A lifetime of dedication to Cheo by Professor, People's Artist Tran Bang

His passing is an irreparable loss to the art of Cheo. His funeral will take place at 1:30 p.m. on July 24 at the National Funeral Home (5 Tran Thanh Tong, Hanoi).

A life dedicated to rowing

When mentioning the history of the development of stage art, especially traditional Cheo, we cannot fail to mention the contributions of Professor, People's Artist Tran Bang, because he is called "the Cheo boss" by professionals.

People's Artist Tran Bang was born in 1926 in Co Am commune, Vinh Bao district, Hai Phong city, in a family with a tradition of mandarin education, many of whom became famous in the field of literature and art. His grandfather was Governor Tran My; his father was writer Tran Tieu; his uncle was writer Khai Hung. From a young age, he was passionate about literature and drama. He could read Han Nom books, was fluent in French and knew English, German, Russian... After the August Revolution, artist Tran Bang participated in the resistance war against the French. In 1951, he joined the Central Art Troupe, in the same drama group as The Lu, Song Kim, Nguyen Hoai... During this time, he also began to learn Cheo art.

People's Artist Tran Bang was part of the first generation to restore the art of Cheo when it was at risk of fading away in the 1950s. He restored ancient plays and actively created new plays, many of which are considered milestones marking the development and maturity of the revolutionary Cheo stage.

Having devoted his whole life to the art of Cheo, People's Artist Tran Bang has achieved success in all three roles: Composer, director and theorist. He is the one who has contributed to exploiting and preserving many ancient Cheo plays, preserving the layers of artists' performances, from which he has adapted and reconstructed many classic Cheo plays such as: "Quan Am Thi Kinh", "Xúy Vân" (from the play Kim Nham), "Nang Thiet The" (from the play Chu Mai Than)... With these plays, he has made significant contributions to preserving and promoting the ancient Cheo art, bringing ancient Cheo back to life on the modern Cheo stage.

He also staged many modern Cheo plays such as: "Magic Water Bottle", "Love of the Forest", "Liberation Flag", "Two Paths", "Our Blood Has Flowed"...

Along with his directing work, People's Artist Tran Bang also wrote many cheo scripts. He is the author of the cheo plays "The buffalo of two houses", "The road goes with two lanes", "The girl and the wrestler", "Love of the forest", "The love story of 80 years", "Our blood has flowed"...

As a theorist, he has conducted systematic, profound and scientific research on the art of Cheo, demonstrated through research books on Cheo such as "Overview of Cheo", "Cheo Performance Techniques", "Cheo - A Phenomenon of National Theatre"...

He was awarded the title of Professor and People's Artist in 1993. He was awarded the State Prize for Literature and Arts in 2001 and the Ho Chi Minh Prize in 2017.

Professor, People's Artist Tran Bang is also an exemplary and respected teacher, his students are all famous and successful people.

People's Artist Thanh Ngoan, former Director of the Vietnam Cheo Theatre, is an excellent student of Professor and People's Artist Tran Bang. She said that she learned a lot of knowledge from Mr. Tran Bang, especially his dedication and passionate love for Cheo. "In our eyes, Mr. Tran Bang was literally born to live and die with Cheo and devoted his whole life to Cheo. We were cared for by him so much that later on, everyone was solid in their profession, worked very seriously and everyone took their love for Cheo as their reason for living," People's Artist Thanh Ngoan shared.

Deputy Director in charge of the Vietnam Cheo Theater, Meritorious Artist Le Tuan Cuong proudly shared: "We are proud to be students guided, taught and supported by the teacher. The teacher passed on to us the love and passion for Cheo. This fire was passed on to the younger generation and we have seen that fire burning in them."

Meritorious Artist Le Tuan Cuong expressed that the passing of People's Artist Tran Bang - a giant of Cheo theater - is a great loss for Cheo in particular and Vietnamese theater in general. The Vietnam Cheo Theater is where he was attached to and devoted much affection in his life and artistic career. Until now, the Vietnam Cheo Theater is still performing works written and directed by People's Artist Tran Bang and those plays are still welcomed and loved by the audience...

Breathe life into rowing to promote its value

People's Artist Le Tien Tho, former Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, former President of the Vietnam Stage Artists Association, shared that People's Artist Tran Bang has devoted his entire life to the art of Cheo. His contributions play a very important role in preserving and developing this traditional art form.

People's Artist Trinh Thuy Mui, President of the Vietnam Stage Artists Association, shared: "We in the Cheo art industry are truly heartbroken to have to say goodbye to the "Cheo master" - Professor, People's Artist Tran Bang."

According to People's Artist Trinh Thuy Mui, Professor, People's Artist Tran Bang is a great personality, a leading director of Cheo art. He is the one who has made great contributions in leading and orienting the entire Cheo industry, preserving Cheo during the difficult and arduous period when the country and the industry were still in trouble. He breathed life into Cheo to promote its own quintessential values. With his passion and talent, he contributed his heart and soul to build the Vietnam Cheo Theater into one of the strong national theaters for many decades. He also trained many generations of directors and actors, especially with his passion and intelligence, he left behind many valuable Cheo art research works and great influence on the industry. Many of his students have been and are managers, People's Artists, People's Teachers, and have been awarded the State Prize, Ho Chi Minh Prize, etc.

He is not only a Cheo artist, but for many years he was also the Director of the Department of Stage Arts, Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Stage Artists Association, a founding member of the Vietnam Writers Association, the Vietnam Stage Artists Association, and the Vietnam Folk Arts Association.

“Although we know that this is an inevitable law, the entire Cheo community is still shocked and does not want to believe that he has left this temporary world, left his family members, a family full of traditional culture and generations of beloved students to fly to the white clouds,” People's Artist Trinh Thuy sadly shared.

Upon hearing the news of Professor and People's Artist Tran Bang's passing, Chairman of the Writers' Association Nguyen Quang Thieu wrote on his personal page: A guardian of the soul of Cheo has rested in peace.

Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association Nguyen Quang Thieu said that most people know that People's Artist Tran Bang is a master of traditional Cheo theater, but very few people know that he has been a member of the Vietnam Writers Association since 1957.

“People's Artist Tran Bang became a member of the Vietnam Writers Association with his thoughtful stage scripts and profound research and critical theories on traditional Cheo,” shared the Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association.

The great tree of Cheo art, the master of Cheo has passed away, but his works and contributions to Cheo art in particular, to Vietnamese literature and art, will live forever in the hearts of his colleagues, generations of students and audiences who love Vietnamese stage art.

According to VNA