Ut Bach Lan: The pioneer teacher of reform, standard virtue, parting still raising her husband's fallen children

Artist Ut Bach Lan is considered a monument of Vietnamese luong with great contributions in shaping and popularizing the art of cai luong. She was dubbed the Sorrowful Woman for her sad singing, which brought tears to the eyes of many audiences.

From busking g.irl to reform village icon

Artist Ut Bach Lan was born in 1935 in Long An.

From a young age, she suffered many hardships because her father died early, so she and her mother had to work part-time jobs to make ends meet.

The life of Ut Bach Lan and her mother is a series of hard days, but it is the days with her mother walking through the streets of Saigon that help her love the ancient echoes.

The charm helped Ut Bach Lan meet Ms. Nam Can Tho – who was famous in the singing world that day and after the fateful meeting, her life took a different turn.

Ut Bach Lan went from busking around the streets of Cho Lon to an artist, standing in front of hundreds of spectators.

From the first time she stood on stage, Ut Bach Lan was especially loved by the audience. Her warm, smooth, felt, somewhat resentful voice made the audience once remembered and especially loved by the singing troupes.

Vai Huong (Half a life of chalk incense), Le Thi Lan (Great love song), Son Nu Ferry Ca in the play of the same name, Ms. Hang (Ms. Hang's daughter), Kieu Phi Yen (Half a love song), Chieu Truc Le (Boat to the mouth of the sea),... has helped Ut Bach Lan become a symbol of Cai Luong village.

At the peak of her career, Ut Bach Lan met and fell in love with the famous artist Thanh Duo. At that time, Thanh Duoc was not only a famous artist but also a guy with a handsome appearance, skillful in speaking, so he was fascinated by many girls.

Like many other girls, Ut Bailan was quickly attracted to this man and their love blossomed after knowing each other for a while.

At that time, their poetic love story received the support of a large audience. After a period of love, they married with the blessing of many artists at that time.

But, also starting here, Ut Bailan faced bitterness.

Successive adoption of husband's fallen children

Soon married, she was devastated when a woman who had been in a relationship with her husband carried her c.hild to her doorstep for support.

She said the g.irl, named Lien, was only 3 years old at the time. Her mother came to her and said, "it's too hard to feed" and asked her to raise her.

For a daughter, it was pain that cannot be described in words, but love and humanity led her to agree to raise little Lien.

After Lien, Ut Bach Lan, received a second c.hild named Dung. "My mother is in Hue. When I missed the village, the mother was kicked out of the house by her family, her stomach flipped into Saigon to find me and was introduced by Ms. Phuong Lien.

I said, 'Well, g.irl, you stay, I rented a house for you to live in to give birth and hired a nanny to take care of your b.aby,'" Ut Bach Lan said in an interview.

Later, Ut Bailan adopted a third c.hild named Son, the c.hild of a man from Go Gong, and a fourth named Chau. The babies brought to her were all from a young age.

Many people wonder, how can Ut Bailan do such a great thing? How could she overcome the pain of betrayal to open her heart to love those children?

These turbulences pushed her marriage to ruin. In her marriage of only 3 years to Thanh Duo, Ut Bach Lan had no children.

She took care of her husband's children like her own. When she and he separated, the artist still did not leave her children, treated them as her own children, then married and when her biological mother returned to ask for her children back, artist Ut Bach Lan enthusiastically completed the procedure to return the children.

He really knew how to tease her, but even though she was in extreme pain, she still walked through the pain to be humane.

She sought peace in life with kindness. The pains, the misfortunes experienced, she packed and sent through verses. Therefore, the artist Ut Bach Lan is singing better and better, her voice is more beautiful.

The love of the audience and the reverence of many young artists made up for the loss of her own happiness.

She experienced the pain of betrayal, but she had no resentment towards the man. She said she didn't hate him.

The other letter she considers karma is her own and not the fault of others.

Therefore, the word hatred does not exist in their relationship. Nearly half a century when she met her ex-husband in a concert, Ut Bach Lan still sang with him on stage. She wasn't angry or blamed him half a word.

Farewell to the great tree of Cai Luong village

After the events of her life, Ut Bailan sought peace at the door of the Buddha. She did not ordain her hair, but read the Sutras every morning, went to perform and did charity work every night. Charity, she said, was her joy in life.

Helped in difficult lives, she saw the meaning of life. She found happiness and peace in those meaningful activities.

When talking about her life, she happily said: "I don't want to talk about the sadness of the past and am always happy with the present. Looking back on the whole journey, I see more joy than sadness."

In her later years, she fasted and chanted Buddha and did charity work

In 2016, the great tree of Cai Luong village - Ut Bach Lan died at his home after a long battle with illness, at the age of 81.

Her passing leaves behind a great loss in the traditional arts industry and immeasurable sorrow for audiences and colleagues. The day she died, many spectators, colleagues and the press came to pay tribute.

In front of such a wonderful woman, everyone gave her respect and grief. Ask how many people in the world can do miracles like Ut Bailan.

More than 60 years working with the stage, golden voice and lifelong roles have brought artist Ut Bach Lan to the top of the glory of Cai Luong art with many awards, noble titles and nicknames favored by the audience and the press such as: First Digger, Queen of Echoes, Queen of Afternoon Dew, Sorrow of Ut Bailan.

Each title is how much affection and love the audience sends into it, so she cherishes those titles, is happy every time people mention her and the names.

Thanh Duoc: "The king without a throne" of Cai Luong, a sad love story with a sad woman and an unfulfilled wish Minh Lợi16:40:18 17/11/2023Artist Thanh Duoc passed away in the US on November 16, at the age of 89. Throughout his artistic career, he was fondly called the king without a throne by the audience.