Special techniques in the record-breaking calligraphy book about General Vo Nguyen Giap

With the intention of creating a special work to commemorate the nation's talented general, calligrapher Vo Duong created the world's largest calligraphy book at a cost of more than 1 billion VND.

Reenacting 103 memorable events in the General's life

Before creating the work "People's General, Vo Nguyen Giap - The Years of His Life", calligrapher Vo Duong had many impressive Vietnamese calligraphy works in book form such as "Vu Lan and Filial Piety Sutra" (2014), "Uncle Ho's Teachings" (2016)...

The book "People's General, Vo Nguyen Giap - The Years of His Life" is considered the most memorable milestone in the years of artisan Vo Duong's career. This is the largest work that artisan Vo Duong has ever made. This is his first work to set a world record.

The finished book measures 204cm x 136cm, with 250 pages of content. The book cover is hand-carved on precious wood. The cover features a 50x70cm embossed portrait of the late General Vo Nguyen Giap.

The book is divided into 5 blocks and interspersed with 5 special works, including: 1 wood carving of the General's writing; 2 portraits made of precious stones; 1 oil painting with the theme of Dien Bien Phu Fortress, recreating the historical feat associated with the General's name... The outside of the book has a 41cm brass lock.

Accompanying the book are 15 separate works about General Vo Nguyen Giap such as "General Vo Nguyen Giap through the years", "The first general", "Lovely smile"... expressed in many different materials.

Artisan Vo Duong spent nearly 2 years, from February 2017 to September 2018, to create the work. The work was recognized as a Vietnamese Record on December 20, 2018 and was recognized by the World Record Union as "The world's largest calligraphy book about General Vo Nguyen Giap" in June 2019.

According to artist Vo Duong, the original work is the book "Vo Nguyen Giap - The Years of Life" compiled by Tre Publishing House and published at the end of 2013. The book reviews 103 notable events in the 103-year life of General Vo Nguyen Giap.

"After discussion and with the publisher's permission, I re-presented the work in calligraphy and added the phrase "People's General" to the book. Because General Vo Nguyen Giap is not only the first General of the army but also a General forever in the hearts of the people," artist Vo Duong explained.

Borrowing money to make calligraphy books

According to Mr. Vo Duong, the implementation of this work was planned in detail, including the cost of each item with an estimated cost of 1.03 billion VND. The cost was built based on the idea of a calligraphy book about 103 important events in the 103-year life of the General.

Of that budget, the unit where Mr. Duong worked at that time (Vietnam Airports Corporation) supported 500 million VND. The rest, Vo Duong collected little by little to do, sometimes having to borrow money to buy materials to keep up with the schedule.

Artist Vo Duong sometimes had to borrow money to complete his work (Photo: NVCC).

The cost of making the work is high because each page of the book is made of canvas (Calvat), one side is printed with images, the content is handwritten by Vo Duong in Chinese ink and Acrylic. Each page consists of 5 layers (2 layers of canvas and 3 layers of protective glue), measuring 96cm x 165cm, weighing nearly 2kg. The work has 250 pages like that.

The book cover is also a valuable work, using precious wood, made by skilled craftsmen, depicting the General's portrait, then plated with 24k gold. The book cover alone cost more than 100 million VND.

However, the cost is not what Vo Duong is concerned about. He is really happy that the Vietnam Craft Village Association and the family of the late General Vo Nguyen Giap have assessed the idea, content and quality of the work before allowing him to create it. After completion, the work was received by Quang Binh province (the hometown of General Vo Nguyen Giap) and brought to the provincial museum for display.

Relatives of the late General Vo Nguyen Giap's family evaluate the idea and quality of a page of the book Vo Duong made (Photo: NVCC).

Book display space at Quang Binh Provincial Museum (Photo: NVCC).

Artisan Vo Duong said: "I consider this a part of my heart dedicated to the General, so I don't care about money. The amount of money to make the work is a lot for me, the value of the work can also be very large, but not as big as the spiritual value, my admiration for the General."

"The fact that the work is placed in the lobby of the largest museum in the General's hometown, where thousands of people come every year to admire and learn about his life and contributions, affirms its immeasurable value, making me feel more honored than any valuation," the calligrapher added.

Quit high paying job for passion of calligraphy

Artist Vo Duong is from Quang Nam. After graduating from high school, he went to Ho Chi Minh City to study and work. Here, he had the opportunity to learn calligraphy for young people at the Youth Cultural House since the 2000s. However, in the early years, he was busy making a living so he did not have much time and money to pursue this subject.

By 2009, Duong had a stable job at Tan Son Nhat airport, so he participated in many creative activities, gathering people with the same passion and practicing calligraphy in Ho Chi Minh City.

Artist Vo Duong shared: "When I became a professional, I also earned a lot of money from calligraphy during each holiday season. I saved all that money to carry out projects and works of my passion at high costs, without calculating profits, in order to contribute to society and the calligraphy profession. The work about General Vo Nguyen Giap is one of them."

Artisan Vo Duong has been in the profession since 2009 and his products are loved and welcomed by many people (Photo: NVCC).

The more he learns, researches and practices, the more passionate and determined he becomes in pursuing calligraphy, considering it a lifelong career. He wishes to contribute to promoting this subject as a professional skill that can help professional calligraphers earn a living and establish a career.

Mr. Duong shared: "I am very honored to be invited by some universities to teach calligraphy, and to be honored as a calligraphy artist by the Vietnam Craft Village Association. I think the right path for a calligrapher is to become an artist, to dedicate and practice a lot to have the opportunity to be honored as an excellent artist, a people's artist like other handicrafts...".

Determined to pursue a professional career, in 2020, Vo Duong decided to quit his job at the airport despite having a good and stable income. After that, he completed the procedures to build the Vietnamese Calligraphy Artisan Club, under the Vietnam Craft Village Association, bringing together professional Vietnamese calligraphers from all over the country.

Dantri.com.vn