Lao art troupe to perform in Ha Noi

HA NOI — The Lao National Art Troupe will perform in Viet Nam this week at the invitation of Viet Nam's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The 35-member troupe will appear in Ha Noi on Thursday and Saturday and in Bac Giang Sunday. The shows coincide with Lao Cultural Week in Viet Nam, December 21-28.

Writer donates books to museum

HA NOI — Writer Nguyen Dac Xuan donated a collection of books to the Museum of Vietnamese Literature.

Xuan's work includes 700 Nam Thuan Hoa-Phu Xuan (700 Years of Thuan Hoa-Phu Xuan) which won the silver prize in the 2010 Beautiful Books awards, as well as nine other volumes from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Xuan also donated a 19th century portrait on metal of the poet Nguyen Phuc Mien Trinh (1820-97) who was a member of royal family in the Nguyen dynasty and served as a mandarin.

The writer has granted books for the museum in 2006 in the central city of Hue. Xuan will donate valuable books for the museum in the future to let people have chance to read them, he said.

Teenage pianist performs in homeland

HA NOI — Teen pianist Vu Dang Minh Anh, an overseas Vietnamese from Poland, will perform with the Ha Noi Symphony Orchestra tonight at the Ha Noi Opera House.

Born and raised in Poland, Anh has won many prizes in international piano contests in Poland and Italy. In tonight's concert, she will play The Barber of Seville by Rossini, Concerto KV 449 by Mozart, and Dumka and Romeo and Juliet by Tchaikovsky.

VNews broadcasts on K+ network

HA NOI — VNews, the new channel of the Vietnam News Agency, is now being aired on digital satellite network K+.

VNews launched in August, with broadcasts throughout the day on the latest news and current events in politics, business, culture and society, from journalists throughout the country and permanent correspondents in countries and territories around the world.

K+ is also carrying THVL1, the channel of the southern province of Vinh Long, providing news and entertainment in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region.

VTC presenter wins talent crown

HCM CITY – Pham Khanh Ly, presenter of VTC Digital Television, won the HCM City Television's (HTV) annual Miss Charming Television contest held in HCM City at HTV Theatre.

Twenty-four-year-old Ly beat 12 other contestants in the competitions, which included evening dress presentation, talents and emceeing skills, at the HTV Theatre.

The Ba Ria-Vung Tau Radio and Television Station's hostess Ma Ngoc Dieu gained second prize while Tran Thi Thanh Phuong of HTV brought third prize.

During the four-day contest, contestants were judged on appearance, performance and emceeing skills, voice, poise, and presentation style.

All of the contestants work as reporters, presenters or hosts for television stations in the provinces and cities of Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Ninh Binh, Lang Son, Binh Thuan, Tra Vinh, Hau Giang, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Nai, and HCM City.

The guest contestant from Laos, Nhom MaLa of Attapeu Provincial Radio and Television Station, also took part in cultural exchange performances with Vietnamese contestants. — VNS

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Old house in Hoi An maintains link with Oriental philosophies

by Ngoc Duy

Tan Ky Old House has been a popular destination for foreign tourists visiting Hoi An.   Two foreign tourists (right) listen to a guide in the house. — VNS Photos Ngoc Duy

As you look at the thousands of name cards and keepsakes that visitors have left in Tan Ky House in the ancient city of Hoi An, you won't have to ask how much interest there is in a house that has been recognised by the Government as a historical and cultural monument since the 1980s.

Others may have their own reasons for loving the house, but for me, as I let the lady of the house guide me around, I feel like spending hours here just to contemplate truly old Oriental architecture, learn about the history that is integrated with every detail of the house, and meditate on life's ancient philosophies.

The house, located at 101 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, was built more than two centuries ago. The same family has lived in the home for seven generations. The name Tan Ky, meaning "Progress Shop", was given to the house by the second generation to express the owner's wish for a prosperous business.

"Tan Ky still offers evidence of an era when trade with foreigners flourished in this major commercial port city from the 18th until the first half of the 19th century, a time when wealthy merchants built imposing houses like this," said Huynh Thi Tan Xuan, the house's mistress.

At that time, the Tan Ky family traded in agricultural products. Their customers included local and foreign merchants from Southeast Asia and Europe.

Boats sailed up the Thu Bon River to reach the house. Goods ready for sale were kept on the ground floor, while products to be sold later were moved to the upper storage floors by a pulley system.

The storage area is just one of the many details of the house that has remained unchanged to this day. However, by the beginning of last century, Hoi An was no longer among the most important business centres of the region as a result of continuous floods that silted up the river and prevented big ships from entering the port.

"Generation after generation, the Tan Ky family has made untiring attempts to keep the house in good condition, despite time and the devastation of floods," said Xuan.

She said the architecture is the most special thing about the house because it features elements of Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese cultures from a time when the three communities lived together in Hoi An during the 16th and 17th centuries.

The outside structure of the house is made of bricks and tiles, while the inside is made of jack-fruit trees, ironwood and peck-wood, which are very hard and durable. The floor is covered with stone slates and Bat Trang bricks, which came from northern areas of Viet Nam.

The house is joined together with wooden pegs and rests on marble bases. Thanks to thick roofs and wooden walls, the house is cool in summer and warm in winter.

The triple-beam structure consists of three beams, which represent heaven, earth and humans, and five round blocks, which represent metal, wood, water, fire and earth – the five basic natural elements in Eastern philosophy. The entire structure is a symbol of heaven and earth in harmony.

The ceiling curves like a crab shell, hence it is called a crab-shelled ceiling. The roof is supported by two sabres wrapped in silk ribbons, which represent force and flexibility.

The edge of the roof is decorated with four half-dragon fish, a symbol of people who succeed through hard work.

"All of the carvings here are expressions of our ancestors' wishes for something," said Xuan.

"Peaches symbolise the hope for longevity, bats for happiness (in the Han Chinese language the words for bats and happiness have the same sound), rolls of poetry for knowledge, wine gourds for pleasure, and pumpkins with many seeds for plentiful descendants."

"The furniture and art in the house, much of which are original, are also typical of a bygone era," she said.

One of the famous pieces is a pair of wood panels, which are inscribed with parallel sentences. Each stroke of writing is an image of a bird. One hundred birds in total represent honourable men and perfection, she said. "Another unique piece has an interesting story behind it," Xuan said, pointing at what she called the "Cup of Confucius".

A legend says that when ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius nearly died of hunger and thirst on a journey through the desert, he met an old man who led him to a pond and gave him a cup to scoop water.

He scooped up a full cup but when he brought it to his mouth, there was no water. Surprised, he found that the cup had a small hole at the bottom which water fell through when the cup was full. He finally understood that he could not drink the water unless he only partially filled the cup.

Confucius then theorised that human beings needed to control their behaviours and keep their minds level, not in extremes, and live as gentleman with human love, faith, righteousness, wisdom and loyalty. Later on, the legendary cup that saved Confucius was named the Cup of Confucius and his followers produced similar cups in order to practise and propagate his doctrine.

The Cup of Confucius in Tan Ky house maintains its original strangeness because if someone attempts to fill it more than 80 per cent, all the water falls out, said Xuan.

Xuan said Tan Ky, recognised as one of the best preserved and most beautiful old houses in Hoi An today, has the honour of receiving thousands of visitors every year. Many national and international leaders who have visited the house have left their autographs behind.

"Preserving all of these values has become an age-old tradition in our family," she said. "My husband lives and works in Da Nang, but I stay here to look after this property and conserve our traditions." — VNS

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A walk through Bui Xuan Phai’s Hanoi

In recognition of painter Bui Xuan Phai (1920-1987), the Goethe Institute Hanoi will hold an exhibition of his paintings on his birthday September 1.

The exhibition that opens September 1 will feature 36 works chosen by the artist’s son, Bui Thanh Phuong. It is the first in a three exhibition series “City in Art” that presents artist’s impressions of Hanoi from foreigners’ and Vietnamese perspectives. The next two shows will start in November.

Bui Xuan Phai, who is seen by many as the most important Vietnamese painter of the 20th century, was born in Hanoi and spent his entire life there. In his small atelier at 87 Thuoc Bac he worked intensively as a freelance artist and left behind an extensive artistic legacy. He was famous especially for his paintings of the Hanoi ancient city, whose streets and characteristic angles he repeatedly used as the subject in his paintings and drawings.

Bui Xuan Phai significantly influenced the development of modern art in Vietnam, although it was not until 1984 that he was recognized with the first and only solo exhibition in his lifetime.

The exhibition will run untill September 3.

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