Nguyen Phuong Thao began writing at age 14. By the time she celebrated her 16th birthday, she had completed a 1,000-page novel under the pen name Ha Thuy Nguyen. Today, as a student of the Faculty of Literature of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities at Ha Noi National University, she has finished another 938-page novel, Dieu Nhac Tran Gian (Rhythm of the Samsara), published by the Women’s Publishing House.
Inner sanctum: You are a fresh name to readers. Could you please give a brief introduction of yourself?
I was born in 1984 and am the second child of a family of four, including my parents and elder brother. Our native province is Nghe An, but I was born here in Ha Noi. My parents and brother are all in business, so I am free to pursue writing, for which the first step was to get admission to the Faculty of Literature of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities at Ha Noi National University.
Inner sanctum: Are you too young to write novels? What is your motivation in doing so?
When I was in the eighth grade, which was reserved for talented pupils of literature, we got a class newspaper, and I was assigned to write a series. As I loved swashbuckling romance and kung-fu, I decided to write in this style; my first series was Long Dieu Tranh Hung (The Contesting Dragon and Phoenix). Unfortunately, the assignment only lasted for three issues. But later, I started on the Dieu Nhac Tran Gian, a continuation of the aforementioned kung-fu story, with all the heroes of Long Dieu in the country of Dai Hoang, where they go to compete.
Inner sanctum: What are the underlying themes of your stories?
After people read Dieu Nhac Tran Gian, they say they can see me in the story. I try to transmit the idea of desire - one always has dreams and desires - and though they may be small, they may also be burning and great. To make life meaningful, one should pursue those dreams regardless of the hurdles and difficulties.
Inner sanctum: In Dieu Nhac Tran Gian, how many characters did you create, and among them, whom did you invest your heart in?
In Dieu Nhac Tran Gian, there are around 70 characters, of both righteous and evil temperaments. There is no stand-alone hero or heroin. In the story, the righteous and evil, as representatives of the supernatural world, are spirits or fairies.
Throughout the story, the group of Bat Long (Eight Dragons) represent the force that acts as Gods’ will, while their opponents include evils represented by the Hac Than (Black Master). The story employs historic figures like Nguyen Phi (Queen) Y Lan, Thai uy (Commander) Ly Thuong Kiet, Quach Quy (a Chinese general defeated in an invasion of Viet Nam by the Sung court), to name a few. Among the characters, I love Phi Thien Minh most. He is a Lam Long (Blue Dragon) of the Bat Long group. He is a youth who loves freedom and a liberal lifestyle, doing whatever he likes, and he often gets drunk on the faintest smell of wine and has a burning love. Perhaps he has many Phuong Thao traits.
Inner sanctum: Phuong Thao’s novel is inclusive of literature, paintings, fairy tales and historic stories. When you wrote yours, especially as a high school student, was it difficult for you?
It’s not surprising to find a grade-four or grade-five student reciting Tang poetry these days. So for a grade-eight student like me, the knowledge of this style of poetry and ancient music was already quite familiar. What I put in the story I already knew or accumulated during the process.
Inner sanctum: When did you start to familiarise yourself with literature?
I started reading literature in grade-three. The first volumes I read were the huge Chinese novel entitled Thuy Hu (Outlaws of Marsh). My dad challenged me to get through the volumes to see if I could remember the names of all 108 heroes. So I read and read out of hunger to win the test. But later I found the story very interesting. It took me nearly a month to finish, and since then I have had a love of kung-fu stories.
Inner sanctum: How would you rate your own novel?
The only thing I am certain of is that it’s my own creation, and that I’ve expressed and spoken my dreams and desires. I know there are shortcomings, but when I started, I was only a 14-year-old student, and I decided not to make any alterations to the original text. Rather, I let readers comment, and hope I will be able to offer a better work later.
Inner sanctum: How would you like people to see you?
I am a cheerful person, and I always mingle with others. Many would not believe I’m a girl of the Faculty of Literature. As they read my book, they seem to think I’m someone who has a heavy heart, but they’re entitled to their opinions. Sometimes people think I’m too eager and a bit thoughtless in doing things. That’s only half correct, however. I like to argue, even if it’s pointless or causes anger. But that is how I am in real life. In literature, no one is thoughtless if they use their pen to write down their thoughts.
Inner sanctum: What are your future plans?
Following Dieu Nhac Tran Gian, I would like continue with the Long Dieu Tranh Hung, which I still feel is unfinished. I used to write only for myself. Now I want to write for all readers, and that is the delight of creators of literature. When we have an interesting book in hand, we would find it less interesting and delightful if we didn’t have anyone else to share and argue with. - VNS
(source: VietNam News
http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com...icle.php?num=01INN290505)