Quan Ho in the midst of life
In Quan Ho Hoai Trung village, all rituals, routes to the values of the Confucian way of behavior and communication are still maintained every day, not only when playing Quan Ho but even in life. That is the result of the brothers and sisters who love and appreciate the precious traditional values of their homeland.
In the daily life of the women at Hoai Trung Quan Ho Club - one of 49 ancient Quan Ho villages in Bac Ninh, the daily life is associated with Quan Ho melodies.
When the chickens were roaming the hamlet, the mist and thunder were still still still still standing on the young grass, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen - President of the Hoai Trung Quan Ho Club was busy going back and forth with the job of cooking - a job that often had to wake up late and wake up early, busy regardless of weekdays or weekends.
"Usually, at early meals, we have to start the fire at threeam. It was hard work, but it was the main job to support the family, so everyone tried, Ms. Huyen shared while her hands were still busy preparing food, the drops of sweat fell on the stove.
Not far away, in the vast fields, Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh is wandering the fields under the dusty rain. At the age of over 60, Ms. Minh is still attached to six sao of rice fields and vegetable gardens.
Wiping through mud and hand, wearing a t-shirt, Ms. Minh said that she grows rice to eat, and the leftover vegetables and squid is taken to the market to sell to earn money to cover daily expenses.
Unlike Ms. Minh, Ms. Huyen, Ms. Vu Thi Dinh chose the job of trading in the market as a livelihood. Since 4am, she has been present at wholesale markets to import fruits, then rushed back to prepare goods in time for the market early. The work was hard early in the morning, but on days when there were many goods, she could earn a good amount of money.
In Bac Ninh, the song is still sung: "A lane of sunshine also carries a folk melody". This is more true than ever in the land of Hoai Trung. After a long day of busy working with all kinds of work, when the darkness falls, those women return to the small room of Quan Ho Club.
Quan Ho Hoai Trung Club operates periodically every Thursday and Sunday night. After a long day of work, when sitting together in a small room, everyone's face was still lit up with joy, radiance, and their mouths were soaked with traditional folk songs.
"Customers come to play at home and sometimes they come to play at home/ Sing to each other in a cup of tea...", the singing sound is raised, gentle and gentle.
Mrs. Dinh cuped a cup of warm tea and laughed, saying: "No matter how hard I work as a trader during the day, I try to go all day. Here, they can learn to sing and " chat", they can tell each other everything they have to enjoy and regret after a working day. All the hardship seems to disappear".
Although she works hard every day to prepare rice and rice, when sitting in the Quan Ho show, Mrs. Dinh and many other women are diligently practicing and being delicate in every way of expressing words and saying Quan Ho's song.
For members of the Hoai Trung Quan Ho Club, Quan Ho is not only a free animal, but has become a special "work" in daily life. It is truly a serious play - originating from love, passion and responsibility for the cultural heritage of the homeland.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen looks at the members practicing enthusiastically, her eyes clearly showing her pride. Despite the difficult season, the club members still maintain a regular schedule.
The beauty of the Hoai Trung Quan Ho Club activities is the rusticity. The brothers and sisters immediately bend and correct each other with each word "i, a", each way to get a feel. late at night, the tea was still warm, the singing sound became even more intense.
Preserving the heritage from the community
In the living space of Quan Ho Ho Hoai Trung Club, there are not only ancient melodies and songs but also unique souvenirs and items in the playing style of the Quan Ho people.
It is a wooden betel nut inlaid with mother-of-pearl; copper tea set; The betel knife has the shape of a bamboo leaf, the horn handle is covered with silver or the basket holds a teapot to welcome Quan Ho guests.
The artifacts in the club's exhibition space were carefully collected and preserved by Mr. Duong Duc Thang - Vice President of Quan Ho Ho Hoai Trung Club.
For him, the artifacts on display are not only from his love for Quan Ho but also from his desire to introduce to visitors the traditional style of the ancient Quan Ho people.
The relics are from 70 to 100 years old, and are named after veteran artisans. With its unique cultural value, the exhibition space of Hoai Trung Quan Ho Club has once been a place to welcome many visitors, especially groups of students... to visit, research, exchange, and study.
After a long period of operation, Hoai Trung Quan Ho Club has actively participated in performances and exhibitions of artifacts at many major events in and outside the province, contributing to connecting culture, traditional education, and preserving the spiritual values of Bac Ninh Quan Ho club.
But more importantly, the whole team practiced singing not only to go out and interact or perform, but more importantly, to be able to teach the younger generation, so that traditional culture is always continued.
The artifacts, melodies, and Quan Ho singing lines are preserved as a bridge between traditional values and the present, and between artisans and future generations. This demonstrates the responsibility of each individual in preserving the national cultural identity, so that the Quan Ho heritage is preserved and spread to future generations.
Heritage living in tourism development
In Bac Ninh, from 49 Quan Ho villages originating according to traditional Chinese medicine, up to now, Quan Ho has spread strongly in community life with about 150 Quan Ho villages practicing, more than 600 folk clubs and over 10,000 regular members across the province.
The numbers show that Quan Ho is being preserved, conserved and promoted by the community as an indispensable part of local cultural life.
The preservation and promotion of Bac Ninh Quan Ho is not only limited to the space of villages or community clubs, but has been concretized by specialized cultural institutions. One of the typical highlights is the Bac Ninh Quan Ho Folk Song Theater, the project that has just been awarded the Silver Award of the 15th National Architecture Award.
The theater was built on a land area of over 19,000 m2 in Viem Xa village, Kinh Bac ward - which is considered the birthplace of Quan Ho folk song. The theater's architectural space is directly inspired by Quan Ho culture and Kinh Bac village, with the traditional communal house roof shape, the lining covered with two layers of bamboo sticks, motifs reminiscent of Ba Tam hats.
According to the Bac Ninh Provincial Museum, in the context that Bac Ninh is focusing on developing cultural tourism associated with heritage, the role of artisans and prestigious people becomes even more important, they are both the one who "keeps the fire" for heritage and the one who "carries the fire", bringing the national cultural identity to visitors through their own voice, hands and passion.
Thanks to the great silent contributions, cultural tourism with precious traditional values, from promoting Quan Ho to cuisine, the festival is not only an economic activity but also becomes a way to preserve and promote traditional cultural values, helping visitors understand, feel and appreciate local culture more.
From the rustic activities in the small rooms of the Hoai Trung Quan Ho Club to the well-invested performance space at the Bac Ninh Quan Ho Folk Song Theater, it can be seen that this heritage is being preserved at many different levels. There, the community is the place to preserve the roots, while cultural institutions play a role in spreading and connecting heritage with tourism and modern life, so that Quan Ho is not only preserved, but continues to live in the contemporary space of Kinh Bac land.
