Nguyen Xuan Cuong,
the descendant of a
family line that has
been attached to
bronze gong casting
over over 1,000 years
in Dai Bai Village.
Beating the gong.
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After years of researching, Nguyen Xuan Cuong and his son in Dai Bai Commune, Gia Binh District, Bac Ninh Province, managed to make a gong with a diameter of 170 cm and a weight of 134 kg, which is recognized as Vietnam’s largest.
Vietnamese people tend to cast gongs with the diameter of only 20-50 cm as the bigger the gongs are, the greater difficulties artisans have to face. Finding raw materials, bronze bending and sound tuning are by no means an easy task. Nevertheless, Nguyen Xuan Cuong and his son have produced dozens of bronze gongs of 100-170 cm across.
In 2000, Cuong and his son planned to cast the largest gong in Vietnam. Unfortunately, they had to give up their idea because of the lack of raw materials. However, the descendants of a family line that has been attached to bronze gong casting for over 1,000 years are always obsessed by this idea. “We long to make a gong that serves as the unique reminder of our family’s tradition,” Cuong confided.
It was not until early 2002 that they finally got the satisfactory bronze bar, a flexible and unmingled one, which ensured that the gong-to-be would not be broken and go out of tune. The bronze was firstly cast and flattened before it was bent which required the artisan’s skilfulness and meticulousity. It was their expertise that enabled them to spread the bronze surface and adjust the tune of the gong so that it would be both echoing and vibrating.
Vietnam's biggest bronze gong.
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Their dream finally came true in June, 2005 when their gong, which was 170 cm in diameter and 134 kg in weight, was recognized as Vietnam’s largest. Its echo can be heard at a distance of several kilometres. Despite their uncompleted satisfaction, they took pride in casting the unique gong which symbolized their family’s tradition. “We were in charge of most of the gongs for the celebration of the 990th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi in 2000. In 2004, we made a set of 24 gongs in all sizes corresponding to musical notes do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si,” Cuong added. The existence of the bronze gongs was the affirmation of the professional level and prestige of Dai Bai Bronze Casting Village, which has been well-known for thousands of years.
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