Meet the Gen Z girl who created a 'board game' featuring the image of a Vietnamese dragon

Nguyen Bao Long Nhi

The board game called "Dragon Chess" is part of Nguyen Bao Long Nhi's graduation project in Graphic Design. She said that each chess piece is designed with a prominent head bearing the dragon image typical of the four dynasties in Vietnamese history: Ly, Tran, Hau Le, Nguyen. With this project, Nhi hopes to contribute to spreading awareness of the Vietnamese dragon, a mascot with many symbolic values ​​throughout the country's history. Currently, the chess set is loved by the community thanks to its creativity and profound national cultural values.

The dragon chess pieces are shaped with beautiful colors and patterns.

“Regarding the color element, I create based on the theory of the five elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth. The law of the five elements is the transformation and interaction between heaven and earth, contributing to creating connections and mutual influence, helping matter to exist and develop. For me, the mark of the Vietnamese dragon is always present in feng shui, country, nature, will, spirit, culture, architecture and inside every Vietnamese person,” Long Nhi shared more.

The colors and details on the chess pieces are all hand-drawn by Long Nhi.

According to Nhi's research, the Vietnamese dragon is a reflection of the worldview and philosophy of life of the culture and dynasty that gave birth to it. By studying dragons, we will better understand the history of the nation and the aspirations that our ancestors entrusted to us. A special thing from Nhi's name. "Long Nhi, meaning 'little dragon' in Sino-Vietnamese. I was born in the year of the Dragon, so I always feel a special connection with the dragon. Therefore, in addition to the desire to promote the image of the Vietnamese dragon, I also consider the product as a gift for my friend", the project author confided.

The four houses on the chessboard represent the four dynasties of Vietnamese history.

Long Nhi made the chess set over a period of 5 months, from researching the dragon image, coming up with design ideas and completing it. In addition, Long Nhi wanted the chess set to show the beauty of traditional craftsmanship. Therefore, after the 3D printing stage, she hand-colored and hand-painted the patterns on the chess pieces to show the skillful and meticulous creation, similar to the craftsmen of the past. After the initial success, Long Nhi is in the process of filing a copyright registration for the product.

Long Nhi added: “As a young person who loves culture, I like to do creative projects to introduce Vietnamese cultural identity to everyone. I hope that the traditional cultural features that our ancestors created will be loved and learned by the next generation and will be continuously created, so that the quintessence of our nation will live forever.”

Previously, in 2023, Long Nhi had the opportunity to collaborate with students from Hoa Sen University to carry out the music project "Ho Xu Xang Xe Cong", as Art Director. The program invited the public to go through 18 performances, with 6 types of Southern performances, respectively: Southern ceremonial music, folk ball dance, hat boi, ca ra bo, don ca tai tu, cai luong, along with a number of musical instrument and modern music performances full of Southern cultural identity.

Long Nhi used to be President of the Student Association of Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture.

Currently, the 2K girl is pursuing freelance work in the fields of events, graphic design and illustration. In the near future, Long Nhi is nurturing a project to create a series of paintings introducing Vietnam's intangible cultural heritages recognized by UNESCO and will present them when completed. Long Nhi expressed: "With each personal creative product, Nhi hopes that traditional cultural values ​​will live forever with the current time and space through our creativity, with a more youthful and familiar appearance."

Source: https://svvn.tienphong.vn/gap-co-nang-gen-z-sang-tao-bo-co-board-game-mang-hinh-tuong-rong-viet-nam-post1731449.tpo