History of Vietnamese folk art
hytran
people had loved and created many rich cultural and spiritual
activities. Songs and dances became natural requirements. From
specialized research documents, we may learn about the pioneers of
Vietnam song, dance and music who are considered as founder genii of
each of these originals.
The earliest Tro Ruoc, or festive procession, in vogue since the times
of the Kings Hung is the comic one-hundred-art procession, also named
the Prince and the Princess escorting procession. This procession Ngoc
Hoa, who, according to ancient oral tradition was King Hung Due Vuong's
beloved daughter herself whom Son Tinh (the genie of Tan Vien mountain
- Ba Vi - Ha Tay province) had married. On leaving the capital Phong
Chau (in today's Vinh Phu province) to follow her groom, she advanced
reluctantly because she regretted the royal place. Finally, she topped
suddenly in the middle of the road and refused to advance further. The
populace organized then spontaneously entertainment shows in order to
distract her from her worries. Touched by the kindness of the populace,
she merged into the crowd and initiated herself many songs and dances,
giving birth thus officially to a beautiful custom.
Hat Xoan
Hat Xoan, a folk song also dating from Kings Hung's times, was closely
connected to its founder genie Que Hoa. She was the person to whom the
King had confided the task of teaching everybody in the royal palace to
dance and sing. Since the singing parties were often organized in
Spring, in the midst of nature, in the blossom season, this kind of
folk song was called the Xoan song. Under the Le dynasty, Hat Xoan was
standardized by regulations established by Do Nhuan, a member of Tao
Dan club. Nowadays, Hat Xoan or flirting Xoan... still is a passion of
many people, in particular people of the Vinh Phu province's midlands.
Song, dance and music, starting from the status of simple
entertainments where composers and players were disdained, have now
found a deserving place in the cultural and social life of our country.
We can not imagine life without the singing voices, the dances'
rhythms, and the guitars' sounds. Neither could we not keep being proud
because our country have such original and maginificent traditional
arts.
Hat Cheo
Hat cheo is the most representative Vietnamese folk-art. There are as
much as four personages who may be considered as its tutelar genii,
there were Tran Thi Tran, Le Toan Nghia, Sai At and the bonze Tu Dao
Hanh. Hat Cheo started in the Ly dynasty (12th century), and during the
three of four following centuries was enriched and perfected to the
form that has been essentially preserved until today. The Hat Cheo
lesson written by Tu Dao Hanh more than eight centuries ago still
conserves its original value.
Hat A Dao (or Ca Tru) has also existed since the Ly dynasty, its
founder genii was Dao Nuong (A Dao or Miss Dao) a renowned singer in
her times. Under the Ly dynasty, a personality who had the merit of
enriching this art was Bach Hoa, the wife of Dinh Le, a artist player
of the guitar Day, whose native country was Nghi Xuan county, Ha Tinh
province (the native place of 18th century's great poet Nguyen Du). In
the 19th century, the famous singer Dao Thi Man, from Tu Liem - Ha Noi
again rendered Hat A Dao more perfect, giving it a long lasting
vitality.
Hat Xam
Hat Xam, or the song of the blind artists, has existed since the Tran
dynasty (13th century). Its creator was Tran Quoc Dinh, a son of King
Tran Thanh Tong. In a complex situation, his brother, in a fit of
jealousy against the talents of Dinh, pierced his eyes, rendering him
blind for the remaining of his life, and to accompany his songs, he
invented a simple musical instrument constituted principally of a cord
made of rattan and other creepers which gave out a deep and sorrowful
sound, alike to a reproach accompanying his singing voice.
Hat Quan Ho
Hat Quan Ho came to life a little later in about the 16th century. The
singers who have been called the Queens of Quan Ho were Mrs. A Nuong
from Tam Son and Mrs. Nam Nuong from Lung Giang. The princess Che Dang
Thi Hue, Viceroy Trinh Sam's wife, was considered as having the merit
of developing this folk song. According to ancient books, the fortynine
Quan Ho practicing villages have all turned to Diem Xa (Diem village
-Yen Phong county - Ha Bac province), to consider it as the village of
origin of Quan Ho.
The folk-song Quan Ho, a very rich and beautiful musical storehouse of
our people, has a very long lasting history. During all its existence,
successive creations have unceasingly changed the type of the folk-song
Quan Ho. Today, there are "Quan Ho dai", "New Quan Ho", "the renovated
Quan Ho". This shows that there may be some kinds of Quan Ho that are
not real Quan Ho. Thus, from what epoch has the tradition of Quan Ho
dated ?
One of the old polular tales narrates as follows : in order time, Lung
Giang village (Liem village) and Tam son village (Tu Son) were in very
good relations with each other. Every year, at the 13th of the first
lunar month, Tam son village held a festival and invited five or six
elderly men and five or six elderly women together with a great number
of young singers of Lung Giang to come and participate to the festival.
The village elders and young man of Tam son went out to the Mandarin
Road to welcome the friends from Lung Giang and invite them to go into
the communal house to attend a banquet and afterward to participate in
the singing party. Alternately, each time the young man of one of the
villages had sung the girls from the other village would reply in
singing. Such singing competitions lasted all night until the morning
of the following day. However, we may assert that it is only under the
Ly dynasty (1010-1225) that the folk-song Quan Ho began to develop
strongly and became joyful festivals lasting as much as half a month.
People of ancient times narrated as follows : although their capital
had been established in Thang Long, every year at springtime the Ly
Kings always returned to their ancestor a native locality (Thien Duc
county) to hold joyful festivals. Each time the fleet of dragon boats
of the king entered Thien Duc river (or Duong river) from Nhi Ha river
to arrive at Thien Duc township (Tu Son), the kindred and officials of
the Ly family, including children, the elderly, young men and young
girl, all stood on the two banks of the royal canal (the canal reserved
to the passage of the royal dragon boat) to welcome the king. Where the
dragon boat arrived the officials and the kindred (Quan Vien Ho) sang
hymns of praise, claping their hands and sang songs praising the king
to the rhythm of the boat's oars and to the rhythm of the castanets of
the Chief Rower (who commanded and synchronized the movements of the
rowers).
When the boat of the king arrived at Dinh Bang Campaign Palace (the
palace where the king took his holidays), the welcoming throng became
still thicker. The king went into the Campaign Palace to rest and, the
following day, he called on the elderly, the bonzes, the kingdred and
the villagers. Afterwards, he gave a special traditional feast, granted
money, silk and opened a official sanity party who recited poems and
sang. Since then on, this kind of folk-songs bears the name of Quan Ho
songs, or the songs of the Officials and the Kindred.
Before the 1945, there still were 49 villages practicing the folk-song
Quan Ho, concentrated in the countries of Tien Son, Yen Phong, Viet Yen
and in Bac Ninh township. At springtime, the associated Quan Ho
villages now vie in the holding of festivals. The oldest festival is
the Festival of Pagoda Phat Tich (Tien Du) on the 4th of the 1st lunar
month. In order of lesser importance, there is afterwards the Giong
Festival of Phu Dong village on the 9th the 3rd lunar month. However,
the most entertaining is the Festival of "13th of the 1st lunar month"
of the 6 Noi Due sub-prefectures and the associated Quan Ho villages.
On this days, on the Ironwood hills or in the pagoda's park, among the
blossoming peony bushes, the pilgrims come from every corner of the
country and distinguished and smart young men and young girls of the
region gather for sight seeing, contemplating blossoming flowers,
encountering and making acquaintance with each other and listening
together to recitals of songs.
The Quan Ho singers give mutual rendez-vous at the festival, offer to
one another fruit, betel and tea and immediately start their singing
competition. At time, the Quan Ho girls disclose from behind their
conical hats their rosy cheeks, shy and fresh as springtime, and raise
their passionate and velvety voices to make inquiries and raise
questions to the young men's side, who in turn afterward raise
questions to which the girls side will reply. All day long, the young
men and the young girls exchange fruit betel and ardent looks, the
traction gray gauze of the young men mixing with the saffron corsages
of the girls as in the simple and pastoral painting, after each bout of
the singing competition. The singing voices raise the joyful atmosphere
of the festival, where as, the intelligent delectation and appreciation
of the spectators give wings to the songs verses, the refined and
succintly meaningful words which are products of the improvisation of
the amateur artists.
The joyful festival ends on the hills and in front of the pagoda. Ranks
after ranks of the young men and young girls walk by singing the
farewell song :
Dear friend ! Stay here, do not return home. You went back home and
made me weep silently. The two flaps of my dress were soaked with tears.
Saying good-bye to the festival, the Quan Ho young men and young girls
return to the field where they will work hard to produce crops. But
they do not forget to revise their songs and prepare new ones while
awaiting the next year competition. Labour and arts have really added
wings to life in the old Quan Ho villages.
Hat Then
As to the air Hat Then of the Tay in the Northern mountainous region of
our country, it was created by Hoang Quynh (together with Be Phung) at
the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century. The
name of Hat Then was given by Be Phung, as for Hoang Quynh, he called
it Giang. Today, Hat Then still is in vogue together with the airs Sli,
Luon... altogether they enrich the spiritual life of the mountaineers .
Hat Ly
Ly is one of special folk songs of the Vietnamese which is very popular
in Vietnam now. It can be seen in North, central and South Vietname.
But, it is likely to be overwhelmingly developed in the South. Ly of
the Southern part is not only various in quantity but also in subject
and content as well as musical characteristics. Especially, Ly of the
South aims at activities in production, feelings and thought of people
in their daily lives. Further, animals, plants, flowers, love, mariage
are also seen in Ly folk song. Some folk songs demonstrate common
dreams of people or criticize disgrace practices. Ly of people in the
South Vietnam is really a mean to reflex daily lives of local
residents. Although, it has various styles in demonstration but
sorrowness is outstanding in words of the song. Beside, it is rather
modest, simple but mischievous.
Hat Boi - The Art of Vietnam Drama
The foreigners who come to Vietnam, often visit its famous beauty
spots, or ancient architectural monuments as temples, mausoleums, they
also have a chance to enjoy culture and literature program, in which
there are many types of special traditional theaters as classical Opera
(Tuong ot Hat Boi), popular Opera (cheo), water puppet show (mua roi
nuoc), folk drama (kich dan ca), Hue singing (ca Hue) and renovated
Opera (cai Luong). Tuong or Hat Boi are based on folk art, otherwise it
exploits the source of ritual music, folk dance, that are expressed
through the typical styles of drama. The main scenarios are legends.
Tuong is an ancient type of Vietnam drama that came into being over
five hundred years ago, reflect the rich and special culture of the
nation. Nowadays in the anciend Capital of Hue, there still exists the
ancestral altar "Thanh Binh Tu Duong" founded under Minh Mang Dynasty
(18th century), and a lot of halls as the show places for Royal Circles
and mandarins to see : Duyet Thi Hall, Minh Khiem Hall, Thong Minh
Tower. Hat Boi is a refined - mannered art firmly combined with
gestures, making-ups, costumes, stage decoration, music, etc... The
gestures of characters on the stage are stylized with symbolization,
which attract the viewers passionately. To a western-style drama, when
a general rides a horse, it must be a real one or a horse-like costume
; but, to an actor of HAT BOI. Only a white, brown red or black whip
also means many kinds of horses : Black, sorrel or white. The actor of
HAT BOI acts very concisely. Only with a whip, he is able to make the
viewers passionate through delicate acting's with horses galloping or
at full gallop, of which there are good-mannered or restive ones...
With an oar, the actor of HAT BOI is able to show the viewers the boat
fast sailing, wavering due to waves, making the viewers feel as through
they were onthe boat.
HAT BOI Stage has a very concise symbolization. Only with some actors
on the stage, the whole scene of the court with all the officials who
are attending royal ceremonies could be seen, or two generals with some
soldiers fighting also show a battle with hundreds of thousands of
troops and horses fighting fiercely, and even a gourd of wine and four
wooden cups also express a lowish banquet. It is a mistake to deal with
HAT BOI without mentioning the art of making up, because tust looking
at a made-up face, we may guess the personality and social class of
that character. For example, a red face is of a frank, hot-tempered and
sentimental man. A blue face of a machiavellian, arrogant man. And
white-spotted red face of a cunning, disloyal one, etc,...
A canthus drawn toward one's ears show that he is a great gentleman and
hero. As for beards, a black, curly beard is for a fierce man,
three-tuft beard for a gentleman; a dragon's beard for Kings and
mandarins and for majesty; a mouse's whisker, a goat's beard and a
fox's whisker for cunning and dishonest men. Beardless man must be
students. The accompanying tomtoms in HAT BOI are very important,
because they start the actor's sentiment; they bring the past time and
space to the present; they unite the character's sentiment with the
stage, and the actor with the audience. The art of HAT BOI in Vienam
includes those of painting, sculpture through the ways of making up,
costumes and dance, pantomine, singing, saying through the actings of
actors; as well as the combination of traditional musical instruments
of Vietnam. The art of HAT BOI has raised the lofty view of desire to
the true - the good - the beautiful (Chan - Thien - My) as well as the
viewpoints of life of the ancients: Benevolence - Righteousness
-Civility - Knowledge - Loyalty ( Nhan -Le - Nghia - Tri - Tin) through
special characters who are benevolent and righteous. HAT BOI is one of
the valuable pearls reflecting the rich and special culture of
Vietnamese People.
Cai Luong (Reformed theatre)
Born after the First World War (1914-1918), Cai Luong (Reformed
Theatre) based itself on popular airs and pieces of music composed by
groups of artists in western Cochinchina. During the first ten years
(1920-1930), the key airs of Cai Luong had been created since 1918 by a
gentleman named Sau Lau (Author of the Da Co Hoa`i Lang song). There
were many Cai Luong teams with many actors and actresses among who some
remain famous till our days, such as Nam Phi, Ba Va^n, Phu`ng Ha', Ta'm
Danh, Nam Cha^u.... Cai Luong often takes inspiration from the ancient
legends or the sensational and romantic novels.
In comparison with Che`o and Tuong, Cai Luong is a new type of theatre.
If Tuong is characterised by royal court and Che`o is popular in the
countryside, Cai Luong has urban feature. Cai Luong originated in the
Mekong River delta, South Vietnam. The principal supporting song in Cai
Luong is the Vong Co (literally, nostalgia for the past). The play owes
much of its success to the sweet voices of the cast, much appreciated
by the audience.
Mua Roi Nuoc - Water Puppetry
Mua roi nuoc (water puppetry) is common throughout the world. Water
puppetry was developed in lake and pond-rich areas in the Red River
Delta (Vietnam)since the Ly Dynasty (12th century) . The surface of
water serves as the stage while spectators sit at the water's edge. The
puppeteers both male and female stand waist-deep in the water to
manipulate the puppets making them move about and even dance on the
surface of the water. The water serves not only to hide the puppeteers
and the puppets' strings but also to create a trembling stage full of
reflection, while providing natural amplification for singing
puppeteers accompanied by percussion music and fire crackers. Every
puppet is a piece of real folk sculpture. It is made of wood, painted
with waterproof lacquer. The prominent character is buffoon Teu with a
plump body and a humorous smile. When the curtain is raised, the merry,
arch eu enters onto the stage and introduces the play. A considerable
repertoire of traditional water puppet plays still get a big hand from
the audience. They include Teu Dance, Buffalo Fighting, Duck Tender
Chasing Fox and Chess Playing.
hyt...@my-deja.com
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