Portraying Hue through "In front of the house is a yellow apricot tree"

The author's more than 30 articles in the book were mostly written in the years 2000 - 2002, when he returned to his hometown from Da Lat after nearly 10 years of exile. The book was released in 2016 and was warmly received by readers.

In this reprint, the author has updated and edited the articles to make them more complete, along with vivid illustrations.

In particular, in this reprint, the Vietnamese Women's Publishing House published the English version of Ochna in the front yard: Fascinating stories about Hue - an ancient, poetic and glamorous land to introduce to foreign readers the majestic and ancient beauty of Hue. The translation was done by translator Khuu Ngo.

The notes have vividly depicted the culture and lifestyle of Hue people from different perspectives, from the story of eating Hue-style, mussel rice, sesame candy, beef noodle soup to needlework, conical hat, old man's mai tree or late night market... which to the author, is "Hue style". Writer Hoang Phu Ngoc Tuong believes that this lifestyle is "Hue character", with the expression: "preferring a cultural life rather than enjoying material things, preferring a beautiful life rather than a rich life".

Writer Vinh Quyen said: “In front of Minh Tu's house is a yellow apricot tree bearing the mark of a time living outside Hue and the perspective and thinking of journalism, making a difference from authors who write about Hue - their own homeland - with a lovely extreme spirit like 'nowhere else can find it' or 'it can never be changed'.”

Sharing about his brainchild, author Minh Tu said: “Throughout the years I was a Hue person living outside of Hue, I was able to understand more clearly, more objectively, the unique identity of this land... This book would like to explore the art of living of Hue people, although it cannot fully describe the many colors of the 'Hue way'. It is just the states of Hue that we 'read' and narrate in the way of a journalist.”

About the author: Journalist Minh Tu's real name is Le Van Minh Tu (born in 1968), currently living and working in Thua Thien Hue .

Source: https://baodienbienphu.com.vn/tin-tuc/van-hoa/215832/khac-hoa-net-hue-qua-%E2%80%9Ctruoc-nha-co-cay-hoang-mai%E2%80%9D