of many leading researchers and historians across the country. — VNS