World leaders, in Vietnamese traditional dress, pose for a group photo at the APEC Summit in Hanoi in 2006. (Photo: VNA) Initiated by Thua Thien – Hue province’s culture authority, the event is to promotethe role of the traditional dress in Vietnamese culture and history,solidifying the “national copyright” of the dress.
“Our purpose is to spread the love to the traditional dress of every Vietnameseperson, encouraging them, men and women, to wear it as much as possible. Oncethe wearing of ao dai in all aspects becomes popular, we can build up a uniquecultural image, therefore we can continue to design relevant tourism productsand services,” the director of the provincial culture department, Phan Thanh Hai,told Viet Nam News.
The exhibition started with a short clip entitled Hue – Chiec Noi Ao dai Vietnam(Hue – The Cradle of Vietnamese Traditional Dress) featuring valuable imagesabout the dress. It presents an image of President Ho Chi Minh, in his ao dai,to welcome the Lunar New Year’s Eve together with local people at Hanoi’s NgocSon Temple in 1946 – the first celebration after Vietnam declared independenceto become the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945.
The image of Nguyen Dynasty’s King Ming Mang (1791-1841), who issued adecree, asking every subject of Dai Nam (Great Viet, former name of the currentVietnam) to wear long dress, has been featured in the clip.
Images of other emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty such as Ham Nghi (1871-1944) andThanh Thai (1879-1954), in their ao dai, can also be seen in the clip.
The dress has been introduced to international friends through the country’sleaders and diplomats.
Viewers can see a group photo of President Nguyen Minh Triet and other worldleaders, in the brocade Vietnamese ao dai, at the APEC Summit in Hanoi in 2006,or the one depicting Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau presenting hiscredentials to King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.
In addition, the clip also introduces several other images of ordinary peoplewearing long dress in their daily activities such as in gold workshops or atthe market.
The popularity of traditional long dress in modern cultural, tourism andeducational events also has been introduced in the clip.
According to director Hai, the idea for the exhibition started more than a yearago.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak in Vietnam at the beginning of last year, wedecided that the online concept is safe and suitable in the context of thepandemic,” he told Viet Nam News.
To prepare for the exhibition, the department has called on people andorganisations to contribute photos of long dress from their privatecollections.
So far, thousands of unique photos have been sent to the department.
“The number will increase as we continue to receive photos from individuals andorganisations in Vietnam and abroad,” Hai said.
The exhibition also uses a large number of photos that the department collectedearlier for their book Hue – The Cradle of Vietnamese Traditional Dress whichwas published last October.
After the debut clip, from now until the end of this year, the exhibition willcontinue to present 14 clips on specific topics such as Ao dai Trong Dong ChayVan Hoa, Lich Su (Traditional Dress in the Flow of Culture and History), Y PhucHoang Cung (Royal Costumes), Tu Truyen Thong Den Quoc Phuc (From TraditionalDress to National Dress), and Nghe May Theu Ao dai tai Hue (The Long DressMaking Craft in Hue).
The exhibition is available on the website of the provincial culture departmentas well as on other popular social network platforms such as Youtube, Facebook,Zalo, Tiktok, and Instagram./.
VNA
