Tran Thi Bien - keeper of traditional fine arts

Editor's note - In the heart of Hanoi - the capital and cultural heart of Vietnam, there is a woman who has devoted her whole heart to the country's fine arts. She is Associate Professor - Doctor Tran Thi Bien, a Vietnamese art theorist and critic, a senior lecturer at the Hanoi University of Architecture. She is passing on her love for this art to many generations of students every day and every hour, building the traditional cultural colors - unique art of Vietnam.

Việt Nam•29/07/2025

Headquarters of the State Council of Professors

Meeting Ms. Tran Thi Bien during a field trip to make patterns at Linh Quang Pagoda, Hai Phong , I heard her share about what she had done, and saw her passionate love for fine arts and the beauty of national culture. Just like that, I was drawn into the stories about artistic creation and the love of beauty of a woman who devoted her youth to researching the history of Vietnamese fine arts in general and traditional fine arts in particular.

Ms. Tran Thi Bien is making patterns at Linh Quang Pagoda, Hai Phong

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Bien confided: “… I was born and raised in a poor rural area, my childhood was associated with rice fields and lowlands in the old Tien Lu district of Hung Yen province, in a family with a patriotic tradition with my father, uncle, and paternal uncle who participated in the country's resistance war. Recalling her childhood memories, she emotionally said: “The sacrifices of my uncle and paternal uncle in those resistance wars were deeply imprinted in my childhood memories, telling me to live harder in the present and the future… And it was the hardships and poverty of my relatives and the simple villagers that built for me the dreams and ambitions when I headed towards the path of knowledge.”

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Bien graduated as valedictorian from the Hanoi University of Fine Arts in 1996. The challenges and knowledge learned and accumulated during her 5 years of university were the "pedestal" for her to build her career path when she was accepted to work at the Institute of Fine Arts, Hanoi University of Fine Arts. Here, her aspirations for scientific research, research skills, and art teaching were nurtured and burned within her. Being able to swim in the pool of knowledge, learning and approaching scientific issues from domestic and foreign scientists, friends, colleagues, and examining and theorizing about art from many perspectives and many majors helped her find the right direction.

2022 is a year with many memorable memories in the process of participating in the Associate Professor candidacy. After a lot of efforts and attempts, she is the only candidate in the Art code to finish with the title of Associate Professor.

Trained from university level with major in Theory and History of Fine Arts, the subjects taught are also basic subjects for the major of fine arts training such as: History of Vietnamese Fine Arts, History of World Fine Arts, Aesthetics, Art Studies and later taught at postgraduate level are subjects on scientific research methods, Theory of Fine Arts Teaching, Contemporary Art, Asian Fine Arts, History of Design, Cultural Identity in Applied Fine Arts Design... has helped Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Bien have a comprehensive perspective on the historical and social context of Vietnamese fine arts in the past, present and future.

The successes in scientific research and training results that she has today are largely due to her efforts. Right from the 90s when she had just graduated from school, the small, dark-skinned bachelor went on field trips with teachers, professors, and wandering scientists in every region to exploit relics, with trips lasting months. She said: at that time, most of the relic diaries were written by hand, and there were nights when she still wrote down the relic diaries that she had learned and in her own way of understanding. That is the reason why she can remember in detail about the relics that she had passed through, identifying valuable art objects that need to be protected and preserved.

Research delegation of the Institute of Fine Arts at Duong Lieu Pagoda, Hoai Duc, Hanoi in 1997, Ms. Tran Thi Bien (white shirt, 4th from left), Buddhist nun Thich Dam Hai, late Associate Professor Nguyen Du Chi (striped shirt)

Perhaps, that is why she always loves the ancient communal house roofs, the witty folk carvings full of philosophy and aesthetics of the ancients, the creative intelligence on the temple statues always makes this researcher ponder when looking for explanations and thoughts...

In particular, the opportunities in scientific research when she worked directly with leading scientists with experience and good research skills such as the late Professor Tran Quoc Vuong, the late Associate Professor Nguyen Du Chi, the late Associate Professor Chu Quang Tru, Associate Professor Tran Lam Bien, Associate Professor Nguyen Do Bao and art critics Thai Ba Van, Nguyen Ba Van... helped her have more motivation to realize her aspirations. "The opportunities to work with Finnish experts in the Project: Cultural cooperation between Vietnam and Finland helped me approach the professional and scientific working methods of developed countries" - Associate Professor Dr. Tran Thi Bien said.

Ms. Tran Thi Bien, white ao dai, participates in the Cultural Cooperation Project between Vietnam and Finland

Participate in the Vietnam - Finland Cultural Cooperation Project

During the fieldwork, surveys at traditional art relics all over the Vietnamese countryside. Most of them are research projects from the North Central region and beyond, where the artistic and historical imprints of the ancient Vietnamese are preserved. These are also opportunities for this researcher to learn, to love, and to understand more about the achievements and aesthetic thinking that our ancestors left behind.

With officials of the Institute of Fine Arts and Surveying at Keo Pagoda, Thai Binh, July 1997

Bai Thuong Spillway, Thanh Hoa, Associate Professor Chu Quang Tru, white shirt, far right

Field trip to the island with colleagues, 1997

Ms. Tran Thi Bien always approaches fine arts in an applied direction, constantly updating the development trends of fine arts to reach out to the world but still maintaining the identity in the designs and creations of fine arts. Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Bien shared: "Sweet fruit" has bloomed early from the hardships that she and her young colleagues have gone through to collect the broken pieces of their ancestors.

Ms. Tran Thi Bien makes patterns at Pho Minh pagoda, Nam Dinh (old)

Making a pattern at Goi Pagoda, Nam Dinh, February 2025

These are exhibitions of decorative patterns from communal houses and pagodas and the launch of the book " Human images in ancient Vietnamese carvings " sponsored by the Hanoi University of Fine Arts and the Vietnam - Sweden Cultural Foundation. In addition, the author has a large amount of scientific research assets with hundreds of articles in specialized journals and national and international scientific conference papers, participating in compiling textbooks on Fine Arts and some jointly printed books. In particular, she has published 03 separately printed books of scientific and practical value. Among them, perhaps the book " Decorative art on stone Buddhist altars in pagodas of the Vietnamese people in the Tran Dynasty at the end of the 14th century " is one of the studies that she has worked hard to carry out with many memories. The content of the book, explaining the philosophical and aesthetic nature (philosophy and art) of the Buddhist worship ritual of the Vietnamese people at that time, still has its original value. It is not only an achievement but also the happiness of an educator who can pass on the love of fine arts to many people, and who can research and develop the precious traditions of his ancestors on every page of his books.

Books by the same author

In April 2025, in Hanoi, with the support of the Center for Cultural and Scientific Activities of the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam with the Faculty of Fine Arts Design of the Hanoi University of Architecture, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Bien launched the book " The Art of Decorating the Vong Door in the Interior of the Village Communal House " which is also a scientific work that the author "conceived" many years ago - according to Researcher Phan Cam Thuong who wrote the preface for his beloved student as follows: " The book The Art of Decorating the Vong Door in the Interior of the Village Communal House by author Tran Thi Bien has gathered important documents on the Vong Door works from typical village communal houses in the North, in the three centuries 16th, 17th, 18th. With six chapters of research, from architectural history, research history to arrangement, technique, materials and basic motifs. An in-depth work, in addition to studies on village communal house sculpture that have been exploited and published in more than 50 years. over the past year, but this is perhaps the first collection of research on the gate.. ”

Book "The art of decorating the village communal house's interior"

Book launching ceremony at the Temple of Literature – Quoc Tu Giam, Hanoi

Commenting on this book, Associate Professor, Doctor of Architecture Vu Hong Cuong, Head of the Department of Interior Design, Hanoi University of Architecture, affirmed: “… These are very valuable documents for young designers to exploit and apply traditional fine arts to contemporary life…”

Ms. Tran Thi Bien is signing books for Associate Professor, Doctor of Architecture Vu Hong Cuong

Aspiration to innovate art education and apply traditional art to life.
Passionate about scientific research, passionate about fine arts, and wanting to innovate fine arts education from a minor subject to a specialized subject when she participated in compiling elementary school fine arts textbooks - the 2018 innovation program of the Ministry of Education and Training. Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Bien pondered: “I have always been interested in training in art/fine arts education through heritage. Every time I teach a class, introduce textbooks to the national fine arts teachers or teach in class, I always care about spreading knowledge connecting tradition and modernity. Therefore, I always hope that the team of intellectuals in the field of scientific research and fine arts teachers will always stand side by side with the subjects.”

Council for compiling fine arts textbooks according to the 2018 general education program

University Student Training Class of Hanoi University of Architecture

Through her lectures for undergraduate and graduate students, Ms. Tran Thi Bien always gives "open topics" for students to exchange knowledge with each other, thereby having the opportunity to apply their art projects to current life.

Making a pattern on the stone pedestal of Pho Quang Pagoda, Lam Thao, Phu Tho

Making Phoenix bird patterns at Tra Co communal house, Mong Cai, Quang Ninh

As Associate Professor, Dr. Architect Vu Hong Cuong once said: "Ms. Bien has great working energy, especially in scientific research, something that only a few researchers can do, which is to launch a personal monograph that is highly appreciated by colleagues in the art world and apply traditional fine arts to life."

Ms. Tran Thi Bien works with people at the National Monument of Ho Son Pagoda and the place of worship of Princess Tran Huyen Tran, Nam Dinh (old)

Lecture at Master's class, Hanoi University of Architecture

Working at the art studio of Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Minh Phong

Some pictures at Lo Hanh Communal House and Phu Lao Communal House (old Bac Giang):

Talking to me, after surveying and doing fieldwork at the relic, she always worried about the work of preserving and conserving the current state of the relic which has really degraded over time due to objective reasons such as environment, weather and people.

As a former student of the Vietnam University of Fine Arts, every time she returns to her old school, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Bien always has different emotions.

I, the author, wrote this article with the desire to spread a message that: Being part of the flow of Vietnamese fine arts history through each stage of the country's development, with nearly 30 years of research, art criticism theory and having a solid position with admiration in the hearts of colleagues and students is not a simple thing for any scientist. Ms. Tran Thi Bien is like a blooming flower on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam University of Fine Arts (1925-2025), she has contributed a small part of her efforts in teaching and scientific research, approaching many perspectives to have appropriate solutions in research and training of Fine Arts. Responding to the expectations of the teachers who are the leading generation of Professors of Vietnamese fine arts, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Bien is always searching to "ferry" the next generation of students to pass on her passion in researching, preserving and applying traditional fine arts to contemporary life.