The ancient Huynh Thuy Le house and the "love song" by the Sa Giang river.

Beside the tranquil Sa Giang River in Sa Dec ward, stands a house where time seems to have stood still for over a century. It is not only a masterpiece of East-West architectural fusion, but also a witness to a beautiful but short-lived love story, a fateful encounter between the young nobleman Huynh Thuy Le and the French writer Marguerite Duras.

FROM MEMOIRS TO WORLD CLASSIC WORKS

Nestled beside the tranquil Sa Dec River, the Huynh Thuy Le Ancient House stands as an architectural masterpiece, blending Eastern beauty with French elegance. But before entering the mansion's gates, one often recalls the My Thuan ferry crossing.

Foreign tourists visit the Huynh Thuy Le Ancient House.

That year, 23-year-old Huynh Thuy Le, the youngest son of the wealthy Chinese businessman Huynh Cam Thuan, was on his way back from Saigon. On the ferry crossing the Tien River, his eyes were suddenly "overwhelmed" by a French girl with fair skin, golden-brown hair, and dreamy blue eyes gazing at the clusters of water hyacinths drifting by.

That was Marguerite Duras, then only 15 years old, the daughter of a female teacher at Trung Vuong Girls' School in Sa Dec.

Struck by "love at first sight," the wealthy young man from Southern Vietnam took the initiative to strike up a conversation. Amidst the vast expanse of the waterways of the Mekong Delta, two souls from vastly different cultures, social statuses, and family backgrounds found each other.

Their love blossomed naturally, yet intensely. However, the relationship between the Vietnamese man of Chinese descent faced fierce opposition from his family due to cultural differences between East and West and the disparity in social standing between the two families; his father disapproved of their union.

Documents inside the Huynh Thuy Le Ancient House.

Their romance lasted only 18 months, and the day Marguerite Duras boarded the ship back to France was also the day he was preparing to marry a woman of equal social standing from Go Cong.

The unfulfilled love affair in Sa Dec became a source of profound sadness for Marguerite Duras for over half a century. Having become a renowned writer in France, in her later years, she poured out her heart in her autobiographical novel, *L'Amant* (The Lover), published in 1984.

The book immediately caused a sensation in the world of literature, being translated into more than 40 languages ​​and selling over 2.5 million copies.

In 1992, director Jean-Jacques Annaud adapted the work into a film of the same name, starring Tony Leung. The film was shot in Sa Dec and other provinces in the Mekong Delta, realistically recreating the setting of Indochina in the 1920s and 1930s.

The success of the film and the novel has transformed the Huynh family home into a "must-visit" destination for many international tourists.

They came here not only to admire a National Architectural Monument recognized in 2009, but also to search for traces of their former "lover."

According to the tour guide at the old house, international tourists, especially the French, are often deeply moved when standing inside this house.

They were captivated by the story of the silent fidelity of Mr. Huynh Thuy Le, who until the end of his life always yearned for his distant lover. It is known that in 1972, before his death in Saigon, Mr. Huynh Thuy Le still retained vivid memories of Marguerite Duras.

FAMOUS OLD HOUSE IN SA DEC

If the love story has the romantic and tumultuous colors of a novel, then the Huynh Thuy Le Ancient House is the embodiment of the wealth and refined aesthetic taste of the Huynh family.

The Huynh Thuy Le ancient house is famous for its association with the love story of the French writer Marguerite Duras.

Built in 1895 with precious wood and extensively renovated in 1917, the house is a unique architectural masterpiece, where French architectural style blends with Chinese carving art and the traditional three-bay house structure of the Vietnamese people.

The nearly 260 square meter house is a "miniature museum." From the outside, it's easy to mistake it for a French-style villa with its arched doorways, round columns decorated with Renaissance motifs, and thick brick walls (30-40 cm) that provide excellent insulation.

In 2007, the Dong Thap tourism industry officially opened the ancient house to visitors.

In 2008, this old house was certified as a Provincial-level Monument, and subsequently recognized as a National-level Monument in 2009.

This is a unique destination, attracting many domestic and international tourists, especially French tourists, who want to learn about the origins of the famous novel and film "The Lover".

However, upon entering, a distinctly East Asian atmosphere envelops everything.

The familiar three-bay structure features ornate gilded and lacquered decorative panels, horizontal plaques, and couplets.

The elaborately carved wooden doors, depicting birds, animals, and flowers, are characteristic of Chinese architecture. Particularly noteworthy is the yin-yang tiled roof with its two curved gables, resembling boats in the style of Northern Vietnamese temples and pagodas, creating a soft, contrasting effect with the rigid Western-style facade.

The floor is tiled with patterned tiles imported from France, but the round wooden columns inside are carved from rare tree trunks.

Every detail, from the decorative mosaic tiles to the exquisite floral patterns on the walls, tells the story of a golden age in Sa Dec, a land of bustling waterways. After more than 100 years, despite the many changes in history, the house still retains its original appearance.

DUONG UT

Source: https://baodongthap.vn/nha-co-huynh-thuy-le-va-ban-tinh-ca-ben-dong-sa-giang-a239227.html