Alongside a diverse and abundant system of historical and cultural relics and traditional festivals, it is also home to many distinctive forms of folk culture and performing arts, most notably the Trong quan folk singing of Bui Xa village.

A gathering of the Bui Xa Trong Quan Club. File photo.

According to Pham Cong Ngat, a senior artisan of the Bui Xa Trong Quan Club, trong quan singing in Bui Xa dates back to the Tran Dynasty (13th century).

It traditionally takes place in autumn, during the eighth lunar month. On bright moonlit nights, villagers gather to hold trong quan singing festivals.

About a month in advance, the village selects young men and women to form two teams to rehearse for the main festival night.

Sometimes, young women of Bui Xa form a team to engage in antiphonal singing with young men from neighbouring villages. Each singing session can last several nights, attracting hundreds of enthusiastic spectators.

During the trong quan festival in Bui Xa, the antiphonal singing competitions between young men and women, both from the village and from other participating villages, create a lively and festive atmosphere.

Couples sing back and forth in a courtship exchange while admiring the moon, cheered on by villagers and visitors from afar. The singing often continues until the moon sets.

A distinctive feature of trong quan singing is its sole musical instrument: the “earth drum,” used to keep rhythm.

Today, the drum’s construction is simpler than in the past. It consists of a horizontal wooden beam supported by two stakes - one for the male group and one for the female group standing opposite each other.

The two stakes are connected by a steel wire, at the centre of which a hollow drum is placed upside down, with its base touching the wire. When the wire is struck near one stake, it vibrates and hits the bottom of the drum, producing sound.

What makes Bui Xa’s trong quan singing unique is the performers’ ability to respond to their counterparts with improvised verses and hundreds of clever riddles, requiring agility and quick wit.

Unlike trong quan singing in other parts of the Red River Delta, Bui Xa’s style is simple, fast-paced, with frequent pauses and minimal ornamentation.

Singers in the village are called lien anh and lien chi (male and female singers), and locals often regard trong quan as a kind of “second Quan Ho” (love duet singing) of the Bac Ninh - Kinh Bac region.

When performing, singers follow four principles: greeting, congratulating, wishing, and asking. At the end of each singing session, there is a farewell segment expressing the lingering affection between those who stay and those who leave.

Images of the homeland, love of labour, and human affection are vividly portrayed in the lyrics. These gentle and sincere verses have helped bring many young couples together as husband and wife.

A typical trong quan singing session consists of several parts: greetings and offering betel, courtship and expressions of affection, and finally farewell and parting songs. The melodies are rustic and simple, focusing mainly on lyrical and thematic exchanges.

The lyrics often employ metaphors and similes, drawing on images of the moon, wind, clouds, rain, flowers, and leaves to express romantic feelings and engage in intellectual exchanges through riddles.

With its significant cultural value and meaning, Bui Xa village’s trong quan singing was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2016.

In 2017, eight members of the Bui Xa Trong Quan Club were awarded the title of artisan by the Bac Ninh provincial People’s Committee.

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