1 February 2022, we celebrate the Vietnamese New Year. This will be the year of the tiger.
The tiger has inspired several traditional Vietnamese paintings. One of the most famous is Ngũ Hổ, the Five Tigers. It is a depiction of the so-called Hàng Trống painting, a genre of wood painting that originated in the 1500s in the old town of present-day Hanoi. In the Ngũ Hổ painting, there is a golden tiger in the centre, and red, black, white and green tigers in the corners. The tigers are depicted as guardians of the centre and the four directions of the Earth, according to the Five Elements theory. The constellations of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor are also represented, and the depiction includes banners and swords reminiscent of martial arts.
Grand Master Phan Hoang’s personal greetings to all practitioners of the VietChi System could not fail to be included, and we join him in wishing you a year of renewal and prosperity.
