A special style of Cham pottery, known as Go Sanh, is the focus of a private museum established at 173 Le Hong Phong Street in Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh province. The ancient pottery on display at this location was collected by Mr. Nguyen Huot in the decades before Vietnam’s reunification. Mr. Huot’s son, Nguyen Vinh Hao, inherited his dad’s prized collection and opened the museum.
The museum houses thousands of antiques from the Kingdom of Champa, which flourished in Central Vietnam. The Cham statues on display range from expensive golden statues once owned by the royal family to religious stone statues to roughly made images. The collection is extremely precious.
Part of the museum’s appeal is its architecture. Visitor expecting a boring museum lined with glass cabinets will be surprised. While modern material has been used, the house features typical Cham motifs, plus some elements of traditional northern architecture.
In front of the house stands a huge pair of gate columns, bent like ivory tusks - a style common to the gates of Cham towers. Cast from concrete, the columns gain their ancient look thanks to wood carvings at the top. Inside, visitors are welcomed by a blazing red Shiva statue. Kala demon heads fixed on thick wooden planks look incredibly vivid, recalling the glory days of the Cham capital Vijaya, which flourished and then perished in the 15th century.
Items are contained in large glass cases and in wall recesses, as they would be inside a Cham tower. Statues of Brahma, Vishnu and other gods are mostly intact, having spent hundreds of years underground. The gods' static gestures are complemented by their vivid facial expressions. In this space, visitors can feel the spirit of the ancient Cham people and their once-great kingdom.
Opened in early 2006, this museum immediately attracted the attention of researchers and collectors. Built up over a lifetime, this collection reflects a passion for the Chams' ancient culture.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Cham showcase
Friday, February 26, 2010
Vietnam Martial Art
Vietnamese martial arts are influenced by efforts to defend the country from foreign occupations (China, France, and Japan) and also by the people whom Vietnam conquered (Champa). The most influential in the country's martial arts is China with its thousand-year occupation of Vietnam. But through thousands of years of internal, civil strife: dynastic changes (dynasties), foreign conquests, warlordism and guerrilla tactics, the Vietnamese martial artist use what they learned from their neighbors and evolved a unique form of martial arts.
The martial arts were used by Vietnamese kings to train their troops and to defend the country against China's invasions against Vietnam. In addition to the army, family clans and Buddhist temples cultivated a variety of styles to defend themselves in national disputes.
Vietnamese Martial Art Short History
Due to the wide range of influences there is no definable point in time where Vietnamese martial arts started to live. Vietnam, as a distinct entity has officially existed since apx. 200 BCE, though first human settlement can even be traced back to 2876 BC.
Despite the problematic relationship with the Chinese, the Vietnamese adopted a lot of the Chinese culture and philosophy. Even officials not only had to be able to use the brush but also the sword. There was an academy of martial arts in the capitol, Thang Long, today's Hanoi, since the 11th century (Ly Dynasty(1010-1225), Tran Dynasty(1225-1400)).
When talking about Vietnamese martial art people started to use "Vo Thuat" (martial art).
While Vietnam was separated in several states many martial arts were created. During the Tay Son Rebellion (1771-1788) quite a few of them arose. Binh Dinh Province, where the rebels were based, is still a place of many martial arts.
During the time Vietnam had to suffer the French colonialisation, traditional martial arts were forbidden - but kept developing secretly.
1938 Nguyen Loc introduced his martial arts school where he taught "Vo Thuat" mainly to Vietnamese youth with the intent to develop stronger national identity with the ultimate goal of achieving independence from French domination. He named his style style Vovinam, or Martial arts of Vietnam.
In 1960, Master Nguyen Loc died, passing leadership to Master Le Sang. In 1964, Vovinam organized its first council of masters and formally adopted Việt Võ Đạo into its name as Vovinam-Việt Võ Đạo.
Vietnamese Styles
Now, more than 70 years later, most of the Vietnamese martial art schools worldwide emerging from Vo Thuat Co Truyen's development practice Vo Thuat: Vovinam Viet Vo Dao/Vo Vietnam (Nguyen Duc Moc and Nguyen Loc)), Vo Thuat (Nguyen Van Trung), Vo Binh Dinh (Thanh Long), Han Bai (Tran Minh Long), Nguyen Trung Hoa.
In Vietnam itself many people practice Vo Co Truyen, Vovinam-Vietvodao, Thieu Lam Viet Nam, Kim Ke, Phakwondo - Hóa Quyền Đạo, Hong Gia Viet Nam Nam Huynh Dao, Vo Binh Dinh, Tay Son, Lam Son, Nhat Nam.
Also there are various Sino-Vietnamese styles, styles that are only partially Vietnamese. Example: Thieu Lam or Bach My Phai that were popular among Chinese who lived in Vietnam. Other styles include My Hoa Quyen (Meihuaquan) and Sa Long Cuong.
Periods
Creation of techniques (2879 BC - 111 BC)
Paintings in caves in northern Vietnam and on objects as well as on weapons from that time prove that, besides fighting with "empty" hands the Vietnamese also used weapons like the axe, short sabres, sabres, lances, long sticks and the bow.
Theory creation (111 BC - 906)
This is the period of Chinese invasion. To better withstand the invader the martial art is further developed for military use:
1. Perfection of techniques
2. Forming strategies
3. Working out the theories
Example theories from famous personalities:
- Theory of predominance of close combat techniques ("Dĩ Đỏan Thắng Trừơng")
- Theory of flexibility against force ("Dĩ Nhựơc Thắng Cừơng")
- Principle of taking by surprise ("Kỷ Tập Chíên Pháp")
- The secret of illusion ("Aỏ Ảnh Bi Pháp")
- Method of sidestep movement without resistance ("Phản Gựt Pháp")
These theories were not only used as main principles for military art. They were new, valuable basics, they are still valid today.
Vietnamese martial Art Development (906 - 1009)
During this national period of independence strategy and martial art were further developed. The kings Ngo Quyen and Dinh Bo Linh were remarkable masters in military theory as well as in martial arts.
Vietnamese martial Art Completing and spreading (1010-1527)
Techniques have reached a very high level at this time. Influenced by Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism the martial arts gained a richer philosophical basis. With the independence and stability of the country the martial arts become an art of living to increase the value of life.
Vietnamese martial Art Diversion (1527-1807)
This period is marked by the country's diversion and the conflicts between the various lords. These antagonisms led to a diversion of the Vietnamese martial arts styles into different schools. Every school only represents a certain aspect of Việt Võ Đạo.
Vietnamese martial Art Degeneration (1802-1945)
This period marks the Nguyen Dynasty With the beginning of the 19th century belief in industry led to a loss of confidence. With the modern weapons the traditional martial arts seemed obsolete, concerning the war. Under the French colonialism, 1863 to 1945 the Vietnamese martial arts were prohibited. But in secret, in a very limited scope and with carefully selected students the training continues. Therefore the students only knew their own school. The techniques were different, partially very different from school to school.
Vietnam central highland
The center highland of Vietnam cover the southern part of Truong Son mountain range including the province of Lam Dong, Dac Lac, Gia Lai, Kon Tum.
Dalat is the capital of Lam Dong Province; Pleiko is the capital of Gia Lai, Kon Tum is the capital of Kon Tum province and Buon Me Thuot is the capital of Dac lac.
The area which is the home of many minorities ethnic groups such as: Gia Rai, Ba Na (Gia Lai province); Xo Dang, Ba Na, Gie Trieng, Brau, Gia Rai and Ro Mam (Kon Tum province); E De, Gia Rai, M’nong (Dac Lac province).
It also famous for for cold climate, mountain scenery, numerous of stream, lakes and water falls and many other sites.
Please see the suggestion for what you can do when you are there:
- Visit Dalat, the former French hill station, where the pine-forest hills, cultivated vegetable and flower valleys, lakes, water fall...
- Explore Bana, Giarai minorities villages around Pleiku and Kon Tum and Buon Me Thuot, riding elephant in Don village in Buon Me Thuot or Dalat
- Visit Nam Cat Tien or Yok Don National Parks
PONGOUR Waterfall in Dalat
Located 20 kilometers from district center and 50 kilometers from Đà Lạt, Pongour is the most majestic waterfall in the Southwest Highland jungles. From 30 meters above, the massive water speeds and booms down 7 floors into a big pool, creating sonorous thunder-like sounds, especially in the raining season it is more violent and truculent in fanciful dew.
Pongour is transcribed by French people from K’Ho language. It means the landlord of a white-clay area. According to French geological documents, this area has lots of kaolin.
Pougour is the only waterfall where an ethnic festival takes place. Every year, on the full moon day of the first lunar month, refined beautiful young people of every ethnic group gather for a spring pilgrimage, climb up the waterfall floors in a desire for eternal Elysium. This is a chance for better mutual understanding and love between one and the other.
Truc Lam Zen Monastery in Dalat
Established in special social conditions, with the aim of restoring Trúc Lâm Yên Tử Xen School founded by King Trần Nhân Tông, a Xen school has harmoniously combined different Zen schools with Vietnamese cultural and tradition into Vietnamese Zen. Trúc Lâm Xen monastery was built under Decision No. 1039/QĐ-UB dated July 17th 1993 of the People’s Committee of Lam Dong province, It lies on a protected forest of 23,2 hectares, of which 2 hectares is the building area.
Trúc Lâm Zen Monasteris design was outlined by Architect Ngô Viết Thụ and Architect Huỳnh Ngọc Ẩn designed the Main Hall. Later the Designing and Planning Department of Đà Lạt revised it and changed the design for internal sections. While it was being built, the Most Venerable Dean asked architect Vũ Xuân Hùng to design the triple gate and the belfry as well as modify the architecture into soft and easy style of Vietnamese culture. The construction started on April 8th the Lunar Rooster Year (1993), with the consistent help of monks, nuns, Buddhists at home and abroad. Ten months later, it was provisionally completed and solemnly inaugurated on February 08th the Lunar Dog Year (1994).
Besides the Main Hall in the middle, on the right are the consulting room, the belfry and displaying room on the right; on the left are the sitting room, library, abbot’s room and contemplation hall.
Before reaching the Main Hall, tourists may take two ways. They may start at the bus stop, take the side gate up 61 steps or, from the lake, climb the 222 steps through the triple gate onto the court in front. Inside the Main Hall, statues are displayed simply but meditatively. In the bright spacious sanctuary is the only statue of Sakyamuni Buddha raising a lotus in his hand – a symbolic image of Buddha in Linh Sơn Dharma Conference, expressing the philosophy of ‘existence in nihilisim’ in Buddhist Zen.
Zen helps us to live in ‘full awareness’ and bring our souls back into peaceful state. Trúc Lâm Buddhist Zen emphasizes on every one’s interior concentration, either a religious or someone in his family. This introspective soul training process leads to personal purification, builds a care-free mind and help one’s good nature to show up; this is the real peace in everyone’s interior, not in a certain paradise in a faraway world.
Visiting Trúc Lâm Zen Monastery in the quietness of hills and mountains, tourists are freed from everyday worries and seem to be able regain themselves in the greatness of the nature… The present Head of Institute is Venerable Thích Thanh Từ
Tiger Cave Waterfall in Dalat
Going along Hung Vuong Street through XuanTho Village, tourists can see the signpost for Tiger Cave on the left. The three kilometers road has been laid over with asphalted.
From the hill above, they may seem to witness a huge tiger strolling in a flower garden, which is a symbol for Tiger Cave Waterfall. On a small hill nearby, the sight of a young minority, the jungle’s hero, in standing bravery posture, of a tiger family gathering round or of giant mushrooms definitely adds new features to this gradually forming new tourist resort. Far below the small hill, by the lazily flowing current, tourist would come across a natural cave with two entrances, which is traditionally believed to have been the place of a king-of-jungle tiger.
To access the waterfall, tourist have to follow a pretty 150-step stone path, winding through a proterozoic forest. Strange as it is that even in dry season the waterfall pours down abundantly and violently, and then divides into many brooks over passing huge rocks and worming deep down, creating the most attractive and majestic landscape of the wild nature. Before waving farewell to Tiger Cave Fall, it is a challenge to tourist to climb up pine hills on their way back, and their trip may therefore turns into an interesting and unforgettable memory
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
History of Hue
From 179 BC to the end of the 2nd century AD, Hue was in the territory of Nhat Nam District, under the domination of the northern feudal regime. Then, for about 12 centuries, it was the northernmost territory of the Kingdom of Champa.
From 1306, after the wedding of the princess Huyen Tran of the Tran Dynasty with Che Man, the Cham King, the territories of Chau O and Chau Ly (comprised of Quang Tri, Thua Thien - Hue and part of Northern Quang Nam) took the name of Thuan Hoa. In the 2nd half of the 15th century, under the reign of King Le Thanh Tong, the name of "Hue" appeared for the first time. In 1636, the residence of the Nguyen Lords was settled at Kim Long (Hue). In 1687, it was transferred to Phu Xuan ¬where is the Citadel today. Early in the 18th century, Phu Xuan became the political, economic and cultural centre of the southern part of Vietnam. Then, from 1788 to 1801, it became the capital of the Tay Son Dynasty.
From 1802 to 1945, Hue was the capital of unified Vietnam under the reign of the Nguyen Kings. During these years, architectural works of a high cultural and historic value were built: the Citadel and the Imperial City (100 constructions), the imperial tombs of 13 kings of the Nguyen Dynasty, the Esplanade of Nam Giao, the Ho Quyen arena and the Hon Chen Temple. Thua Thien - Hue is also a province with an important heroic revolutionary tradition. Today, numerous reminders of the two wars for independence can still be found.
Hue, the First World Cultural Heritage Site in Vietnam
At the meeting of the 17th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in
Columbia, from the 6th to the 11th of December 1993, UNESCO has come to the decision of recognizing the architectural ensemble of Hue as a world cultural heritage. On 2 August 1994, the delivery of the recognizing text has been organized at the Imperial Palace of Hue, with the participation of many international, national and local personalities, as well as representatives of the population of Hue. Great enthusiasm has been generated in the country through the broadcast of this news. This was a noteworthy event in the cultural history. For the reason that Hue is the first site in Vietnam ever listed in the World Heritage list.
As to the cultural value, a World Cultural Heritage Site, like the city of Hue, has to:
- Be representative of an original artistic achievement, a masterpiece created by Man's hands;
- Have a great value for its building technique or its architecture in a general development plan for a city or in a program for the embellishment of the sight of a world cultural zone;
- Be representative of an architectural ensemble of an important historical period; be closely related to important events, to ideas or beliefs having a great influence or to famous historical personalities.
Besides, for a cultural property to be internationally recognized, it has to be fully confirmed on a juridical level, and it must possess a managing organization ensuring its good conservation. The architectural ensemble of Hue meets these requirements; it is embedded with highly humanistic values, and may be compared with the other cultural properties, rare and precious, in this World.
In the closing report of the above-mentioned meeting, the WHC has briefly assessed the value of Hue as follows. "The architecture of Hue, which has been the Capital of a unified Vietnam, built at about the beginning of the 19th century, combines the oriental philosophy with the traditions of Vietnam. Intimately mingled with the natural environment, the beauty and special richness of the architecture and decorative art of the building are an original image of the Vietnamese monarchy at its most prosperous period".
The fact that the imperial city of Hue is now listed as a World Heritage Site may represent a new chance for Thua Thien Hue Province and for the whole country in general. The wonders of Hue can hardly be described to do them justice, and the best way to discover them is still to come in person and admire the beautiful constructions.
Hue Travel Guide Vietnam
Hue is a province located in the northern part of Central Vietnam. It is encompassed between Quang Tri Province to the north, Da Nang and Quang Nam provinces, to the south (with the boundary of the Hai Van Pass), the Eastern sea to the east and Lao PDR to the west (with the boundary of the Truong Son Mountain Range). The provincial capital, Hue, the old imperial city of Vietnam under the Nguyen Dynasty, is 660km south of Hanoi and 1,080km north of Ho Chi Minh City.
At the meeting of the 17th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in
Columbia, from the 6th to the 11th of December 1993, UNESCO has come to the decision of recognizing the architectural ensemble of Hue as a world cultural heritage. On 2 August 1994, the delivery of the recognizing text has been organized at the Imperial Palace of Hue, with the participation of many international, national and local personalities, as well as representatives of the population of Hue. Great enthusiasm has been generated in the country through the broadcast of this news. This was a noteworthy event in the cultural history. For the reason that Hue is the first site in Vietnam ever listed in the World Heritage list.
As to the cul¬tural value, a World Cultural Heritage Site, like the city of Hue, has to:
- Be representative of an original artistic achievement, a masterpiece created by Man's hands;
- Have a great value for its building technique or its architecture in a general development plan for a city or in a program for the embellishment of the sight of a world cultural zone;
- Be representative of an architectural ensemble of an important historical period; be closely related to important events, to ideas or beliefs having a great influence or to famous historical personalities.
Besides, for a cultural property to be internationally recognized, it has to be fully confirmed on a juridical level, and it must possess a managing organization ensuring its good conservation. The architectural ensemble of Hue meets these requirements; it is embedded with highly humanistic values, and may be compared with the other cultural properties, rare and precious, in this World.
In the closing report of the above-mentioned meeting, the WHC has briefly assessed the value of Hue as follows. "The architecture of Hue, which has been the Capital of a unified Vietnam, built at about the beginning of the 19th century, combines the oriental philosophy with the traditions of Vietnam. Intimately mingled with the natural environment, the beauty and special richness of the architecture and decorative art of the building are an original image of the Vietnamese monarchy at its most prosperous period".
The fact that the imperial city of Hue is now listed as a World Heritage Site may represent a new chance for Thua Thien Hue Province and for the whole country in general. The wonders of Hue can hardly be described to do them justice, and the best way to discover them is still to come in person and admire the beautiful constructions.
It is next to Quang Tri Province to the north, Danang to the south, and Quang Nam Province to the south-west. This province leans up against the Truong Son mountain range and is washed by the East Sea, along its 120km seashore.
Hue Climate:
The weather is submitted to tropical monsoon climate divided into four distinct seasons: fresh spring, very hot summer, mild autumn and windy, cold winter. The dry season lasts from March to August. It is hot with temperate rarely reaches to 39.5ºC. The rainy season lasts from September to February. It is quite cold with average temperature is 19.7ºC, but sometime down to 8.8ºC. In this time, it rains a lost, sometime lasts all day. If tourist would to avoid rainy, they come to Danang City, 108km from south of Hue. In the mountain area, the weather is cool with the annual temperature is between 9ºC and 29ºC. The most convenient time to visit the area is from November to April.
Hue Tourism
Hue offers very diversified and beautiful landscapes. Nature and human beings create a harmoniously beauty with Bach Ma (White Horse) National Park and other attractive beaches such as Thuan An, Lang Co and Canh Duong.
The province provides a well-balanced blend of royal heritage and folk culture. As a matter of fact, tourists discover dozens of handicraft villages, with annual festivals that are painstakingly organized.
Hue is also an important center of Buddhism. In Hue and its surrounding still exist tens of pagodas constructed more 300 years ago, and hundred of temples and pagodas built in the early 20th century. Besides, tourist is able to enjoy many traditional famous dishes and find out about sophisticated handicraft here.
Hue Citadel has been recognized as a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO since December 1993, Hue Royal Musical (Nha nhac) has been declared as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage since November 2003.
Hue Transportation
Transportation by train, road, air and water routes is very convenient.
Train: The Thong Nhat Express trains from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh stop at Hue Railway station. The local trains come to some other provinces.
Air: Phu Bai Airport serves flights: Hue - Ho Chi Minh City and Hue - Hanoi.
Perfume Pagoda Travel Guide Vietnam
beautiful and mystical surroundings. Unlike other temples in Vietnam, the only way to reach this sanctuary is floating along a narrow but extremely poetic stream by rowing boats that takes 45 minutes.An iron boat can carry 3-5 people and a large wooden boat – up to 20 locals. The stream is edged by rice, grass, small paths, and temples here and there. A local pilgrim can spend here traditionally three days to visit entirely the area and pray at all the temples. The first temple they often stop is called Den Trinh (i.e. The Shrine for First Presenting), where Vietnamese burn the first jos sticks to inform the local deities about their presence and pray for a good trip and good luck for the year ahead. If you are anxious to reach the main Wharf of Huong Son mountain to start the uphill trip to see the Main Grotto of Huong Tich, you may skip this temple, especially in the peak season between January and early April.
The uphill trip takes an hour climbing on the ancient flat and sometime slippery stones, which have been
here thousand years ago. The road is "breathtaking" in all aspects – you will have some exercise, and at the same time have chance to take some stops to contemplate beautiful scenery and daily life of local farmers, who plant cassava and apricots in the valleys, who run quickly on the slippery stone with their burdens of tapioca, apricots or medicinal herbs whilst you are careful with your steps. The main pagoda is set in a huge grotto containing a highly decorative shrine. Each stalactite and stalagmite inside, which are soaked by undercurrent, is combined with a legend about its miracle and good luck. Most of them became small shrines by now. Remember that the stone grotto is huge and very cool, so stop for a while at the entrance to dry your sweat before coming in.The main festive days of Chua Huong stretches from January to early April, busy and exciting. Sometimes it's drizzling and the Vietnamese all believe that the real good things will reach you if you catch rainwater after praying in a sacred pagoda. And among all the sacred temples and pagodas in Northern Vietnam, Chua Huong is even more attractive and mysterious not only for its spectacular scenery, but for the painstaking road you passed over to reach to the top.
Sapa Travel Guide Vietnam
well-known with Sapa Townlet, a beautiful and romantic resort.At the height of 1,600m above sea level, the average temperature of the area is 15-18°C. It is cool in summer and cold in winter.
Visitor to Sapa in summer can feel the climate of four seasons in one day. In the morning and afternoon, it is cool like the weather of spring and autumn. At noon, it is as sunny and cloudless as the weather of summer. And it is cold in the evening. With no advance warning of a thunderstorm short and heavy rains may come at noon on any summer day. Subsequently, a rainbow appears, transforming Sapa into a magic land, which for years has been a constant source of poetic inspiration, lights up the whole region.
The best time to witness the scenic beauty of Sapa is in April and May. Before that period, the weather might be cold and foggy; after that period is the rainy season. In April and May, Sapa is blooming with flowers and green pastures. The clouds that settle in the valley in early morning quickly disappear into thin air.
Sapa has many natural sites such as Ham Rong Mountain, Silver Waterfall, Rattan Bridge, Bamboo Forest and Ta Phin Cave. Sapa is also the starting point for many climbers and scientists who want to reach the top of Fansipan Mountain, the highest mountain in Vietnam at 3,143m. Hoang Lien Mountain Range is also called the Alps of the North Sea area since Fansipan Mountain is not only the highest peak in Vietnam, but also in the Indochina Peninsula. The pyramid-shaped mountain is covered with clouds all year round and temperatures often drop below zero, especially at high elevations.
The first thing you notice when approaching the resort town are some detached wooden mansions and villas perched on a hill top or hillside, behind thick pine forests and almost invisible on this foggy morning. Old and new villas with red roofs now appear and now disappear in the green rows of pomu trees, bringing the town the beauty of European towns.
Fresh and cool air in Sapa is an idea climate condition for growing temperate vegetables such as cabbage, chayote, precious medicinal herbs, and fruit trees such as plum, pear…
Sapa is home to various families of flowers of captivating colors, which can be found nowhere else in the country. When Tet, the Lunar New Year Festival, comes, the whole township of Sapa is filled with the pink color of peach blossom brought from the vast forests of peach just outside the town. Sapa is regarded as the kingdom of orchids. Here, orchid lovers are even amazed by the choice, when trekking in the forest filled with several hundred kinds of orchids of brilliant colors and fantastic shapes, such as Orchid Princess, Orchid of My Fair Lady's Shoe. Some orchids are named after lovely singing birds such as the canary, salangane's nest, and more.
Sapa is most beautiful in spring. Apricot, plum and cherry flowers are splendidly beautiful. Markets are crowded and merry, and are especially attractive to visitors. Minority groups come here to exchange and trade goods and products. Market sessions are also a chance for locals to promenade and young men and women in colorful costumes to meet, date or seek sweethearts.
Visitors to Sapa will have opportunities to discover the unique customs of the local residents
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The Nung Ethnic Group
Proper name: Nong
Population: 705,709 people
Local groups: Nung Giang, Nung Xuong, Nung An, Nung Inh, Nung Loi, Nung Chao, Nung Phan Sling, Nung Quy Rin, Nung Din…
Language: The Nung language belongs to the Tay-Thai language group (Tai-Kadai language family), and is in the same group with the Tay, Thai, and Choang of China.
History: The majority of the Nung immigrated to Vietnam two or three centuries ago from Quang Tay, China.
Production activities
The Nung are very good at cultivating fields. However, because they live on places where wet fields can not be exploited, they have to work on terraced fields instead. Beside corn and rice, the Nung also plant some other root vegetables, calabashes, and green vegetables.
The Nung know how to make many handicraft products from weaving, metal working, poonah-paper making, and tile making. Though many of those handicrafts are family traditions, they are still secondary professions, and done during spare time when there is a break from farming. Moreover, handicraft products serve mainly family needs. Today, some of them are diminishing (weaving), and some are preserved and highly developed (metal working). In Phuc Xen village (Quang Hoa, Cao Bang), many families practice blacksmithing, and there is at least one person in each family knows how to hammer well.
Nung makets are highly developed. They go to fairs to trade, sell, and buy goods. Young people, especially the Nung Phan Slinh group, like to go to fairs and sing love duets.
Diet: In many regions, the Nung eat mainly corn. Corn is ground into flour to make thick soup. Foods are fried, stir-fried, or well-cooked, but seldom boiled. Many people don’t eat water buffalo, beef, or dog meat.
Clothing: The Nung’s traditional clothes are fairly simple, and are often made from rough, handmade, self-dyed fabrics, and have almost no embroidery or decorations. Men wear shirts with standing collars, which have cloth buttons. Women wear long shirts with 5 panels, buttoned up under the right arm.
Housing: the Nung live in the northeast of the country, and mix in together with the Tay. They stay mostly in stilt houses. Some live in earthen houses built with paper or brick walls. In the past, on the border, there were houses built like a fort with blockhouses and loopholes to prevent and defend robbers.
Transportation: Traditional ways of transportation are carrying goods in the arms, on the shoulders, and using shoulder poles. In some places today, the Nung use carriages with ties or runners, which are pulled by animals as a mean of transportation.
Social organization: Before August Revolution, Nung society had developed as much as the Tay’s. Fields and terraces had become private possessions, and thus could be transferred or sold. Two social classes were formed: landlords and tenants.
Marriage: Young Nung men and women are free to date and to love. While dating, they often give gifts to each other. A young man may give his girl a shoulder pole, a basket for storing cotton (hap li), a basket for storing thread (com lot). In return, a girl may give her young man a shirt and an embroidered bag. It is the parents, however, who decide if a couple can marry each other. They need to see if the two families are of the same social rank, and if the fates of the two children match together. The bride’s family often demands gifts or meat, rice, wine, and some money. The more the gifts are, the higher the girl’s value is said to be. Marriage has to go through many steps, and the most important one is the ceremony to bring the bride to the groom’s family. After the wedding, the wife still stays with her own family until she is about to give birth, then she will move to her husband’s house.
Funerals: There are many rituals with the main goal: to bring the dead person’s spirit to the next world.
New house: Building a new house is one of the Nung’s most important tasks. Therefore, when it happens, the Nung pay close attention in choosing the land, the direction, the day to move in. they do all of these steps carefully in hopes that in the new house, they will have a prosperous life.
Beliefs: The Nung mainly worship their ancestors. The altar is put in the house, and is nicely decorated. In the center of the altar is a monument (phung slan) written in Chinese that records the origin of a family. In addition, the Nung also worship theland God, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, Midwife, door’s ghost (phi hang chan), etc. They hold worshipping rituals when there is natural disaster, or disease plague. In contrast to the Tay, the Nung celebrate the birthday, not the anniversary of an individual’s death.
Festivals: The Nung celebrate lunar New Year like the Vietnamese and the Tay.
Calendar: The Nung use the lunar calendar.
Education: The Nung use a script based on Chinese characters, and read in Nung and Tay-Nung language, which is based on the Latin script.
Artistic activities: Sli is love duet for young men and women to sing in groups. Often, two boys sing with two girls. They sing sli together on holidays and festival occasions, at a fair, or even on trains, cars.
Entertainment: For festivals and holidays, there are games such as throwing shuttlecock, badminton, spinning top, and tug of war, etc.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Vietnamese Language and Scripts
Among the 54 Vietnamese ethnic groups some have had their own scripts for a long time and some have not preserved their ancient scripts. As a matter of fact, some ethnic groups consisting of some hundreds of individuals living in remote areas have their own languages.
More than 80% of the population speaks Vietnamese or Kinh/Viet Nam, the natinal language. Many ethnic minority people speak Kinh and their own native language.
Three scripts have influenced Viet Nam’s history:
- Chinese Han ideograms were used until the beginning of the 20th century.
- The Nom script, created between the 11th and 14th centuries, was derived from Han script to transcrible the popupar national language.
- European missionaries in the 17th century first developed quoc ngu, the Romanised transcription of the Vietnamese language used to this day.
The Vietnamese Girl in Popular Poems
The Vietnamese girl never complaints about the condition and the role a Confucian society has assigned to her since the dawn of time. From her young age, being used to hearing popular poems incessantly sung by her mother or sister and continuing to grow up with the rhythm and the sound of the swinging hammock, she began to absorb unconsciously the recommendations found in these poems.
In spite of their simplicity, these poems began to give her not only an education worthy of Vietnamese tradition but also an incomparable resignation and the four virtues that anyVietnamese girl is deemed of possessing at her adolescence: Công, Dung, Ngôn, Hạnh (Homemaking Skills, Appearance, Speech Manners, Good Behavior). This will help her to be able to become in turn, sister, wife, mother, grand-mother during her existence. Therefore, it is not surprising to see that she has thus become one of the themes most talked about in Vietnamesepopular poems.
Despite her young age, her mother's labor and wisdom have been repeated to her time and again through nursery rhymes the most known of which remains the following:
Cái ngủ mầy ngủ cho lâu,
Mẹ mầy đi cấy đồng sâu chưa về.
Bắt được con cá rô trê
Tròng cổ lôi về cho cái ngủ ăn.
Little sleeper, you have to sleep as long as possible,
Your mother has not come back from the deep rice paddy replanting seedlings.
She caught a carp and a cat fish
That she will take home for you to eat.
Then at 7-8 years of age, she began to replace her mother and imitate her in singing again the same popular nursery rhymes to lull her younger brother or sister to sleep. She also provided much service to her family: knowing how to cook rice, keeping her younger siblings, feeding the pigs and the ducks, taking water to the family animals, weeding the garden, collecting eggs, participating in family chores.
She also saw the change in the nature of her work when she reached adolescence. The nursery rhymes were replaced by folk songs or popular poems she used to hear singing often in the rice field. It is here that she would know the boys of her age. It is here that we would hear the first revelations of love, the first teasing of theVietnamese girl through poems or folk songs. Among them, this one reveals and hides the blossoming heart of the Vietnamese girl who is shy, tender, and constrained by traditionally Confucian conditions.
Vào vườn hái quả cau xanh,
Bổ ra làm sáu mời anh xơi trầu
Trầu nầy têm những vôi tàu
Giữa đêm cắt cánh đôi đầu quế cay
Mời anh xơi miếng trầu nầy,
Dù mặn dù nhạt dù cay dù nồng
Dù chẳng nên vợ nên chồng,
Xơi dăm ba miếng cho lòng nhớ thương,
I enter the garden to pick a green betel-nut,
I cut it in six and invite you to taste this betel.
This one is spread with lime from China,
And flavored with the spice of the spice of cinnamon ends.
Please have this betel prepared by me,
Even if it is strong or light, hot or mild,
Or even if we do not become man and wife,
Just taste its flavor for you to remember.
That teasing is quick to find sympathy from the boys. To praise her beauty, these boys would not hesitate to offer not only one but ten loves at the same time, which ended up in the composition of this famous poem entitled "Mười Thương" (Ten Loves) that any young men in the old days would be deemed to know by heart:
Một thương tóc bỏ đuôi gà,
Hai thương ăn nói mặn mà có duyên,
Ba thương má lúm đồng tiền,
Bốn thương răng nhánh hạt huyền kém thua,
Năm thương dải yếm đeo bùa,
Sáu thương nón thượng quai tua dịu dàng,
Bảy thương ăn nói khôn ngoan,
Tám thương má phấn ngó càng thêm xinh,
Chín thương em ở một mình,
Muời thương con mắt đưa tình với ai!
First I love your plaited hair,
Second I love your suave and charming voice.
My next love is your dimpled cheeks,
Then your lacquered teeth more lustrous than jet is my fourth love.
Fifth, I love your bra and your necklace.
And your grand hat with velvet ribbon invites my sixth love.
My seventh love is your manner in speech,
Comes my eighth love of the makeup on your attractive cheeks.
Ninth, I love you because you are still single.
And finally tenth, because you reciprocate my loving glance.
The seductiveness of the girl only lasted for a short time because generally for the sake of socio-economic interests, she would be married very early. Many times in the past, there were financially pre-arranged marriages, which provoked criticisms and jokes through the followingpopular poem:
Mẹ em tham thúng xôi rền,
Tham con lợn béo, tham tiền Cảnh Hưng,
Em đã bảo mẹ rặng: đừng !
Mẹ hấm, mẹ hứ, mẹ bưng ngay vào,
Bây giờ chồng thấp vợ cao,
Như đôi đũa lệch so sao cho vừa.
Even when I had said: No
But my mother, fond of the sweet rice bucket,
Fond of the fat pig and fond of money.
With uhms and ahhs, she brought this guy in.
Now husband little, and wife tall,
We look like an unmatched pair of chopsticks after all.
Despite this remark, she accepted to become a member of the new family and be willingly submissive to all the Confucian constraints commonly seen in the Vietnamese society. She tried to meet the norms expected of her in the new family by following steadfastly therecommendations found in popular songs that she used to hear time and time again when she was still in cradle. In one of these songs, the following is found:
Con ơi! Mẹ bảo con nầy:
Học buôn học bán cho tày ngưòi ta,
Con đừng học thói chua ngoa,
Họ hàng ghét bỏ người ta chê cười.
My daughter! Listen to me,
Learn to wheel and deal as well as other people.
But try to avoid being sharp-tongued,
As this invites hate and sneer from friends and relatives.
Those are the last recommendations of her mother transmitted from one generation to the next through folk songs. The Vietnamese girl tends to keep them and apply them without failure until the end of her life. The Vietnamese woman accepts this resignation, this sacrifice, this injustice without reserve, which makes her an exemplary model worthy of admiration of her relatives, in particular her children. This is also one of the reasons that explains the profound and unshakable attachment of all Vietnamese to their mothers. The situation is illustrated by the following two verses found in one of thepopular poems:
Em bán đi trả nợ chồng con,
Còn ăn hết nhịn cho hả lòng chồng con!
I do business to pay the debts incurred by my husband and my children.
It doesn't matter if I have nothing to eat, as long as they are satisfied.
Or in another, the following four verses depict not only humor but also tenderness, outstanding patience, even intangible proof of the sacrifice and love the Vietnamese woman always carries for her husband and her children:
Chồng giận thì vợ làm lành,
Miệng cười hớn hở rằng anh giận gì.
Thưa anh, anh giận em chi,
Muốn lấy vợ lẽ em thì lấy cho.
My husband is upset; I would try to calm myself.
Smile on my lips, I would ask what the reason is.
Come on, don't be frustrated any more.
Should you want a concubine, I'll get one for you.
Vietnamese Proverb and Folk Songs
Nobody knows for sure the origin of Vietnamese proverbs and folk songs in terms of their inception and authors. Vietnamese proverbs and folk songs, however, are orally transmitted and incessantly edited throughout generations.
By this virtue, the proverbs and folk songs become so natural and clear that they are able to describe our customs and traditions simply and truthfully. For that reason, theseproverbs and folk songs are also dubbed as Vietnamese popular literature, which proliferates by thousands of phrasings on all topics of various aspects of human life in society.
PROVERBS:
Like in other countries, Vietnamese proverbs state basic principles of folk wisdom and conduct, which have become an essential and enduring part of daily speech. They are short, succinct sayings with an intended meaning, which is to instruct or advise about something worthy of our attention. Most ofVietnamese parents use proverbs to educate their children about basic moral tenets of conduct and behavior. These proverbs are usually formed with or without rhym (E.G. An cay nao, rao cay ay : one shall cultivate the tree from which one eats fruits . An qua nho ke trong cay : when eating the fruit, one should remember those who planted the tree). The common topics ofproverbs are as follows, addressing routine issues of our society’s customs and traditions such as interpersonal psychology, common experiences, moral precepts, and conduct and etiquette of politeness:
Customs and traditions: “One bite of honor earned in public is better than a banquet given in one’s own kitchen”
Real life psychology: “With love, everything becomes beautiful, with hatred, everything turns ugly”
Common experiences: “When lightning flashes relentlessly in the east, it is absolutely going to rain in the early morning (when rooster crows)”
Human maturity moral: “Good reputation is preferable to beautiful clothes”
Conduct and etiquette of politeness: “When sending a personal message, speak out; when asking people to deliver a wrapped gift to someone, leave it unsealed”.
FOLK SONGS:
These are short ballads, written in rhythm or iambic pentameter in stanzas. Folk songs are spread among common people from one generation to the next, and nobody knows their authentic authors. It is certain that folk songs are formed by multitude of composers who get inspired and let their strong feelings flow out in the form of poetry; then other people try to memorize the poems and pass them on to the public. Therefore, there is a countless number offolk songs, probably hundreds of thousand ones. There are so many generations of Vietnamese children whose mothers sing them to sleep with these types of folk songs and help them grow maturely by the profound influence of the folk songs. Also, there are so many generations of Vietnamese young adults who get married by borrowing folk songs in flirtation. Folk songs indeed manifest every fiber of the human touch deep in one’s heart and various situations of society as well. The following are some examples:
Mother’s admonition:
The fatherly immense toil is as big as ThaiSon mountain
The constant motherly devotion is similar to the stream of water flowing out from spring,
You ought to honor your parents with all your heart
In order to decently fulfill the solemn precept of filial piety
Geographical advices:
Going on road, be cautious of Ai Van mountain pass
Going by boat, be cautious of the path of billow at Hang Doi Bay
National history:
Missing you, I wanted to come to see you,
But I was afraid of The Ho’s groves, and the Tam Giang cross river
The Tam Giang cross river is dried up nowadays
And the grove is on watchful guard.
Romantic love:
You are leaving, I won’t let you go
I hold your dress flap to write a verse on it
The verse clearly exhibits the three words
Loyalty, piety, and love
The word loyalty to honor the father
The word piety to adore the mother, the word love for both of us.
Why do you, young lady, cut grass alone,
Let me join you as a couple,
Do you still continue cutting more grass?
Let me help you cutting it to become a married couple.
Due to the limit of this short writing, we can not afford to cite more examples. We are certain, however, that the proverbs and folk songs are indeed the common literature treasures of Vietnamese people: It is a common way of composing them and transmitting them from one generation to the next, and common as well in sharing the didactic values of these common treasures. Theproverbs and folk songs play a significant role in providing the very first teachings on the ethical way of human conduct or individual behavior, and even knowledge on how to deal with the life situation, large and small. Particularly folk songs bring pleasure as well as entertainment to daily life with their dignified verses of courtship and romantic love. Proverbs and folk songs are truly a priceless thesaurus of Vietnamese people. It is certain to say that none of the Vietnamese can remember all of the proverbs and folk songs, but it’s also true that none can say they do not remember some.
Vietnamese Lacquer Painting
The principal material for pumice lacquer painting is Vietnamese lacquer, used to lacquer cultural objects and current usage articles. After his arrival in Hanoi, one day Inguimberty accompanied Nam Son in a visit to the Temple of Literature. He was amazed at a layer of lacquer covering the ancient cultural objects, the parallel sentences and the columns of the sanctuary. Time - several centuries - had changed this layer of lacquer into an extraordinarily beautiful color scales.
Inguimberty was gained over by the "Annamite lacquer" and later on engaged in trying lacquer in painting. Inguimberty had made a great service to the development of Vietnam lacquer painting. He was of the view that only the Vietnamese were capable of making lacquer painting, just like oil painting was the privilege of Europeans. However this malicious resin has rather extravagant characteristics. To have it dry, it must be kept in heat. The cold and dry weather prevents it from being ever dry. To paint with lacquer, one must paint in depth what is in the external layer of the picture and paint above what is in the internal layer, then rub it with pumice and the picture will be visible. The strokes must be minute because there is a great deal of sticky matter and a high degree of homogeneity must be achieved in the lacquer, because everything might disappear during the pumicing. The creation is done in several stages, after each of them, the lacquer dries and only then can one start the following stage. A small mistake can be disastrous. Thousands of other difficulties are to be overcome, the working rules must be strictly observed. Only a true artisan in the lacquering art who has inherited the secrets transmitted from generation to generation can resolve these problems. The palette of lacquerpainting includes only the color of “canh gian” (cockroach wings), then (black), son (red), silver and gold. Gold and silver must be pure gold and silver, which in the present are difficult to obtain. To prepare the color, mother-of-pearl and egg shell are also used. Other materials are sometimes not so effective. If the entire complex stages are got over, sometimes still kept secret, we shall certainly obtain a marvelous world ofmaterial, color and light, a magnificent world unknown up to now. In 1958, a delegation of Vietnamese painters brought their lacquer works to the International Exhibition of Fine Arts held in Moscow by the socialist countries. Their works were highly appreciated when the contents of the works reflected the multiple aspects of daily life in a manner characterized by perspicacity and romanticism. Form 1957 onwards, pumice lacquer was more and more recognized as the principal language of theVietnamese painting. Almost all painters wanted to achieve the most important work of their life by means of this material . Tran Van Can has enthusiastically composed some most successful lacquer paintings in all his artist life. In the race to valorize this traditionalmaterial; Nguyen Gia Tri was the first to attain the aim. On the surfaces of the paintings, colors and material constitute layers that intermingle to form a bloc of amber perfectly limpid and Nguyen Gia Tri added strokes to set out his personages in the background, young girls standing or sitting, going to and fro, pursuing a butterfly or picking flowers, playing under the leaves of a weeping willow floating in the wind, or walking on the bank of a lake where white lotuses are blooming. All were arranged in a harmonious rhythm with arabesques to make viewers feel the contrast between extreme richness and maximal modesty. Very few persons can equal Nguyen Gia Tri in lacquerpainting . A painter who has made profound studies of pumice lacquer said: "Pumice lacquer can be compared to a religious man who observes strict control of himself, respecting the rigorous rules of his original religion."
Vietnamese Oil Painting
Nguyen Do Cung who was a veteran graduate of the FACI has made an oil painting, the machine building workers in 1962. He spent a rather long time at the engineering factory of the Cam Pha mines, living and working with the workers. Piles of documents, drawings, and sketches were prepared for this painting depicting a nascent large-scale industry of the country if one pleads for a "painting reflecting the individual" likes Vlaminck - a French painter in the early 20th century - Bui Xuan Phai has been able to materialize this conception.
It suffices to admire his paintings to realize that Bui Xuan Phai was in a state of mind heavy with past memories, that he took the past as a source of inspiration. Bui Xuan Phai was a veteran painter but he began to win public attention from the 1970s with his works on the old streets of Hanoi. He had recourse to bright colors and stylized forms in black outlines, like a glass panes of a window.
He has contacted with the works of Rouault. Toulouse-Lautrec and painters of force and rapidity has given influence which he applied to his paintings, adding the flavor of the old streets of Hanoi to that of modern time.
Many young painters have received his influence and he is considered as one of the four most talented artists of our time. Over two decades 1970s and 1980s, it seemed thatoil painting did not surpass that of the first year after the restoration of peace to respond to the demand of socialist realism.
It is easy to understand when many good oil painters had chosen pumice lacquer or silk painting. Since 1925, oil painting in the poetical realist painting has acquired solid traditions and made continuous development, contributing many art works of value to the revolutionary painting.
Vietnamese Paper Painting
Among the Vietnamese plastic arts, wood engraving is a long standing traditional one. We have inherited from our ancients from Dong Ho village a valuable tradition of wood engraving in color. These engravings are appreciated by generation to generation and have become an indispensable moral alimentation. Dong Ho images have their place deep in the soul of the people and their features have kept their sharpness in spite of the upheavals of the times.
With color as red as peony, as yellow as ripe paddy, as green as a young rice plant the images have by themselves the taste of rural areas in all their characteristic rusticity.
The engraving is always performed on the wood of persimmon-tree, which is sole and does not swell when dipped in water. In printing, starch plays an important role. Mixed with starch a coloring matter forms a solid and clear paste suitable for creation. Besides, scallop shells give a typicallyVietnamese gleam and constitute a decorative element of printed pictures of a very simple treatment. The genre of painting on paper using gouache, water color, pastel, ink, color pencils, drawing charcoal, sauce occupies an important position inVietnamese painting. In many cases, these pictures have been works of great artistically value, and what is particularly precious is that they have expressed the direct sensations of the painter before the objects, sensations that cannot be repeated. Quite a few of these painters have thus created representative works contributing to the different stages of the history of painting. Sy Tot has created the best of his gouache in the All children can study. The composition of the picture is pyramidal, the drawing without artifice, each figure is set off by light. It is surprising that Sy Tot's style highly resembles that of Le Nain, although Sy Tot has not even known Le Nain and his style stems merely from his intuition.
Contemporary Vietnamese Art at a Glimpse
In these days, when people are speaking of an identity crisis in Asian art; Vietnamese art has become a center of attraction. Indeed, Vietnamese art works, in the last decade, have been increasingly sought after by foreign collectors and art lovers. Exhibitions of contemporary Vietnamese art organized in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Australia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Holland, the USA, and Argentina...have commanded attention and acclaim.
Indeed, the art scene here is showing such a brimming vitality and explosive diversity as could never be seen in the past. The current blooming of Vietnamese art springs from our earnest urge toward self-affirmation as a culture with its own unmistakable identity and can be interpreted as the tumultuous release of long-suppressed of creative desires. This is a time of change and I'd rather lay emphasis on the younger generation. Vietnamese artists have now become more exploratory and go-ahead, trying to attune themselves to international trends as they are enjoying the benefits of artistic freedom of expression in the salutary climate of Doi Moi. A powerful upsurge of new art forms and revitalized traditions are moving Vietnamese art forward. Young artists are seeking their hallmarks based on their own experience and personal vision, increasingly showing self-confidence and audacity in their work. Theirs is a generation without complexes. They are not overawed by what their elders had done in their capacity as pioneers, nor do they attempt to make tabula rasa of the past. While doing their best to wed tradition with modernity, they are in no way traditionalistic, well aware as they are that traditions can sometimes become impeding and conducive to conservatism.
Of this young generation, the first group to gain international renown by their works is the Gang of Five, composed of five Hanoi painters: Hong Viet Dung, Ha Tri Hieu, Dang Xuan Hoa, Tran Luong and Pham Quang Vinh. Concurrently rising to prominence are such artists as Tran Trong Vu, Hoang Hong Cam, Nguyen Than, Bui Minh Dung, Le Quang Ha, exponents of a robust neo-expressionist trend. Among the foremost adepts in abstractionism, are Nguyen Trung, Do Hoang Tuong, and Tran Van Thao. Do Minh Tam, Tran Luong, Le Hong Thai...The romantic-minded Nguyen Thanh Binh and Pham Luan charm with their sunny palettes and enchanting lyricism. Such cutting-edge art forms as performance and installation begin to be explored and are no longer unfamiliar to the public. The iconoclast Truong Tan turns a corner from orthodoxy by producing most unconventional works straightforwardly expressing his gay convictions. Nguyen Bao Toan, Nguyen Minh Thanh in Ha Noi and Le Thua Tien in Hue are among the first "engage" installation artists to produce in Viet Nam. Mention should be made of Vu Dan Tan the Sorcerer who turns castoffs into art works, the minimalist Le Thiet Cuong,the unclassifiable Dinh Y Nhi with her hallucinatory black-and-white paintings, the instinctive Vu Thang with his compelling use of mixed media in lacquer painting....
Indeed, it is this complex-free generation that is setting the tone for the future of Vietnamese art. They do not content themselves with following up traditions. They are fashioning a new vision that keeps drawing substance from national roots and are accordingly creating a new tradition - the tradition of the New.
Overview of Vietnamese Art
Through the Upheavals of History
Compared to other Asian countries, and according to several art commentators, Vietnam was the earliest to merge into the main stream of modern art, as defined by the West, in both form and content. Such a fact can be easily seen with the coming into existence of Ecole Des Beaux Arts (Indochina's School of Fine Art) in the early 1930s, with the presence of professors from France.
Western style in technique and the use of color was what the first student generation trained in this school obtained. The techniques however were employed by the graduate artists to depict the aesthetic essence of Vietnam, especially the freedom and generosity of an Asian soul. Such a fundamental beginning had laid the foundation for the younger generations to follow and again led to their success.
In the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, the first generation of Vietnam Is modern artists joined in the international market of art and was highly evaluated, in Vietnam as well as overseas. From then on, they gained good reputation and were honored the masters of Vietnam’s modem art. Among them were To Ngoc Van, Nguyen Phan Chanh, Nguyen Gia Tri, Bui Xuan Phai, Le Pho, Tran Van Can, Nguyen Do Cung, Nguyen Lien Chung, Nguyen Tu Nghiem, Duong Bich Lien, and so on.
At present, members of' the first generation have all gone, except two artists, Nguyen Tu Nghiem (Ha noi), and Le Pho (Paris); nevertliciess, their names leave become almost immortal in Vietnam's art history.
The wars against colonialists and the U.S. imperialists unintentionally parted Vietnam's modern art into various styles, each of which has its own way to proceed toward perfection. This was most clearly seen in the differences found in the works of art of the North and South during the separation of Vietnam, the fierce struggles an people's fighting spirits were reflected on the one hand whereas realism-criticism, romanticism, and escapism into the dream of peace pervaded the art landscape of the occupied South.
Without mentioning the historical situation of the country (temporary separation period during 1954-1975 and a pre-renovation period during 1975-1990), Vietnam’s contemporary art bas always experienced two parallel processes of integration:
- The integration and catching up between the Northern and Southern styles.
- The integration into the international market of modem art writes preserving the traditional genres and the mythical nature of the Oriental. Vietnam’scontemporary art was heart of a nation that underwent relentless upheavals. Peace regained from the wars of national defense has become a unique source of living materials never seen in art else where. And such materials leave providedartists now and in the future powerful inspiration.
Past and Present...
In Northern Vietnam nowadays, the tradition of Dong Ho Paintings, or the "self-portraits" of Vietnam’s earliest folk painting traditions, are well preserved. In 1024, there existed 2,000 paintings of Buddha which served asthe foundation of the presently - popular Dong Ho Paintings. And from Dong Ho Village, where stands the great 18-century tombstone produced in Canh Hung Dynasty, on which details of the painting trade were recorded, 17 different clans specialized in wood-block have supplied the market with paintings and sculptures depicting history, daily activities, landscapes, social courtesies, proverbs, ritual ceremonies, caricatures, etc. to convey popular philosophy.
Over time and at present, the Dong Ho traditions are reflected, in various decrees and in both content and composition, in the works of contemporaryartists. It could be said, perhaps, that the very touch of popular traces has distinguished Vietnam’s contemporary art from that of the world.
Before 1975, the Northern contemporary art developed in the direction of socialist realism, with the establishment of the Resistance School of Fine Art in the early days of the revolution in the 1940s, and the fighting and working spirits are still depicted in paintings of resistance artists, most of whom are now retired soldiers. These works in the eyes of art collectors reflect the nostalgia for Vietnam’s latest era of heroism. Without seeing the collections of.Art by Vietnamese veteranartists , it would be difficult for us to imagine the longings of an artist behind bars gazing the beaches on Con Dao and Phu Quoc islands, or the spiritual power of Vietnam shrouding over the Ca Mau Mangrove Forest, Sat Forest, and rubber plantations in the Southeast, or on the Hochiminh Trail along Truong Son Ranges when the troops stopped over.
During our nation’s struggle for independence and freedom, 45 painters and sculptors from the School of Fine Art and Decoration and the Saigon College of Art took part in the revolution. As participants in the revolution war, the two generations of teachers and students fostered the same patriotic zeal and artistic creativity during the war-time reality.
After 1975, nine out of 45 had fallen down and most of the rest 36 are still invoked in art. Many of them are professors at the Ho Chi Minh City College of Fine Art, and at the same time working artists, Co Tan Long Chau, Le Van Kinh, Nguyen Sang, Huynh Cong Nhan, Quach Phong, Nguyen Van Son, Le Vinh, Hoang Tram... are a few examples.
Their epic works on the 30 years of history have been highly evaluated by art collectors. Many private and joint galleries run by the resistanceartists have attracted a great number of viewers, and many of their paintings were financially successful.
Also before 1975, the painting of the temporarily occupied Southern Vietnam had made a lot of progress with the Saigon College ofFine Art, Binh Duong and Bien Hoa Schools of Fine Art and the School of Fine Art in Hue. The successful artists in the international market of art include Thai Tuan, Ta Ty, Duy Thanh, Ngoc Dung, Vi Y, Ngo Viet Thu, etc.
Between the 1960s and 1970s, members of the Young Artist Association including Nguyen Trung, Lam Triet, Nghi Cao Uyen, Ho Hun Thu, Nguyen Lam, Nguyen Phuoc, Do Quang Em, Trinh Cung, etc. brought about a fresh breeze of creativity, gaining a good reputationin Vietnam and the outside world. Presently some of them are living in the U.S., sculptors Mai Chung, Duong Van Hung and painters Nghieu De, Nghi Cao Uyen, Lam Triet, Nguyen Phuoc, etc.
Those remain in Vietnam, Ho Hun Thu, Nguyen Trung, Trinh Cung, Do Quang Em, Nguyen Lam, Cu Nguyen, together with Lam Triet who recently returned from overseas, have become a valuable core group. Besides, that the youngartists of surrealism, semi- abstract and abstract schools of art under the instruction of Nguyen Trung and Ca Le Thang, have injected a new atmosphere of creativity, and helped accelerating the integration of Viet - nam' scontemporary art into the world. This has been a spontaneous act which utilises the cream talents of the North and South youth just as they set out to achieve when coming to the world of art.
Vietnamese art in the world and domestic markets.
During 1988 - 1990, which may be seen as a landmark, in Vietnam and especially in Ho Chi Minh City an art market came into being. Earlier, in the early 1980s, some overseas Vietnamese from The U.S., Australia, and Canada came back to collect paintings of famous artists of pre-1975 Saigon, e.g. Ngoc Dung, Thai Tuan, Vi Y, Duy Thanh, etc. and of such renowned artists as Nguyen Gia Tri, Bui Xuan Phai, etc.. Their activity gradually became a catalyst for the emergence of an exciting art market from 1990 on.
Before 1990, it was scarce for an artist to sell his painting for over USD 1,000. Since early 1992, bower, the prices of Vietnam’s paintings soared up significantly due to their distinct quality. The price of about 3,000 USD for a painting was quite common. In 1993, Ho Huu Thu’s abstract lacquer paintings were sold at the price USD 15,000 to a Japanese collector. At the end of 1995, in La Vong Gallery in Hongkong the realistic oil-painting "The kettle and the Tea-cup" by Do Quang Em was sold at USD 50,000, breaking all doubts on the prices of the artist' s paintings in the domestic market and providing a stimulus for otherartists.
Also from the year 1990, when many Vietnamese artists were asked by collectors, galleries and the World Cultural Association to display their paintings at international exhibitions in the U.S., France, Denmark, Australia, Hongkong, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand, their artistic skills were highly evaluated by the intenational art community. From then on a translation market appeared with the increasing number on international collectors coming to Viet - Nam to buy paintings on the spot, and to invite individual artists or groups of artists to participate in overseas exhibitions. These undertakings have enabled Vietnam’s art to quickly rejoin the art world after years of interruption... However opportunities for the majority of artists to exchange with the world are still scarce. For some gifted artists, their difficult financial conditions are a major obstacle as they do not easily have opportunities to come into contact with art collectors.
Equal opportunity for the artist community in terms of participation in domestic and international exchanges, especially for the visual arts, is an essential precondition for the artists to get to the summit of their creative work. That is a target for the world in general, and for Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City in particular. The requirement has been acknowledged by the cultural and arts authorities, the various associations and groups including the Association of Visual Artists, the Writers' Association, the Re- porters' Association, the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Art Association and so on, but the ongoing activities have not brought much results.
Since late 1,991 and carry 1992, any- how, in Hanoi, Hue, Da Nang, and especially Ho Chi Minh City, galleries have sprung up one after another and exhibitions have taken place every week, expressing a novel vitality to Vietnam's contemporary art both at home and abroad.