Villages in Hoi An: a view from Nguyen dynasty’s cadastral records and Quang Nam commune gazetteer

Abstract

The formation and development of village communities in Hoi An – Quang Nam were recognized as a typical mechanism of how migrated Viet marched south and established human settlements. This has been indicated in various aspects of social and political developments in the region. Throughout premodern Vietnamese history, villages and their evolution shifted significantly. Villages in Hoi An played essential historical roles due to their particular features of exploiting land, demographic integration, and economic activities…. which are greatly associated with Hoi An’s political, historical and cultural development. Based on newly collected materials, especially two valuable sources of Nguyen dynasty’s cadastral records and Quang Nam commune gazetteer, this paper aims to illustrate some details of Hoi An's communes such as names, administrative scales, and sociocultural characters.