Textbooks from over 40 years ago still have a strong vitality, lasting through time. Although there are only two colors, black as the main color and one other color (blue, red, green...) as the background color. But each illustration makes the viewer imagine the vivid colors of the books in real life.
Textbooks of Vietnam Education Publishing House through the ages, at a textbook exhibition in 2022 held in Hanoi
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A trellis of squash laden with fruit, interspersed with blooming flowers, two little girls eagerly sitting next to a basket full of squash. A sim tree laden with fruit, looking at it makes you imagine biting into the sweet flavor of summer fruit. Or a rustic bamboo house, in front of which is an airy yard, with tall and straight xoan trees, blooming purple flowers that fill the sky… Although many things have changed, once "touching" the simple images in old books, people are still awakened with all their senses.
On the occasion of spring, Thanh Nien Newspaper reporters met again one of the people who participated in editing fine arts for textbooks, especially Vietnamese textbooks, since the second textbook renovation period, 1980 - 2000, artist Tao Thanh Huyen, former Head of Fine Arts Editorial Board, Vietnam Education Publishing House.
"X IS SO TOUGH… "
Over 70 years old, flipping through the pages of Vietnamese textbooks for first, second, and third graders in the years 1980 - 2000, Ms. Tao Thanh Huyen was moved: "Now suddenly being able to reopen the pages of books that my colleagues and I once worked hard and passionately on, I am very moved". Ms. Tao Thanh Huyen recalled: "That period was the beginning of textbook reform. At that time, I was 27 years old and was transferred to the Vietnam Education Publishing House. To prepare for the change of books, the Vietnam Education Publishing House recruited many teachers from the provinces, because editing textbooks requires people who are both good at their profession and have pedagogical skills. The illustrations in the books must also have an educational spirit, bringing many values to young children...".
Vietnamese textbooks and reading books with cute illustrations are deeply imprinted in the memories of many generations of students.
Illustration is an art. However, illustrating textbooks is more difficult and there are many rules that artists need to remember. Not only do they need to stick to the content in a lively and soulful way, with illustrations in textbooks, students cannot go barefoot, have messy hair, or have sloppy clothes.
One of the veteran artists, a big name in the illustration industry of the Vietnam Education Publishing House with many illustrations in textbooks at that time, especially Reading books, Vietnamese for grades 1, 2, 3 was artist Hong Ky (deceased). Artist Hong Ky drew very steadily, in the memory of artist Tao Thanh Huyen, when she first started working at the Vietnam Education Publishing House, Uncle Hong Ky was about to retire. Uncle Hong Ky's illustrations were charming, cute, each time he drew them, they were "sure" that time, did not need to be revised and had unique features, making the art editor "recognize them at first sight".
N UNFADED MEMORIES
When Thanh Nien Newspaper reporters conducted interviews with parents who had studied these textbooks in the past, about why they always loved those textbooks, the answers were very interesting. It was not just the poems and reading exercises that were good and simple. The reason why people were moved, remembered forever, and felt nostalgic when looking back at them was the illustrations in the textbooks.
Mr. Le Hai Doan, 32 years old, an English teacher in Hanoi, who has a collection of old textbooks from different periods, told reporters that "his heart still flutters when he looks back at the pages of his brother's book The Mango Tree ".
Di Yen, 25 years old, in Quang Binh, still knows the poem "My Class Teacher" by heart and dictates it to her students now. "She taught me how to write/The wind carried the scent of jasmine/The sun came through the classroom door/Watching us study . The pages of the book and the illustrations seemed to radiate color and fragrance. The color of the early morning sun, the scent of jasmine flowers wafted in the air," said Di Yen.
Artist Tao Thanh Huyen said that is the beauty, the talent of textbook illustrations. In part, illustrations are visual materials, helping to clarify the words and poems in the text that students learn. Next, with long paragraphs and poems, the artist's illustrations help students imagine the space that the writer or poet is opening. The illustrations have emotions, giving life to the textbook pages, thereby helping students deepen their memories of the lesson. At the same time, this is also a way to educate children about early aesthetic values. That is why, until now, opening the pages of old textbooks with pictures of mango trees, banyan trees in the schoolyard, lotus ponds, rice fields, schools with fluttering flags, winding village roads... many people seem to relive a childhood full of beautiful memories.
Artist Tao Thanh Huyen said that illustrating textbooks in the 1980s was very difficult in the general conditions of the country with many shortages. Each artist was given the text content to read first, visualize the idea to express in pictures, then draw on paper. In the past, drawing was done entirely by hand, unlike today when drawing on a computer makes it easy to save or edit. In those days, if the picture was not satisfactory, the artist had to redraw it completely. The workload was very large, and there were not many permanent artists at the Vietnam Education Publishing House, so in order to keep up with the textbook publishing schedule, many illustrations had to be ordered from artists working in other units. Printing technology in the past was also rudimentary, the paper was yellow-brown, not pure white like today. The colors of the pictures printed on the pages of the book were also simple to save costs, except for the cover page with the most colors, the main color of the inside pages was black, with another color as a background. However, everyone, in all departments, worked passionately, enthusiastically, and wholeheartedly, without thinking about days off, in order to complete the textbooks in time to reach generations of students...
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