Tai, 51 years old, living in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, recounted that he became familiar with the Tale of Kieu from a young age when his family still lived in Thong Tay Hoi, Go Vap District. In the neighbourhood, the elderly and teachers would often gather to read, quote and fortune-tell using the Tale of Kieu whenever they had time to enjoy a cup of tea.
Initially listening out of curiosity, gradually, the young Tai found the Tale of Kieu fascinating and developed the idea to buy more books to gain deeper understanding. From then on, whenever his parents or others gave him pocket money, he would not dare spend it, saving every penny to buy different versions of the Tale of Kieu.
With the modest amount of money saved, he would wander through second-hand bookshops and salvage yards, spending hours diligently selecting interesting books, magazines and other publications. The valuable collection began at second-hand bookshops after school hours of a student passionate about exploration. Once, after patiently searching through a scrap dealer’s cart, he found a precious but worn and tattered copy of Kieu.
As he advanced to higher levels of education, this refined hobby from childhood continued to develop with increasingly elaborate investment and care. Understanding and appreciating the excellence and uniqueness of the Tale of Kieu, Tai gradually expanded his search channels with the desire to collect more publications and items bearing distinctive marks. After graduating from university and starting work, most of the money he earned was not spent on personal purchases or entertainment but mainly focused on supplementing and upgrading his collections.
During that time, he became familiar with and kept the phone numbers of most second-hand bookshop owners in Ho Chi Minh City, along with the familiar request, “If you find anything interesting or unique related to the Tale of Kieu, please call me right away.” Searching in the city was not enough; each time he travelled for work or had the opportunity to visit different places, he would use the time to hunt for publications for his special collection.
And reading books alone was not enough; he also taught himself Chinese characters to explore in-depth research publications and ancient documents because he wanted a more comprehensive view of the Tale of Kieu. Tai revealed that the more he researched, the more he realised his collection was not simply a hobby. Deep research helped him to begin filtering, purchasing and preserving valuable publications and items rather than pursuing quantity. Friends and acquaintances, knowing about his passion for collecting the Tale of Kieu, would inform him or help purchase and bring back to Vietnam rare books or unique items they found while travelling.
At present, he preserves more than 1,600 editions of the Tale of Kieu in various languages from around the world. Among them are many famous publications such as the Nom script edition of the Tale of Kieu from 1906 by Lieu Van Duong Printing House in Ha Noi, the manuscript and printed version of “Kim Tuy tinh tu” from 1917 by Pham Kim Chi, “Miss B’s Kieu Anthology” printed in 1930... Besides these valuable editions mentioned above, the collection also includes 480 magazines and classical literature books with articles about the Tale of Kieu, along with items, paintings, photos, and pottery related to this theme.
Tai has transformed his spacious house into a storage facility with numerous shelves of various sizes everywhere. Despite having so many books and items, he remembers each volume, arranging them carefully to prevent loss or damage. From bedroom to workspace, he prioritises using the entire space for storing books and items.
“Just hearing someone mention the Tale of Kieu, confirming authentic information and appropriate content, no matter how far, I would find a way to contact them to inquire, purchase or exchange. Many books were already too old when purchased or ancient documents with missing covers, decayed pages; I would find experts to rescue the books, restoring from cover to inside pages to extend their lifespan while preserving the original value of the collectible. Every corner of my house is meticulously sprayed against termites and various measures are used to preserve books,” Tai added.
The journey of searching for and preserving valuable cultural items has never been easy. For Tai, it has been a long road of learning while doing, travelling far and wide, gathering many meaningful things. He learned from second-hand bookshop owners to fellow collectors and even strangers. Eight years ago, reading information online about a collector in Nha Trang who owned a Hungarian edition of the Tale of Kieu, Tai went around asking for their phone number, then bought a plane ticket to visit their home to talk and persuade them. That same year, he agreed to exchange 40 precious books from his collection along with a significant amount of money to acquire the “Nguyen Du Commemorative Art Collection” published in 1942.
Many people thought Tai would keep his collection within his family, occasionally inviting friends to admire it or organising a few personal exhibitions to promote information. However, he made a surprising decision: opening a private museum in Hoi An to introduce the items he collected.
At CSO Gallery, the exhibition space invested in by Tai, the Tale of Kieu is the most extensively invested content. Each display corner has an accompanying story, and the main narrator is Tai himself and staff whom he personally trained thoroughly. At his private home in District 7, there are still paintings, books and items about the Tale of Kieu serving friends and relatives. With knowledge gained after long-term research on the Tale of Kieu, Tai also accepts invitations to many universities and cultural organisations throughout the country to talk about Kieu.
He said the journey of preserving and spreading the Tale of Kieu will continue in the next phase through exhibitions, sharing and education projects.
