Season Passing Alley Photo: provided by artist Nguyen Van Tung Memories, dreams back home, are the most beautiful time left in people’s hearts when they have to go away. And vice versa, it is very happy for those who miss their native homeland, miss the fields, the houses behind the village … Those are the anxieties, the anxious to remember, the beautiful memories of childhood pouring back into the hearts of people far away from the countryside. When viewing painter Nguyen Van Tung’s paintings, these feelings are fulfilled, evoking the blues far away from home in the blue of his paintings. Arousing very pleasant sad sorrows in the hearts of those who are far away from the countryside, comforted by memories of the past. Each of Tung’s landscape works, whether in one way or another, the artist sent his thoughts and feelings about memories, fond memories, of a life or a place. place that used to live or passed through. The works such as Early Winter, Night of the Moon, Early Dew, Moonlight … have made it clear for me. Artists are skillful when they often lay out one or two very small and isolated houses on the canvas, not to mention that in a few pictures we feel very lonely, cold desolate houses, in the fields. In the winter, far away, beside the spindly trees in the deciduous season, or by the cold dark river. Make viewers feel deeply sorry for the figures of the homeland, where the fields and fields of sweet potatoes have passed the harvest, the bare land is sad in the midst of the immense windy season. Seeing pictures sometimes we can feel the cold wetness under our feet every time we walk in the straw fields when it is still morning mist. Somewhere there are lonely trees around the house as comforting, like relying on each other to live, to go through with time, so that we see somewhere far away are old mothers by the fire. , with the image of a pillar of blue smoke in the scent of burnt dry straw is very characteristic for those who have grown up from the countryside. In some pictures we feel the moment of changing season of the second, when spring sky is a little warm yellow appearing in the painting, a few red buds are emphasized, making that winter sadness. as if cleared away, for the hopes, the warmth that was given the opportunity to appear in that cold blue color. Moonlight In another area, the 8x painter described Hanoi’s street corners from a different perspective. Speaking of streets in Hanoi, many artists drew, but Hanoi Street in Nguyen Van Tung’s paintings looked in a different way. A Hanoi that is elegant and very gentle, more serene, like remembering a distant Trang An period. The yellow walls in the afternoon sun were in the shadow of the remaining shadow, by the side of the road, the old stools of the water restaurant, far away were pigeons leisurely on the gable, or wandering somewhere there in the windows. In the other corner are spindly almond trees and a few red buds of young leaves in the sky, far above are closed windows with typical blue paints of a time. Streets in this artist’s paintings are easy to make a stir for those who have lived more or less with Hanoi, remember the toad shops, remember the silhouette of typical old electric poles for a while. Makes Hanoi in Nguyen Van Tung’s paintings more reminiscent of the memories of traveling through the streets and alleys, miss the shop, miss the advert, miss the flower stalls in the street … Light Sun Perhaps the two colors most used by the artist are earth yellow and gray green in paintings, especially pictures with cold colors that are easy to impress and remember a lot, because expatriates always have in them. I have a nostalgia for my home and my homeland whenever I have a chance. When I see Tung’s paintings, I feel comforted and warm to satisfy a little nostalgia for my homeland. River House, is probably the topic that this artist born in 1984 is the most exploited and most impressive so far. Because when writing a pen, he opened his heart to drift through time, space and the best and most impressive memories to put it on the painting, so that the viewer had something to recuperate. miss the straw, or imprint a street corner in the heart of expatriates.

Period 1: Nine trees per thousand years at Voi Phuc temple Elephant Phuc is a temple in Thang Long, the four towns of the old Thang Long citadel. Outside the temple gate, there are two elephants kneeling on the ground, so it is called Voi Phuc Temple. In the temple, there are nine trees which are handed down to be planted after the construction of the temple. Up to now, it is over a thousand years old. These are trees recognized by VACNE as the first Vietnamese heritage tree of Hanoi. Mr. Nguyen Van Tung is in the only living “old” man at the Elephant Phuc-Thuy Khue Temple. Photo: Kien Nghia honors When coming to find out about these “tools”, we determined that we need to go to Voi Phuc Temple on Thuy Khue street. Because Hanoi has two Voi Phuc temples, one in Thuy Khue street (the old relic of Thuy Chuong village) and one on Kim Ma street (in the past in Thu Le village). Mr. Nguyen Van Tung, 88 years old, Head of the Management Board of Elephant Phuc – Thuy Khue said that this temple was built to worship Linh Lang Dai Vuong, the fourth prince of King Ly Thanh Tong. Legend has it that in the past, Prince Linh Lang, who had made merits in the resistance war against the Song invaders, died in the 11th century. After the prince died, people set up Linh Lang Dai Vuong temple in many places. on Thang Long land, including Voi Phuc – Thu Le temple and Voi Phuc – Thuy Khue, up to now, they have a lifespan of nearly 10 centuries. “Elephant Phuc-Thuy Khue Temple is ranked as a national architectural and artistic relic in 1986” – Mr. Tung said. Mr. Nguyen Van Tung said that, according to the tradition of our country, when building a communal house, a temple or a pagoda, the elders always plant trees such as banyan, bodhi and mum. At Voi Phuc-Thuy Khue Temple, after building the temple, the elders chose to plant a tree, because it is a kind of tree that is easy to live, shade and suitable for the soil here. “The reason of planting here is 9 trees, because according to the concept of Eastern culture, number 9 is eternal, symbolizing the fullness and fullness of the sacred temple” – Mr. Tung said. Then the Head of the Management Board of Elephant Phuc Temple – Thuy Khue shared that he was born again in this land, so from a young age, he saw the lush green trees, standing tall in the temple. Later, having the opportunity to stand on a high-rise building looking down, Mr. Tung saw the vast canopy of these ancient trees as if they were to adhere to adulthood (nine dragons painting pearls). The gem here is the temple of Linh Lang Dai Vuong. Nearly a thousand years ago, the trees in Voi Phuc not only made majesty but also brought shade and fruit to the ancient temple. In the summer, the temple courtyard has almost no sunlight because of the interlocking canopy, only when it is very sunny, can a little sunlight slip through the leaves. There was a time when the heat was over 40 degrees, everyone sitting in the temple still did not need a fan. In the spring, the flowers bloom white, giving off a faint scent. Whenever there is a strong wind blowing from West Lake, flowers fall white on the roof of the temple, the temple courtyard and the front and back grounds. By the time it is ripe, the fruit is plump, it looks beautiful. Before coming to the Elephant Phuc Thuy Khue Temple, we went to VACNE to work to know about the trees honored as “heritage trees” in the capital area. Mr. Phung Quang Chinh, Vice President of VACNE said: “In 2010, to celebrate 1,000 years of Thang Long- Hanoi, we have examined the old trees in the capital to honor them as heritage trees. Vietnam. VACNE sees that the nine trees in Elephant Phuc temple stand out above all, so it is honored as the first Vietnamese heritage tree of Hanoi ”. Following Mr. Tung, we visited the last tree that was still alive. The tree is currently healthy, with a few people hugging its base, and the leaves are green. “Through testing, this tree does not suffer from pests and diseases like other plants. After eight trees died, we planted new trees in them. New saplings grow well and bear fruit every year ”- shared Mr. Tung. Regret At the meeting with Mr. Nguyen Van Tung that day, just entering the story, he told us that for old trees, the direction to protect trees is very important. Then, sadly, the head of the Management Board with 35 years of supervision of the Elephant Phuc Temple – Thuy Khue shared that they are not knowledgeable about forestry or cultivation, so they do not know how to take care of trees. For many years, the tree still lived in the temple, the men only watched over and prevented outsiders from picking fruit, breaking branches …, not knowing the “health” situation of the tree. Mr. Tung said, after 9 trees were honored, a year later, they began to find out that there were trees that did not grow as well as before. As of 2013, several other trees showed similar symptoms, so Mr. Tung reported the incident to VACNE. VACNE sent people to check, discovered the fungal condition on the trunk, so it took samples to check. After that, VACNE introduced experts from the Vietnam Forest Institute to treat trees. Through the review, the Vietnam Forest Institute proposed to invite an Australian expert to deal with the condition of the tree. Experts have injected drugs directly into the stem to kill pests and provide more nutrients for plants. Initially, the plants were green again, but after a while they wilted and then shed all their leaves. At the same time, some other plants also wilted their leaves and were treated again like the previous plants. But by 2014, eight diseased trees could not be cured, so there is only one tree left alive. Listening to the above story, we asked in 2011, the Elephant Phuc-Thuy Khue temple was greatly restored, will this affect the trees? Hearing that, Mr. Tung answered that the restoration, if any, would also have a negligible impact, and the main reason was due to the old trees, many trees were eaten by worms inside without knowing. “After the tree dies, we ask the responsible authorities to lower the tree to replace the new saplings in that position. When sawing the tree, it was revealed that many of the trunks were hollowed out by worms. We are just the custodians of the temple, have no expertise in taking care of the trees, so when the tree was eaten by worms, we could not detect it. The experience is that it is necessary to have solutions to take care of and detect pests and diseases in order to prolong the life of old trees ”- Mr. Tung said. (There’s more)