(1) Chinese Academy of Linguistic Sciences (2010), Xinhua Dictionary (新华 字典), Commercial Press, Beijing, China, p. 504.

(2) Chinese Academy of Linguistic Sciences (2010), Xinhua Dictionary (新华 字典), Commercial Press, Beijing, China, p. 192.

(3) Tusculan Disputations is a five-volume work written by Cicero around 45 BCE.

(4) Samuel Freiherr von Pufendorf (1632–1694): German jurist, political philosopher, economist, and historian.

(5) Edward Burnett Tylor (1832–1917): British anthropologist, founder of cultural anthropology. His most important work is Primitive Culture (1871), which developed the theory of cultural evolution from primitive to modern forms. He was one of the first to introduce the concept of “culture” that later became widely used in cultural studies.

(6) Edward Burnett Tylor (2001), Primitive Culture (translated by Huyền Giang), Journal of Culture and Arts, p. 13.

(7) Clark Wissler (1870–1947): American anthropologist. He developed the concept of cultural areas based on fieldwork with Native American tribes in North America.

(8) Clark Wissler (2004), Humans and Culture (人和文化), Chinese edition, Commercial Press, pp. 5–6.

(9) Hồ Chí Minh: Collected Works, the Truth National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2011, Vol. 3, p. 458.

(10) The concept originates from French – l’exception culturelle – introduced by French politicians during negotiations of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), proposing that culture should be treated differently from commercial goods.

(11) See Article 1, Objectives of the Convention, UNESCO (2005), Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, UNESCO Office in Vietnam.

(12) Dong Lu (chief editor) (2019), Core Theories and Concepts of Communication Studies (传播学核心理论与概念), Peking University Press, pp. 206–220.

(13) Archival records from various countries show that silk was not the primary commodity of the Silk Road. Main traded goods included spices and ceramics from the East exchanged for gold, gemstones, and glass from the West. (14) Vũ Linh (2003), “The Maritime Silk Road and Vietnam’s Position”, Xưa và Nay Magazine, Issue 131, pp. 19–20.

(15) Nguyễn Văn Dững (chief editor) (2018), Communication – Theories and Basic Skills, Information and Communications Publishing House, Hanoi, p. 232.