Thousands of people contributed bronze to cast the first statue of Uncle Ho in Thanh Hoa.

21 days sketching of casting statue

Painter and sculptor Le Dinh Quy (from Xuan Quang commune, Tho Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province) is 84 years old this year, but every time he recalls the memories of the days he spent casting a statue of Uncle Ho with the people of Tra Dong bronze casting village (Thieu Trung commune, Thieu Hoa district), he is moved to tears.

“It is an unforgettable memory during my decades of working as a painter and sculptor. The statue not only has the sacred meaning of the Vietnamese people for Uncle Ho, but also carries the solidarity, unity and unanimity of the people of Tra Dong bronze casting village in particular and Thanh Hoa province in general,” said Mr. Quy.

Painter and Sculptor Le Dinh Quy, who sketched Uncle Ho's portrait (Photo: Thanh Tung).

Mr. Quy said that in 1970, more than a year after President Ho Chi Minh passed away, Thanh Hoa province had a policy of casting a bronze statue of Uncle Ho to commemorate his great contributions.

At that time, painter Le Dinh Quy was an officer of the Thanh Hoa Department of Culture and Information (now the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism). He was invited to design a portrait of Uncle Ho and make a blank for artisans from Tra Dong craft village to cast the statue.

Taking on the noble task, Mr. Quy went to many localities - where Uncle Ho had visited and worked in Thanh Hoa to collect documents and images to sketch Uncle Ho's portrait.

In addition to the bronze statue, Mr. Quy also created many sculptures and reliefs about Uncle Ho (Photo: Thanh Tung).

“Before making the blank, I had to go to the places where Uncle Ho visited and worked to collect documents and images about him. To accurately portray Uncle Ho, I also had to search for memories of the times I met him, then carefully draw and sketch the blank statue.

It took me 21 days to complete the statue. During the process of making the statue, I had to revise it many times until I was satisfied. At that time, there were not enough materials, the statue was made of clay. When creating the statue, I had to try to make the details realistic, harmonious, and soulful. This is the most important step to create the success of the work," said Mr. Quy.

Thousands of people contributed bronze to cast a statue of Uncle Ho.

Like Mr. Quy, for the people of Tra Dong bronze casting village, more than half a century has passed, the memory of the day the bronze statue of Uncle Ho was cast has always been remembered and preserved by the people through many generations.

As one of the families who participated in casting the statue of Uncle Ho, Mr. Le Ba Chau, a bronze casting artisan, said that it was a source of pride and great honor for the people of Tra Dong bronze casting village.

Mr. Le Ba Chau (Photo: Thanh Tung).

Mr. Chau said that in 1970, his father, Mr. Le Ba Xuan (born in 1924), was the Deputy Director of Tra Dong Bronze Casting Cooperative. Upon receiving instructions from local leaders, Mr. Xuan and many members of the cooperative enthusiastically participated in casting the statue.

At that time, in addition to skilled and technical workers, many young men and even children were also enthusiastic about helping their fathers and grandfathers cast statues. Mr. Chau was 8 years old at that time but was honored to follow his father to work many times.

According to Mr. Chau, due to the difficult local conditions at that time, thousands of people in the commune voluntarily contributed bronze to have materials to cast bronze. The time to complete the statue lasted nearly 2 months.

Mr. Chau said that to cast the statue of Uncle Ho, thousands of people contributed bronze (Photo: Thanh Tung).

“More than 400 kg of bronze was donated by the people to cast the statue. To complete the statue, the people in the commune had to use 12 foundries in the cooperative yard to work together. Because there were no modern machines like now, all the steps were done by hand. It took nearly 2 months for the statue to be completed, weighing 370 kg,” Mr. Chau shared.

Mr. Chau also said that after the statue of Uncle Ho was completed, all the local people were happy and moved. In particular, during the procession of Uncle Ho's statue to the district, thousands of people gathered and cheered in overwhelming happiness.

“That was a big festival for the people of Tra Dong village. Until now, we are still proud and teach our children to consider it an honor to try to promote patriotism and enthusiasm for production,” Mr. Chau confided.

Mr. Nguyen Van Bien, Secretary of Thieu Hoa District Party Committee, said that in 2023, the locality will inaugurate the revolutionary historical relic site of the Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee Office (1967-1973 period) in Thieu Vien commune, so the statue of Uncle Ho will be brought to the traditional house in Thieu Vien commune.

“Thieu Vien Commune is the place where the Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee held a memorial service on the day Uncle Ho passed away. After Uncle Ho passed away, the Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee assigned the locality, specifically Thieu Trung Commune, to cast a bronze statue of Uncle Ho. The locality is very honored and proud to be assigned this task,” said Mr. Bien.

In 2023, the statue of Uncle Ho was brought to the revolutionary historical relic site of Thieu Vien commune (Photo: Thieu Vien Commune People's Committee).

Mr. Le Hai Tu, Chairman of the People's Committee of Thieu Vien commune, said that since the statue of Uncle Ho was worshiped at the local historical revolutionary relic site, the local people and authorities have been very proud and honored; they regularly organize activities to plant and care for trees, and clean up inside and outside the relic site.

“Not only that, this is also a red address for revolutionary and historical education for students. In the 2023-2024 school year, this place welcomed more than 1,000 students from the district to offer incense to report their achievements to Uncle Ho.

In addition, on major national holidays, National Day September 2, many delegations from neighboring districts and Nghe An province often come here to offer incense and report their achievements," Mr. Tu shared.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/hang-nghin-nguoi-dan-gop-dong-duc-buc-tuong-bac-ho-dau-tien-o-thanh-hoa-20240830160131160.htm