A fairy tale of a musical instrument

"We've grown up/playing the zither on the strings…" I carried this song with me to Hamlet 7, Cho Ra Commune, to meet artisan Duong Van Thuc – the craftsman and keeper of the sounds of the 12-string zither in ancient then folk songs. The journey of artisan Duong Van Thuc in crafting the 12-string zither is like a deep, resonant then folk song, full of emotion.

Mr. Duong Van Thuc passed on the Then singing tradition to the younger generation.

The musical instrument emerged from... ancient folk songs.

One afternoon in the home of the Then folk singer Duong Van Thuc in Hamlet 7, Cho Ra Commune, the sound of the Tinh lute resonated slowly, lingering as if touching the memories of the mountains and forests. With hair streaked with gray by the years, artist Duong Van Thuc sat thoughtfully, cherishing his 12-string Tinh lute – something he called "his lifelong dream."

Mr. Duong Van Thuc was born in 1953 in the culturally rich land of the ancient Tay people in the former Ba Be region. Immersed in this vibrant cultural heritage, he nurtured a passion for Then singing and Tinh playing from his childhood.

From 1969, he began working as a musician at the former Bac Thai Art Troupe, where he had the opportunity to collect and perform ancient Tay folk songs. By chance, while performing the song "Coc Tinh," which tells the story of the Tinh lute, he conceived the desire to recreate the original lute used in the song.

In the melodious sounds of the twelve-stringed zither in Mr. Thuc's hands, we were transported to the mystical world of ancient folk songs. The folk song tells the story of a young man named Xien Cam, 30 years old, who was still unmarried. Saddened by his unfortunate fate, he longed for a zither to play in his loneliness. He resolved to ascend to heaven to ask for gourd seeds and mulberry leaves to raise silkworms. With the gourd and silkworms, he crafted a twelve-stringed zither. However, whenever Xien Cam played, the sorrowful melancholy in the music saddened people and all living things to the point of losing their appetite, and even the plants and flowers withered. Seeing this, the Jade Emperor ordered Xien Cam to remove nine strings from the zither, leaving it with only three strings as it is today. The melancholic sounds of the 12-string zither are gone, replaced by lively, vibrant, and joyful melodies...

In 1979, when he started working at the Department of Culture and Information of Ba Be District (formerly), Mr. Thuc had more time to dedicate to composing and writing new lyrics for ancient then songs. From there, he researched and crafted the 12-string zither - the instrument that originated in the legend about the origin of the then melodies of the Tay ethnic group.

When he first started, Mr. Thuc faced many difficulties because a 12-string instrument required a larger, rounder soundbox, and a neck made of rosewood that wouldn't warp. Making a 12-string instrument wasn't just about the number of strings; it required meticulous calculations to ensure each string had a different resonance. After much deliberation, he found a solution: he made the neck wider, increased the number of "ears" to 12, and spaced the strings appropriately so that players could use the instrument without losing or mixing its distinctive sound.

The first 12-string zither ensemble piece was composed by musician Duc Lien. When performed by the Bac Kan (formerly) Ethnic Arts Troupe, it astonished listeners with its sound and the unique characteristics of the 12-string zither, which was appearing for the first time.

With his 12-string instrument, Mr. Thuc can play many traditional folk melodies from various regions. Occasionally, he also performs for tourists in the area when invited.

The plight of the "King of the Pipe Musician"

Mr. Duong Van Thuc stands beside the 12-string zithers he crafted himself.

For a long time, the image of artisan Duong Van Thuc with his 12-string zither, the melodious sounds of the then folk songs, has become familiar to tourists visiting Ba Be Lake. Locals affectionately call him "The King of the Zither." But behind that title is a quiet, almost solitary artisan on a journey to preserve a "legacy from fairy tales." The 12-string zither, after all these years, has not been widely popularized because not many people understand it, and even fewer can make or play it.

At over seventy years old, Mr. Thuc still diligently teaches Then singing and Tinh playing to his children and grandchildren, cherishing the instruments as if preserving a part of the nation's soul. What he keeps for himself is the simple joy of hearing the sound of the 12-string Tinh still resonate in his small house. To date, he has crafted about 10 12-string Tinh instruments and over 300 3-string Tinh instruments, but mainly to give to his friends who love Then singing and to use as instruments to teach his children and grandchildren.

Mr. Duong Quang Huan, son of Mr. Thuc and an employee of the Cho Ra Commune General Service Center, said: "Occasionally, I bring my father's 12-string zither to perform then singing and entertain tourists. Currently, performing arts groups in the Ba Be Lake area don't use this type of instrument much because they don't know how to play it."

Gently lifting the instrument in his hands, Mr. Thuc pondered: "The younger generation of artisans now mainly sing then songs for entertainment, and few are interested in researching the origins of then singing and the zither. Perhaps the 12-string instrument is just a legend, but crafting and restoring it is also a way for me to remind my descendants to remember the story of a national cultural heritage."

Leaving the home of artisan Dương Văn Thục, the sound of his 12-string zither seems to linger somewhere. There are values ​​that are not loudly manifested, but quietly exist in a person's memory. And there are also sounds that, if not continued, may one day only remain as stories...

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/van-hoa/202604/co-tich-mot-tieng-dan-52d678d/