The Keeper of Hibiscus

In literature, writing about history is a difficult topic, selective for both writers and readers. Female author Nguyet Chu came to literature not only with the historical topic. But she decided to make her first mark with the short story collection "The Hibiscus Keeper" consisting of eight historical short stories. Being a lover of history and also a nostalgic person, she always wanted to look back to the past to satisfy her imagination.

Through the short stories, “The Hibiscus Keeper”, “The Princess’s Magnolia Flower”, “The Spider”, “The Night in the Capital”, “The Misty Snow Orchid”… historical characters appear with a rather new perspective. Nguyet Chu’s writing style is vague and dreamy, characters such as the concubine Diem Bich, Ly Chieu Hoang, Tran Canh, Zen master Huyen Quang… were created by the author with a humane eye, bringing readers back to life impressive historical periods. The short story “The Hibiscus Keeper” is the first historical story, marking a milestone in Nguyet Chu’s writing career, and was used as the title for the entire collection.

Before writing “The Keeper of Hibiscus”, she had written stories that were very close to life, such as stories about the countryside, about the small town where she was living, about young people and their desire to transform, to find themselves again in an era full of changing cultural values. But she still felt that she had not found the right direction and her true nature. There were times when she felt confused because she was struggling to find the most suitable path for herself. And her first historical short story helped her find a new direction.

In the short story “The Princess’s Royal Flower”, Imperial Concubine Dang Thi Hue is portrayed as a woman who caused many storms in the royal court, but in the end, she is still just a fragile and desperate beauty. The short story “Camellia in the Night” tells about the feelings that the palace maid Diem Bich passionately sent to Zen master Huyen Quang, entangled in the white camellias pouring their fragrance into the romance. The story evokes a sense of sorrow, ambiguity, beauty and sadness. The story “The Night in the Capital” tells about the love of Princess Dau and King Ly Thanh Tong, covered in orchid petals and dreams of the South. A wonderful love with a rather attractive narrative voice. The whole story has a smooth, vague but equally haunting way of telling.

Nguyet Chu wants to continue writing about the beauties of the dynasties. There are as many beauties as there are flowers, just like the fragility of beauty. Not being able to write about them, she still feels indebted and tormented. Therefore, she will continue writing short stories, fleeting slices of history imprinted on the fates of women.

(Short story collection "The Hibiscus Keeper", Nguyet Chu, Literature Publishing House, 2018).

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Source: https://nhandan.vn/nguoi-canh-giu-phu-dung-post318017.html