Thụy Anh

One of a number of bilingual titles published by the Hanoi-based Kim Đò̂ng Publishing House, as part of their "Vietnamese Folklore Picture Books" collection, Năm Hũ Vàng / Five Golden Jars relates a traditional story about two couples, their very different work ethics, and their different eventual fates. Raised in the same fishing village as friends, Kình and Kiếm choose very different brides: the former a "charming and hardworking girl," the latter a "lazy, gossiping woman." When the first couple works to empty the sea, in order to attain its underwater treasure, their diligent progress so upsets the fish population that they present Kình and his wife with five jars of gold, setting them up for life. Seeing his friend's prosperity, Kiếm comes to investigate, but when he and his wife attempt the same feat, her laziness, and their eventual quarreling lead to failure. Nothing their friends and neighbors do can convince them to stop fighting, leading to their eventual transformation into sand spiders...

The second such bilingual English-Vietnamese folktale I have read from Kim Đò̂ng, following upon Từ Thức Gặp Tiên / Từ Thức Meets a Fairy, Năm Hũ Vàng / Five Golden Jars is a story with some fairly obvious lessons to offer. The value of hard work and careful stewardship of the rewards of that hard work, as exemplified by Kình and his wife's investment of the gold they win from the sea into a good farm, is a lesson meant for everyone. The importance of choosing a wife carefully is clearly a lesson for young men, while the idea of putting aside quarrels is not dount intended for young couples. Leaving aside its purpose as a teaching tale, and some of the social ideas implicit in the role of Kiếm's wife in that couple's fate - although some might argue it is chauvinistic to blame the woman it might also be said to speak to the power of women, within the family unit - the story itself was engaging. Contrasting character leading to contrasting fates is something one often sees in world folklore, and this is an entertaining example. There were a few textual stumbles, some small grammatical errors, that are no doubt the result of translation - phrases such as "their home always a place of warmth and laughter" missing the verb, for instance - but overall, these did not detract too much from my enjoyment. The artwork by Phạm Tuá̂n is quite lovely, with a painterly quality, and a deep palette that was very satisfying. I found the images of the fish with the golden jars to be particularly beautiful. All in all, definitely worth reading, if one can track down a copy! Recommended to young folklore lovers, and to anyone searching for children's stories with a Vietnamese cultural background.… (meer)