Discover the space that preserves the beauty, love and charm of Quan Ho

VHO - Coming to Hoai Trung village (Lien Bao commune, Bac Ninh province), you can not only listen to love songs but also experience a vibrant cultural space, where generations continue to preserve the most original values ​​of ancient Quan Ho.

The “Quan họ cũ và nay” exhibition room is a space imbued with cultural identity. Not only is it a place to display artifacts, it is also a meeting place for the Lien anh lien chi singers.

As one of the 49 ancient Quan Ho villages of Bac Ninh , Hoai Trung (Lien Bao commune, Bac Ninh) is famous for its Quan Ho singers. Among them, the Duong family in Hoai Trung has played Quan Ho for 6 generations.

Quan Ho artist couple Duong Van Quyen (1914 - 2007) and Nguyen Thi Hap (1915 - 2000) are typical artists, inheriting a family tradition of many generations of Quan Ho players.

In 1972 - 1973, Mr. Duong Van Quyen directly participated in teaching Quan Ho to the first Quan Ho class of the Bac Ninh Quan Ho Folk Song Troupe, now the Bac Ninh Quan Ho Folk Song Theater.

Presently, Mr. Duong Duc Thang, the grandson of Mr. Quyen, continues the family tradition. Mr. Thang is currently the Vice President of the Hoai Trung Quan Ho Club, teaching and promoting this heritage to the public as well as the younger generations.

Mr. Thang has worked hard to collect artifacts and memorabilia related to Quan Ho singing and initiated a private museum in the community at the ancient Quan Ho village of Hoai Trung.

Mr. Duong Duc Thang has been diligently collecting artifacts and memorabilia associated with Quan Ho singing since 1996.

Many of the displayed artifacts are symbolic and associated with the Lien Anh and Lien Chi dancers as well as cultural exchanges, sophistication and hospitality of Kinh Bac people.

Since 1996, Mr. Duong Duc Thang has started collecting objects, costumes, and documents associated with ancient Quan Ho artists such as betel boxes, lime pots, teapots, mahogany beds, tea cabinets, umbrellas, conical hats, etc.

In 2022, the "Quan Ho Ancient and Present" Exhibition was officially opened in Hoai Trung village, preserving nearly 200 ancient artifacts, ranging in age from 70 to over 200 years.

Those relics are not just objects, but also an exemplary cultural and artistic space, a place that fully expresses the beauty, love and charm of Quan Ho.

In particular, Mr. Thang also collected more than 50 books about Quan Ho from 1928 to present, 18 handwritten notebooks with nearly 2,000 ancient Quan Ho songs and more than 200 old voice recording files.

Since its inception, the gallery has welcomed thousands of domestic and international visitors, researchers, students and pupils to visit and learn.

Mr. Duong Duc Thang said that the artifacts he collected were invited to be displayed and promoted at many major events such as the "Returning to Quan Ho" Festival, "Space of convergence of the quintessence of intangible cultural heritage" in Bac Lieu , or at the Dien Bien Phu Museum, the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology...

In this space, the men and women in Quan Ho costumes, polite in communication and behavior with old objects, betel leaves folded in phoenix wings remind the memories of many people.

Betel leaves folded in phoenix-wing patterns are indispensable in Quan Ho meetings and exchanges.

One of the most precious souvenirs in the gallery is the mother-of-pearl inlaid betel box that belonged to Duong Duc Thang’s grandmother – a famous woman in the ancient Kinh Bac region. Over time, the betel box was lost. Thang had to spend many years searching and a lot of money to redeem it.

Bronze tray - First prize in 1936 and bronze basin - Second prize in 1937 of the artist couple Duong Van Quyen and Nguyen Van Che (Hoai Trung village) in the Quan Ho singing competition in early spring at Lim festival

The red lacquer tray of Mr. Thang's family is preserved to this day.

The mother-of-pearl book chest has been preserved for generations.

The gallery preserves costumes of Quan Ho artists collected from many families.

The worn-out costume of artisan Nguyen Thi Hap (1915 - 2000) - a famous Quan Ho artisan, is placed in a prominent position along with many carefully collected artifacts.

Silver strings of the Lien Chi sisters are used for decoration and worn when playing Quan Ho.

The tray and bowl set of artisan Duong Van Quyen's family used to serve Quan Ho singers at the brothel.

The tray of cups and bowls is many years old and is used by families when inviting Quan Ho guests.

Collected items such as betel boxes, oil lamps, kettles, pipes...

Lime pots are kept and displayed in many galleries.

A set of rosewood beds, cabinets and other belongings of a family playing Quan Ho in ancient Hoai Trung

A corner of the "Quan Ho ancient and modern" exhibition room

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/kham-pha-khong-gian-luu-giu-cai-dep-cai-tinh-cai-duyen-quan-ho-176566.html