VietNamNet Bridge – Australian author Kelly Nguyen Long harbours a life-long love of Vietnamese culture and this inspired her latest book Arts of Viet Nam 1009-1945. In producing the exhaustive work, Long had to overcome several challenges as historic documentation of Vietnamese art is notoriously poor, with many academics underestimating its cultural value. She tells VNS about her trials and tribulations.

In a recent ceremony to announce the publication of her new book in English, the Arts of Viet Nam 1009-1945 in Ha Noi, Australian author Kelly Nguyen Long confided that she wanted the world to learn more about the generations of Vietnamese researchers who have found it difficult to collect information on the arts scene in Viet Nam.

What motivated you to write this book, especially as it is a difficult topic?

I'm not Vietnamese and have not lived or settled in the country, but my husband is Vietnamese by birth and I have spent two extended periods there. In recent decades, I have kept travelling back and forth to gather more information on the subject. I'm also the arts editor for the Arts of Asia magazine in Hong Kong.

For many years, I have been very disappointed to hear lukewarm comments, or Vietnamese art being dismissed in many publications, such as books on Southeast Asia arts or catalogues in museums across the world. It saddens me to hear the same old comments, or in other words, old prejudices, regardless of the results of scientific research.

Could you give a specific example to clarify those opinions?

I'm not exaggerating here. In a handbook kept in a prestigious museum and printed in 1999, there is very little about Vietnamese arts: the 'hay day' of Vietnamese arts was during the Ly (1009 - 1225) and Tran (1225-1400) dynasties. In those days they experienced a great renaissance during the short domination by China in the 15th century and the products were made with clay imported from the north (China). The few short sentences, that also contained a lot of incorrect information, resulted in many people not bothering with the arts in Viet Nam. When I read these statements I wanted to cry in disappointment.

In 2011, to account for the 1,000 Vietnamese artefacts kept in a museum's storeroom, one researcher thought that the collection was kept simply as a reference and was rated lower than Chinese pottery. Those objects were kept in storage from 1935 until 2000 without anyone caring. Worse still, there was a very arbitrary judgment: "The northern land, which today is called Viet Nam, is thought to be one of the most isolated areas, with very little culture. There, the residents expected Chinese pioneers to come and develop a form of art, a kind of imitation of Chinese art."

Therefore, I felt I just had to write this book, as I wanted to give a more impartial outlook on Vietnamese arts.

Is your book, 'Arts of Viet Nam 1009, 1945', the first one of its kind to mention the history of the development of Vietnamese arts during feudal times from the north to the south of the country?

I realised that, the development of the arts during Viet Nam's feudal period has never been written about before; therefore, I decided to choose to study the period 1009 to 1945, which is nearly 1,000 years. My husband, Nguyen Kim Long, has been an invaluable research assistant. He has helped me to hunt down rare reference material and took most of the photos in my book. Thanks to him, my book contains over 300 unique illustrations.

How did you decide to lay the book out?

The best form of presentation for this was to do it chronologically, including a historical summary at the beginning of each chapter, so to a certain extent this partly explains the development process.

My intention was to create a trip through time and periods so readers could meet the artisans and artists and the methods they used to satisfy public demand in their day.

What difficulties did you encounter while writing the book?

My biggest difficulty was studying the final dynasty. I wanted to focus on the superb handicrafts that were produced, but I couldn't avoid mentioning the political and military events taking place during that period, which might possibly distract the readers' attention.

Finally, I spent three chapters on the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945): the first of which is on the imperial arts, the second covers folk art and the final one dwells on the French influence and its effect on arts in Viet Nam.

What do you think of Vietnamese arts during this 1,000 years?

I realised that there had been a lot of 'inheriting' and 'interrupting', as this is clearly demonstrated; therefore, separate factors are connected. The arts in Viet Nam are easy to access and full of life. For example, the statues of the kings in the early Mac dynasty (1527-92) in small pagodas, demonstrate the villagers' affection for the monarch's and vice versa, or the statues of the two queens and foreign concubines from Laos, Thailand or Holland that belonged to King Le Than Tong (1619-43). I think my book will attract readers not only because of the art, but also because it covers Viet Nam's history and culture.

Diep Linh

VNS