Determining the origins of the An Nam Chí Nguyên

Despite being a very valuable book, An Nam chí nguyên (Ānnán zhì yuán) 安南志原 has long caused doubt and controversy among Vietnamese and international scholars. Of all its aspects (title, compiler, structure, date, etc.), the provenance of the book is the most controversial topic. This paper, by recounting the history of questioning the origin of the book, as well as introducing and examining some related documents, aims to contribute to determining the clear and reliable provenance of each part of the book.