On the days leading up to the Lunar New Year of At Ty 2025, locals and tourists visiting Truong Son craft village in Nha Trang City (Khanh Hoa) were extremely excited to see the Tale of Kieu with 3,254 six-eight verses handwritten in calligraphy on 542 dried gourds. These 542 gourds were combined to form a "giant gourd" model with a total height of 4.5 m; including 8 hanging rings, the largest ring has a diameter of 3 m.
What is special is that the writing of 3,254 six-eight verses in Vietnamese calligraphy on 542 gourds was done by Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Thoa alone.
Ms. Thoa said that she used to work in the banking industry for more than 5 years in Ho Chi Minh City, and since 2012 she has moved to Nha Trang to live and work until now. Currently, she is an employee of Truong Son craft village and this gourd project was also done here.
542 gourds are combined to create a "giant gourd" model.
Foreign tourists impressed with Vietnamese calligraphy written on gourds
To have good quality gourds, suitable for writing calligraphy or carving patterns, it must go through many elaborate and time-consuming stages. The gourd must be large, suitable, and first exposed to the sun for more than 6 months. After that, the shell is polished, holes are drilled in the bottom to remove the core and continue to be exposed to the sun to avoid termites and preserve it longer. Qualified gourds will have their outer shells processed, then bleached to make the background color brighter and more even, this stage is carried out within 20 days.
It took 50 days to write 3,254 lines of the Tale of Kieu in calligraphy on the gourds. Depending on the size, each gourd can be written from one line to a six-eight stanza. To assemble 542 gourds into a "giant gourd" model, it took about 25 days to make the frame, paint the frame, stretch the frame, hang the gourds on the frame, and adjust the shape. From the beginning to the completion of the project, it took Ms. Thoa nearly a year of hard work.
This work has been confirmed by the Vietnam Record Organization as "The largest gourd model connected from 542 small gourds handwritten with the work Truyen Kieu in Vietnamese calligraphy".
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thu-phap-truyen-kieu-tren-542-qua-bau-kho-185250122214810655.htm
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