To continue the column ‘GREAT BOOKS—SHARING WITH ART LOVERS’, Viet Art View would like to share with you the third story from the book ‘Painter Nguyễn Phan Chánh’ by Nguyệt Tú and Nguyễn Phan Cảnh, Culture Publishing House, 1979, a collection of articles related to the life and career of painter Nguyễn Phan Chánh.
Third story:
THE YOUNG TEACHER
– Student Xân, read the first sentence.
The boy called Xân put his hand on the back of his pants and raised his voice:
– The examination that the imperial court opens is truly vast
Chánh raised his whip and pointed at the child standing next. The second boy almost shouted:
– You my child should study hard
Chánh pointed to the third child:
– Three meals a day I afford
Just like that, the children stood stooped, arms crossed over their chest, anxiously repeating in their mouths, waiting for the person in front of them to finish reading, then immediately read the next sentence:
“Four seasons, mother sews clothes for you
Essay, poem you read
You have books in your hands
Once you pass the exam on the golden board”
At the last sentence, Chánh didn’t have time to raise his whip when a student name Thanh was quick to read, he was afraid that his classmate could read before him, so he strained his voice to shout:
– Sir, Whole full of glory we proud of you, sir!
The owner’s daughter, who was hiding behind the door watching the class, couldn’t help but laughed. Chánh must be serious, thinking of the word ‘thoa’ which means beautiful, he asked evasively:
– I quiz you, in our class who is the most beautiful?
The children did not have time to answer, the owner’s daughter said from behind the door and ran out into the garden:
– You sir.
Chánh blushed. From the garden was a faint voice of the girl singing:
“… 1200 coins for a fan from Nghệ market
How many fans for the baby sister
How many fans for the girlfriend.”
Every morning, knowing that Chánh liked flowers, the owner’s daughter cleaned the classroom for him, and brought a bunch of tonkin creeper from the home arbour or wildflower with a few leaves of grass.
After class, she brought water in, and Chánh was alone in the large room:
– Why did you say that?
The girl bowed her head shyly:
– That’s true!
… The family circumstances was getting worse and worse. Chánh’s mother was only in her thirties, many people in the village asked to marry her. With no money at home, sometimes she thought of a place to rely on. But looking at Chánh, looking at his siblings, she didn’t want to get married again. She borrowed money for small business, the house fell into a debt situation. Borrow a silver coin, pay a dime of interest every day. Since the rooster crowed, she had to get up to cook, in time to go to Dau and Cừa markets, only came back home late at night. A pair of carrying pole, a basket, salt, rope… got a few dimes, must deduct one dime to pay interest. On rainy days, the market was not crowded. If the interest could not be paid, the small debt would come to the main debt, became one point one, one point two. And from the next day, the interest increased by one point one, one point two dime a day.
In the evening, the neighbor alluded, lullabied loudly, so that his mother could hear:
“Eat full and lie down
Who raising your children so you can get a husband?”
In the quiet night, the lullaby passed through the thin sheets, swirling around.
Chánh accepted the invitation to teach at Chùa market, helping his mother’s for money. The owner had a few students, around the neighborhood sent a few more students to the young teacher.
In the morning, when the whole family had gone to work, Chánh took the whip, pointed to the four corners of the room. Each student stepped out to a corner, reciting the lesson ‘An Encouragement of Learning’ that ten years ago Chánh’s teacher taught him.
The sound of the rooster crowing woke Chánh from a dream: Whose house am I sleeping at? Duvet and blanket, nice bed. Thinking about his mother, at that time, she had to wake up for the market, Chánh understood that the two families were too different. He was seventeen, eighteen when he could help his mother, not to mention that he had helped, his career and reputation were still nothing. The rich kids at the same age, some studied in Huế, some studied in Vinh, some in good circumstances had already made something. Feeling sad about his unfinished studying when he was still very young, Chánh took the whip to hit himself, told himself that then he had a little bit of something, he should try to study. A few days later, he decided to stop teaching, leaving all the nice and happy scenes, went to the province to study.
In the early morning of Sunday, the owner let a servant carry a case of books and clothes for him, the two of them headed to the main road. The owner’s daughter took the opportunity to give him the forgotten pen, ran after him, tears in her eyes. Along the road, the morning dew still remained on the purple myrtle petals.
When Chánh came to town, French-Vietnamese schools began to open. He painted to make money while learning French, taking the Preliminary exam, passing the first place among hundreds of candidates. Chánh was appointed as the teaching assistant of Thạch Hà, Hà Tĩnh.
Right on the occasion of the human chess festival, people flocked there. Chánh also wore the teaching assistant’s robe, brought a silk fan, which he had painted on beautiful scenes of birds and flowers in his spare time, came to the festival with his colleagues. Arriving there, a scene both majestic and poetic as in a fairy tale unfolded before Chánh’s eyes. On a large clearing, many squares were divided in straight lines. Dozens of young men and women dressed like military, mahouts, cavalrymen… stood straight in the lines, holding signs with the name of the chess piece Sĩ, Tượng, Xe, Pháo… The person who was selected as the Queen in the chess match was a very pretty young girl with a blushing oval face, a firm hand holding the handle of the signboard with the words Tướng, the other hand fidgeted with the slanted yellow silk belt that fell down to the heel. Around the area were rows of pennant flags of all colors, purple, red, yellow, green … flying in the wind.
Skilled chess players came to compete, standing upright on the floor of the stall, eyes glancing up at the squares, gesturing to the person who waved the flag. Every time there’s a drum, the flag went up a few steps or crossed a few squares in accordance with mã nhật, tượng điền, xe liền, pháo cách: the Mã going a rectangular cross, the Tượng going a square of the word ‘điền’ [Chinese], the Xe going to the next, the Pháo going a space. Looking at the murderous faces of those playing the role of Tốt who are waiting to pass hà, Chánh could clearly see that the sound of drums, people cheering, and banners all over the air had made people who holding the sign forget the chess piece, it felt like living, in a real battle. The closer to noon, the more fierce the chess game came. Drumming repeated. Chánh was spreading his fan over his eyes to see the move just had been made, when he heard a small voice:
– Sir, would you please lend Ms Queen the fan.
He turned around. The young woman as the Queen had stood a long time in the sun, her friend ran to find something to cover, saw that Chánh’s fan was so beautiful, daring to ask to borrow it. Chánh handed the fan to the girl, eyes on the young woman playing the Queen. The girl wriggled in to give her friend the fan, smiling and pointing towards the booth where Chánh stood. Chánh didn’t remember how the game ended. Full of youthfulness of the festival, the young woman playing the Queen with red lips and rosy cheeks was walking towards the booth with her friend, when Chánh also walked over. She was confused. Her friend said for her:
– Please, sir, miss Queen accidentally made the fan get the mark of lipstick… Let us go home, sir, we will bring it back to you.
Turned out, perhaps in a moment of too much joy, the young woman raised a fan to cover her mouth, leaving lipstick marks on the white silk.
Chánh fell in love with the girl.
Embroider. 1957. Silk. 38×49 cm. The painting was printed in the book ‘Nguyễn Phan Chánh Silk Painting’ of Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, printed in 1992.
Looking for more information, Chánh knew that the young woman’s father was also a good candidate, five or seven years older than Chánh. Lost her mother, the girl lived with her grandmum. Chánh told his mother and asked for her. Although Chánh was the official assistant to the government, the girl’s grandmother hearing people detracting “Let daughter into that house, better to give her for nothing”, decried that Chánh’s family was poor. Listened those words, his heart sank. Indeed, but being poor is not a sin. Those who were idle also talked about and criticized him for being old. One day, when crossing the street, Chánh heard words chasing him: “Praise for the long-bearded butterfly—Seeing a dense flower garden, he rushed in,” his heart was infinitely sad. An elderly student in the class brought him a bottle of Ích Thọ [Long live] wine to celebrate. Not good at alcohol, Chánh drank most of the bottle in that very long night.
He read everything came to his hands for comfort. One day, he borrowed the book Quốc sắc thiên hương [Beauty of the land, scent of the sky], and the sad love story Quỳnh Nam was like sharing his feeling, it captivated him. For several months a row, the old story inspired him for several thousands of lục bát [six then eight words poem] sentences New Quỳnh Nam on giấy bản [paper].
… The student, one day visited his aunt and suddenly fell in love with the aunt’s daughter. Got to know each other, the girl was also fell for the student. When she reached the age of marriage, her parents forced her to a rich family, and she was too attached. The student had to go.
The girl who had to stay
Hundred of strings for the feeling
Missing the one who going through cold and loneliness
Day by day
Let the bird sing again and again
Long spring, long moment
Listen to the cicadas
Just miss that one waiting
Confused
Whom the beauty is made for
The one that is far away
Only left feeling here wait and wait
The girl’s father knew about the story. Empathized, appreciated his talent, he told the girl’s grandmother, let his daughter receive betel and areca.
The boat went along to Hạ Hoàng waterfront, along Trung Lương River, Văn Chàng then Phù Thạch to Thuận Hòa. A few days later, Chánh’s fiancée’s house had an anniversary. His wife’s grandmother, some of her relatives and she, rented a boat to the village. Chánh went with them, and also let his wife’s relatives know about him. So he had the opportunity to go with his fiancée on a boat.
It was not a cloud in June. Everyone gathered on the end of the boat. The muscular boys pressed the poles to their chests, followed the side of the boat to the helm, pushing the boat forward. At the end of the boat’s length, the pole was drawn up, the end of the pole was covered with shiny iron, and the water followed the pole down on the waves. Lights flickered from the boat compartments into the river bed. A boat went in the opposite direction, and a voice called out:
It’s favorable for the wind to follow the clouds
The boat finds the old waterfront, now I’m waiting for you…
In the vast landscape of a summer night, when people’s hearts were relaxed after a hard day, the voice spreaded out as if intertwined with the water waves, the sides were flickering the light of the torches to welcome the boat far away. Chánh’s heart trembled. He shyly glanced at his fiancée, who was sitting so considerately towards the bow of the boat, and suddenly saw in her hair, on her cheeks, on the hem of her dress, on her hands, full of light. The moon had risen.
(Excerpt from the book ‘Painter Nguyễn Phan Chánh’ by Nguyệt Tú – Nguyễn Phan Cảnh, Culture Publishing House, published in 1979)
