 | Ringing in the changes: Representatives from South Korean and Vietnamese culture ministries unveil the replica set of bronze bells used during the feudal period at a ceremony held at the Hue citadel on Wednesday. — VNS Photos Quoc Viet |
|  | Royal performance: Hue artists perform nha nhac (court music) at the ceremony to mark the handing over of two replica sets of musical instruments used during Viet Nam's feudal period. |
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THUA THIEN HUE — South Korea's Centre for Traditional Performing Arts has given two replica sets of musical instrument used in Viet Nam's feudal reigns to the Hue Relics Preservation Centre.
The sets consist of 12 bronze bells and 12 stone bars and are said to have originated in ancient China before migrating to countries across Asia including Korea and Viet Nam.
Since 2009, South Korean experts have been co-operating with their Vietnamese counterparts to research and produce the two sets using traditional Vietnamese techniques.
Artisan Kim Hyun-kon has been making traditional Korean instruments for 50 years and was heavily involved in the project. He said that Vietnamese bronze and stone instruments were very similar to those from South Korea.
He said that he was happy with the sound the newly produced instruments made which he attributed to the exact ratio of bronze, tin and lead used for the castings.
The two sets of instrument will be given to artists from the Hue Traditional Royal Arts Theatre, who will learn how to use them with the help of Vietnamese and South Korean experts.
The instruments will be used to perform at the Te Giao (Heaven Prayer) and Xa Tac (God of Agriculture Prayer) ceremonies, which are two important acts of worship practised at Hue's imperial citadel.
In Viet Nam, the instruments were used during the Le (1427-1788) and Nguyen (1802-1945) dynasties.
Since the end of the Nguyen rule in 1945, no one has been able to produce the instruments or play them and the only known remaining originals were incomplete and preserved at the Hue Royal Antiques Museum. — VNS