The newly-found silk royal promotion decree.

NGHE AN (VNS) — The central province of Nghe An's Relic and Tourism Sites Management Board has recently found a rare silk royal promotion decree dating back nearly 400 years at a family temple in Nghi Loc District.

Nguyen Van Thanh, head of the board, confirmed that the letter found at Nguyen Trong family's temple was among the most valuable and rarest that has ever been found in the locality.

The decree was written on faded yellow silk with decorative background pattern of chrysanthemums. It contains nearly 300 Chinese characters, signed in 1829, with content praising General Nguyen Trong Thuong, a general under King Le Than Tong.

The decree has been kept by the family for the past 385 years. Apart from the decree, the family also possess two other decrees signed in 1621 and 1929 with contents praising Nguyen Trong Thuong and his father. — VNS