Girl draws pictures telling the history of Vietnam

Thuy Tien's 2-minute video about Vietnamese history

Ho Chi Minh City - To relieve negative emotions during the Covid-19 epidemic, Thuy Tien created a TikTok channel to draw historical stories and introduce folk culture.

The 34-year-old woman living in Ho Chi Minh City described her first videos, released in mid-2021, as "soul-saving" because she was able to do what she loved.

"I started everything with a small box of paints and a few pens. From coming up with ideas, verifying historical information, drawing, recording and editing, I did everything by myself," Tien said.

Now, after two years of development, her TikTok channel has more than one million followers and more than 28 million likes.

Thuy Tien writes calligraphy at the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Cultural House, Tet 2023. Photo: Character provided

Pham Thuy Tien used to work for a media company as a scriptwriter and film editor after graduating from university. In her spare time, the girl from Dong Nai also records audiobooks to earn extra income.

When the Covid-19 epidemic broke out strongly in Ho Chi Minh City in mid-2021, Thuy Tien returned to her hometown. Every day, she had to receive information about the number of deaths and infected cases, while her father, despite his old age, still participated in the fight against the epidemic, which made Tien worried and unable to eat or sleep. For a long time, she often cried for no reason, thinking about everything in a negative way. To pull herself out of her bad mood, Tien turned to painting.

"It was my passion since I was a child. Even though I forgot it for a long time, when I was most tired, I found myself drawing again," she said.

As a child, because her parents forbade her from becoming an artist, believing that she would be poor, Tien often hid in the attic or under the bed to draw on scraps of paper. In high school, because she had to focus on studying to become a teacher as her parents wanted, Tien gave up painting. Many years later, when her future was uncertain due to the pandemic, she turned to painting to release her emotions.

Tien loves history, likes watching historical films or folk legends, so she wanted to use pictures to tell stories. From her drawings, she thought of a way to convey them through videos, adding a voiceover and posting them on her personal page. Tien edited and created clips of drawing and telling stories about real historical figures such as Duc Thanh Tran, King Bao Dai or legends in folk culture such as the Four Immortals of Vietnam, Lady Chua Xu... She also prioritized doing topics related to the status of women in feudal times such as Queen Nam Phuong, dancer Cam Nhung or Doc Sao.

To have accurate and diverse information, Thuy Tien searches for documents from official sources such as Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu, Dai Nam Thuc Luc, Linh Nam Chich Quai or sends information to people who are knowledgeable about history to verify. After having the plot, she edits it in her own style. Tien often incorporates profound life lessons into the stories told in the videos. This is also her way of helping viewers recall childhood memories if it is a folk tale, fairy tale or learn more about the country's history if the characters and stories are real.

Some historical figures were drawn and then used as clips by Thuy Tien. Photo: Character provided

For her characters, she often relies on historical images or statues to portray them. She also learns more about the patterns and colors of costumes from each period to coordinate colors accurately and in the most historical context.

"Like the royal concubine Y Lan or Nguyen Thi Lo - Nguyen Trai's concubine, I had to imagine their faces based on the statues and then refer to history books and the time they lived to better understand the costumes of that time," Tien said.

Making a video about the folk character Ba Chua Xu, she also spent a few days researching her headdress to sketch it in the most detailed and complete way.

On average, Tien spends 5-6 hours to complete a video, depending on the difficulty of the drawing as well as the amount of historical information. Every week, she publishes 3-4 clips, although she usually has to do it in the evening or on weekends. Sometimes, when it’s time to go to bed, an idea suddenly pops into her head, so Tien jumps up and stays up until morning to finish it. When she gets caught up in work, this girl can go without food all day.

"Working according to my interests, I never feel tired," Tien shared.

However, Tien has had an accident. Two years ago, when she made a mistake in a historical detail in a clip she produced, Tien was severely criticized by viewers.

Tien had once heard her father read about Vietnamese history through a poem. Because she loved it so much, she drew and told the story in a two-minute clip from the Hung Kings to the last emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty. It took her five days to complete the entire picture with kings of many eras on the background of a large dragon. Although the content was later sent to a friend who was knowledgeable about history for verification, due to editing errors, when published, it still received criticism.

"I cried a lot because of this incident because I was not mentally prepared to receive negative comments," Tien recounted. There was a time when she blamed people for not being tolerant. But when she calmed down, Tien understood that history was unmistakable. Admitting her mistake, she re-edited the poem and then filmed a clip with verified information.

"From this lesson, I realized that if you stumble somewhere in life, you have to get up there. Once you have a positive and open attitude, difficult things become easy," she said.

Many young people watching Thuy Tien's TikTok channel have the same comment, although historical data is dry, it is conveyed through drawings and an expressive voice, so it is easier to remember and understand.

"Thanks to Thuy Tien, I love Vietnamese history even more," Thanh Ha, a reader, shared under a video. While another young person commented: "Only by loving history can we love our country."

Not only introducing historical stories and folk legends through unique drawing and storytelling, Thuy Tien also helps many people in difficult circumstances through her personal channel. She once made a clip about a father selling pinwheels, raising a child alone or orphans in orphanages. These situations were later known and helped by many people. According to Tien, this is the greatest spiritual value she received after two years of creating her own channel.

"I never thought I was better than anyone else. I just hope that today I will be better than yesterday to create positive value for the community," she shared.

Hai Hien

Vnexpress.net