People who "breathe life" into bonsai

From this mai nu village, many dedicated artisans have emerged, contributing to spreading the reputation of mai nu chieu thuy Thanh Nhut far and wide. Not only that, many families have become well-off and built their businesses thanks to this ancient bonsai.

30 YEARS OF ATTACHMENT TO MAI NU CHIEU THUY BONSAI

That is artisan Le Van Tuoi, residing in Thanh Lac Dong hamlet, Thanh Nhut commune. With a passion for bonsai, Mr. Tuoi has continuously researched, learned, and created many ancient bonsai works, contributing to creating a "brand" for the mai nu village of Thanh Nhut commune.

Sharing with us, Mr. Tuoi said that the ancient bonsai growing profession of mai nu chieu thuy was passed down to him by his father. He started bonsai when he was only 20 years old. Initially, due to economic conditions not allowing him to collect beautiful bonsai, Mr. Tuoi asked for mai nu chieu thuy branches with many bumps and monkey-face-like skin to plant and practice bending and shaping.

After that, with the guidance of his uncles and aunts in the mai nu profession in the techniques of care and shaping, along with his creativity, Mr. Tuoi gradually accumulated a lot of experience in shaping and developing his mai nu chieu thuy garden more and more. Up to now, his garden has 120 mai nu chieu thuy trees, each worth from several tens of millions of VND or more.

Mr. Tuoi takes care of his family's mai nu chieu thuy garden.

According to Mr. Tuoi, shaping a bonsai tree always has a deep philosophical meaning. For example, the bonsai set Tam Cang (ruler and subject, husband and wife, father and son), Ngu Thuong (benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, trust) or Tam Tong (at home, obey father, when married, obey husband, when husband dies, obey son), Tu Duc (work, beauty, speech, conduct)... Or like the bonsai set Tam Cang, Ngu Thuong, a beautiful shape must have the overall shape of the tree in an isosceles triangle, representing the neatness and stability of the family; the trunk, the base is large, the top is small, implying a solid, exemplary pillar of the family...

It can be said that through Mr. Tuoi's creative hands, many mai nu chieu thuy trees seem to have their souls breathed into them and their value has increased many times over. Every day, he spends most of his time on his passion, taking care of the garden.

Mr. Tuoi added that Thanh Nhut land is favored by nature, the soil is suitable for growing mai nu chieu thuy, which is also mai nu but planted elsewhere it does not give many valuable rough lumps like Thanh Lac Dong land, Thanh Nhut commune. Therefore, he has taken advantage of the advantages, constantly researching and creating many ancient bonsai works, contributing to creating a "brand" for the ancient bonsai craft village of Thanh Nhut today.

Many of Mr. Tuoi's mai nu chieu thuy trees have high economic value.

Talking about the techniques of planting and caring for mai nu chieu thuy trees, Mr. Tuoi concluded that in order to have a beautiful mai nu chieu thuy garden, the grower must have a passion and love for this type of tree, must understand the value and meaning of mai nu chieu thuy trees, from there create shapes, shape, and care for the tree in a natural direction. This tree species prefers goat manure, coconut fiber, composted rice husk ash, limits chemical fertilizers, and needs to maintain a cool watering regime to create daily humidity for the mai nu garden. In addition, it is also important to pay attention to preventing and treating pests and diseases. Growers need to regularly add more nutrient-rich soil, prune tree shoots and branches so that mai nu chieu thuy can grow evenly...

Mr. Tuoi is currently a member of the Ornamental Plants Association of Thanh Nhut Commune. He always actively participates in the association's activities and enthusiastically guides the experience of planting and caring for mai nu chieu thuy, helping many members and households in the commune grow this type of tree and become well-off.

With 30 years of experience with mai nu chieu thuy trees, veteran artisan Le Van Tuoi has created many valuable mai nu chieu thuy bonsai works, contributing to affirming the brand "Mai nu chieu thuy Go Cong" in general and Thanh Nhut commune in particular.

ENHANCE THE VALUE OF MAI NU CHIEU THUY

Also with a passion for ornamental plants, Mr. Le Tan Kieu (55 years old), residing in Thanh Lac Dong hamlet, Thanh Nhut commune, has also diligently researched, learned, and developed the profession of growing ornamental plants and exported Mai Nu Chieu Thuy to foreign countries, contributing to affirming the brand and creating a reputation for Thanh Nhut Mai Nu village.

Mr. Kieu takes care of the mai nu chieu thuy garden.

Mr. Kieu said that after returning to his hometown from military service, he began to learn and follow the bonsai repair profession of his uncles and aunts in the village. Thanks to his diligence, willingness to learn and skillful hands, Mr. Kieu quickly learned how to grow, bend, repair and shape mai nu chieu thuy and started trading and selling bonsai, mainly mai nu chieu thuy.

In addition, to diversify the types of bonsai, Mr. Kieu went everywhere to collect beautiful and valuable mai nu chieu thuy roots to shape and grow the trees according to traditional bonsai styles. In 2024, Mr. Kieu sold 2 batches of mai nu chieu thuy to the Indonesian market, bringing in a large income from mai nu chieu thuy trees.

Currently, Mr. Kieu's mai nu garden has over 200 shaped mai nu chieu thuy trees, which have high economic value. Since the mai nu chieu thuy tree was recognized as an intellectual property product of Go Cong land, it has attracted more and more people to visit and learn the technique of growing mai nu chieu thuy trees. Thanks to his skillful hands, any pair of mai nu bonsai trees that are shaped and cared for by Mr. Kieu become green, healthy, have many rough nus, are beautiful and very valuable. Mr. Kieu is known by friends from all over Tien Giang province, who come to his house to learn about his experience in growing and caring for mai nu chieu thuy bonsai trees and bonsai shaping techniques.

Besides, Mr. Kieu is also loved by everyone for his gentleness and wholehearted help for everyone. His apricot garden is also the meeting place of the Thanh Lac Dong Hamlet Ornamental Plants Association with more than 70 members, chaired by Mr. Kieu. Every month, the association holds regular meetings to exchange and learn experiences about ornamental plants, helping each other develop the family economy.

It can be said that artisan Le Van Tuoi and Mr. Le Tan Kieu are people who have devoted almost their entire lives to the profession, contributing to the development of the family economy, affirming the brand and exporting mai nu chieu thuy to foreign countries. They are the ones who have "breathed life" into bonsai, making the traditional craft village famous...

QUÊ ANH - KIM LAN

Source: https://baoapbac.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/202503/nhung-nguoi-thoi-hon-vao-cay-kieng-1038475/