Both father and son are famous People's Artists of Kinh Bac land, one is teacher Xuan Hinh.

'King of Cheo clowns' People's Artist Tran Manh Tuan

People's Artist Manh Tuan's real name is Nguyen Duc Thinh, born in 1929 in Bac Ninh. Due to difficult family circumstances, when he was only 8 years old, People's Artist Manh Tuan had to leave home to work as a servant. But because he loved Cheo, he often hid from his landlord to go watch it. At night, he was afraid to knock on the door, so he had to hide in a pile of straw to sleep.

Taking advantage of the nationwide resistance war and the soldiers returning to their villages, People's Artist Manh Tuan volunteered to be a liaison for the local guerrillas. He asked to take on the role of performing arts, dancing, singing, and becoming the core of the enemy's rear art troupe.

In 1952, People's Artist Manh Tuan started working in the theater troupe. Because of his thin appearance and unspecial singing voice, he was initially only assigned to take care of the troupe's props and was not given any background or main roles.

He taught himself drums and Cheo melodies. Fortunately, he was mentored by famous Cheo artists Nam Ngu and Tu Lien, so he had the opportunity to come to the stage, starting with a supporting role in the play Tam Dien .

From that supporting role, People's Artist Manh Tuan began to receive many different roles, gradually becoming the main actor and becoming famous. Being serious about his career helped People's Artist Manh Tuan reach the peak of humorous performing art on the Cheo stage.

Famous on stage, People's Artist Manh Tuan is also a very dedicated teacher, having trained many generations of students. His three most famous students are Xuan Hinh, People's Artist Quoc Anh, and People's Artist Quoc Truong.

"Everyone has a father, a mother, and a teacher in their life. To me, People's Artist Manh Tuan is the most important teacher in my artistic career," Xuan Hinh once confided.

People's Artist Minh Thu - the only "lover" is Cheo

People's Artist Minh Thu has been singing Cheo since she was 14 years old. Born into a family where her father - People's Artist Manh Tuan, her mother and siblings were all passionate about Cheo, People's Artist Minh Thu was always aware that she had to study Cheo thoroughly and deeply. She even studied folk singing, Xam singing, Quan Ho singing and achieved the highest level in all genres.

While working at the Vietnam Cheo Theatre, she was both an actress and a teacher. Thanks to her solid skills, the female artist was often invited to stage plays for many provincial Cheo troupes.

With more than 40 years of pursuing the art of Cheo, with the advantage of a standard Cheo voice, a beautiful and sharp face, and quite skillful acting and dancing skills, the People's Artist has the ability to transform into different roles without getting confused.

Despite her talent, People's Artist Minh Thu's marriage has been quite difficult. She had a husband before being with People's Artist Quoc Anh. However, after 20 years of living together, the two broke up.

People's Artist Minh Thu once confided: "Life has tested me with too many storms. Now I just want peace, and when I have free time I will go to my daughter's house in Italy to take care of my children and grandchildren."

People's Artist Tran Manh Tuan's family in the program "Weekend Meeting" in 2001:

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/hai-cha-con-deu-la-nsnd-noi-tieng-dat-kinh-bac-co-nguoi-la-thay-xuan-hinh-2394675.html