Phuc Gia Vien stands as one of the most unique parks in Vietnam, where the poetic verses and couplets of author Pham Ba Nhon are "published" on an extraordinary medium—artistic stone blocks. This remarkable work was officially recognized with a Vietnam Record in August 2024.

In early autumn of 2024, I, along with photographer Do Lan Huong, traveled from Saigon to Vung Tau to visit poet Vu Thanh Hoa on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of our joint victory in the "Young Writers’ Works" contest, organized by Tien Phong Newspaper and the Nguyen Du Writing School. However, the biggest surprise came when Vu Thanh Hoa took us to visit Phuc Gia Vien, a park unlike any other in Vietnam, where the poetic works of Pham Ba Nhon are immortalized on artistic stone blocks.

Walking through a narrow path, we entered a vast garden, where trees stood solemnly, as if both shielding and subtly showcasing the artistic stone sculptures inscribed with meaningful poems and couplets. The stones, varied in shape and size, are not just enduring materials capable of withstanding the elements, but also vessels for the words and verses that hold even greater life and significance than the stones themselves.

At Phuc Gia Vien, we witnessed poetry and couplets published on stone—solid and majestic, yet graceful and free-flowing in each beautifully carved character. Each poem, each couplet, deeply inscribed into the stone, becomes a lasting testament to eternal emotions. Phuc Gia Vien is truly where the soul of a poet is sculpted.

Every stone, whether large or small, carries within it delicate rhythms, like the whispers of nature preserved forever. The park is a world both ancient and novel, where the art of words meets the art of sculpture to create a unique and captivating space.

Visitors to Phuc Gia Vien are treated to works brimming with passion, feeling the spirit of the artist who poured all their expertise into each carving so that every poem, every couplet, becomes part of a living cultural heritage set amidst nature. People gently trace the stone-engraved verses, reading each word and absorbing the profound meanings that the author conveys.

After many years of contemplation and preparation, Pham Ba Nhon constructed Phuc Gia Vien, a park that displays a collection of granite stones engraved with couplets and poems about moral principles, drawn from his work Câu Đối Toàn Thư (The Complete Book of Couplets).

The park was officially awarded a Vietnam Record on August 6, 2024, after setting the record in May 2024.

Phuc Gia Vien covers nearly 10,000 square meters, nestled on a hillside at 476 Le Hong Phong Street, Ngai Giao Town, Chau Duc District, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. The project was conceptualized, planned, and executed by Pham Ba Nhon. It is a harmonious blend of traditional Eastern and modern Western architecture, intended to serve as an educational park for residents and visitors alike.

The park’s grounds include three buildings designed in the imperial style, with jade-tiled roofs that create a unique aesthetic. Surrounding the park is a solid stone fence, interspersed with 32 stone blocks inscribed with couplets in calligraphy, their characters flowing as if taking flight. The inscriptions are gilded with gold leaf on granite, creating a majestic and solemn atmosphere.

Pham Ba Nhon explained that he published Câu Đối Toàn Thư, a 400-page hardcover book, because, traditionally, there have been many couplets in popular culture—some very well-crafted—whose authors remain unknown. Moreover, there has been no book solely dedicated to couplets published before.

Thus, Câu Đối Toàn Thư is a rare book. The couplets, with their high educational value, are sure to be beneficial to readers, and the author hopes that the book will contribute significantly to the preservation and promotion of the nation’s cultural values.

Pham Ba Nhon further shared that compiling the book and engraving couplets onto artistic stone blocks is not just a personal passion but also a responsibility for someone who loves the nation’s culture. He believes that the couplets, with their deep meanings and refined rhyme schemes, will continue to live on in the hearts of readers, especially the younger generation, contributing to the preservation and dissemination of Vietnamese cultural identity.

Câu Đối Toàn Thư, along with its extension—the Phuc Gia Vien park and its collection of engraved couplets on stone—are not just words of wisdom to be pondered, but also a bridge between the past and the present, a spiritual work that Pham Ba Nhon has carefully created and preserved in a unique form.

Sao Khue