Commemoration and the State: Memory and Legitimacy in Vietnam

Abstract

The commemorations of historical figures, both public and private, have become a powerful tool for politicians and historians in Vietnam to reconfigure the past, national heroes, and revolutionary martyrs. One of the state's commemorative projects is devoted to glorifying the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) soldiers, and preserving all temples and relicts related to their activities on Ly Son Island. This state project may be seen as a strategy to claim sovereignty in the face of competition from several nation states, including China, for control over the two archipelagos. Conversely, the Vietnamese state is also challenged by alternative accounts from the Ly Son people, who have introduced their own narratives. This essay analyses contestations over memory and the attempts of the Ly Son villagers to establish continuity with the past through their ancestors in order to demonstrate solidarity, patriotism, and their own prestige.

From Spiritual Homes to National Shrines: Religious Traditions and Nation-Building in Vietnam

“…At the same time, I sought to demonstrate that the state itself is an arena of diverging interests and changes over time; thus the archipelagos, the Vietnamese Party-State chose to frame its claims of sovereignty over the archipelagos not in economic terms but with reference to historical, emotive stories of Vietnamese sailors who shed their blood on the islands. As I described elsewhere, many of the Hoàng Sa soldiers died at sea and their bodies were never returned to their relatives, giving rise to special ritual and memorial practices in Lý Sơn [43].…”

“…Confronted with a large-scale mobilization campaign, many lineages actively participated in the official initiatives, hiring even historians, journalists and TV reporters to publicize their case; however, the outpouring of genealogies and documents referring to the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos was not always congruent with official expectations (see [43]). …”

Geographies of Connection and Disconnection: Narratives of Seafaring in Lý Sơn

“…In the context of tensions with China over competing claims over the South China Sea during the early 1990s, the Vietnamese State turned its attention towards Lý Sơn as a valuable source of information about the sailors of the Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa navies (Roszko 2010). A few years later, it issued a directive establishing a memorial site for the two flotillas.…”

Maritime territorialisation as performance of sovereignty and nationhood in the South China Sea

“…To analyse how sovereignty and nation are enacted, materialised and performed in the SCS against the backdrop of growing global networks and local nationalism I draw on Vietnam and China's internet fora and the situation of Vietnamese fishermen on Lý Sơn Island, which – as a historic and contemporary stepping stone to the Paracels – is officially considered a restricted border zone in Vietnam. In 2006–7 I conducted a year‐long period of archival and field research in Lý Sơn and Sa Huỳnh district in Quảng Ngãi Province, Central Vietnam, where I came across the Vietnamese state's commemorative initiative to glorify the historic Hoàng Sa ( Paracel ) and Trường Sa ( Spratly ) navy and to preserve all temples and records related to their activities on Lý Sơn Island (Roszko ) . I observed not only the islanders' response to the central state's claim to their local legacy but also shared many conversations with local fishermen who were barred from historical fishing waters now claimed by China.…”

“…In 2006-7 I conducted a year-long period of archival and field research in Lý So'n and Sa Huỳnh district in Qua ? ng Ngãi Province, Central Vietnam, where I came across the Vietnamese state's commemorative initiative to glorify the historic Hoàng Sa (Paracel) and Tru'ò'ng Sa (Spratly) navy and to preserve all temples and records related to their activities on Lý So'n Island (Roszko 2010). 6 I observed not only the islanders' response to the central state's claim to their local legacy but also shared many conversations with local fishermen who were barred from historical fishing waters now claimed by China.…”