The girl cherishes the dream of spreading the image of the Vietnamese dragon through a unique chess set

Impressive chess set with delicate dragon image

The author of the Dragon Chess set is Nguyen Bao Long Nhi, former President of the Student Association of Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture. Nhi said that each chess piece in her Dragon Chess set is designed with the head bearing the distinctive dragon image of four historical dynasties: Ly, Tran, Hau Le, Nguyen. With this project, Nhi hopes to contribute to raising awareness of the Vietnamese dragon - a mascot with many symbolic values throughout the history of the country. Currently, the chess set is receiving much love from the community thanks to its creativity and profound cultural values.

Nguyen Bao Long Nhi with the Dragon Flag project. PHOTO: PV

According to Nhi, the dragon is not only a sacred symbol but also reflects the worldview and philosophy of each dynasty that gave birth to it. "Studying the dragon is a way to better understand the history of the nation, as well as the aspirations that our ancestors entrusted. With a passion for Vietnamese culture, I always aspire to carry out creative projects to introduce national identity to everyone. I hope that the traditional values that our ancestors left behind will not only stop at preserving, but will also be continued to be discovered, created and developed by the next generation so that the national quintessence is always alive in the modern flow," she expressed.

Interestingly, Nhi’s name – Long Nhi – means “little dragon”. She was born in the year of the Dragon and has always felt a special connection with the dragon image. Therefore, this project is not only a creative product but also a special gift that Nhi wants to give to her “friend” the dragon.

Dragon Flag is part of Nhi's graduation project called "Long an - the mark of the Vietnamese dragon". With the desire to develop a board game product to increase awareness of the Vietnamese dragon, Nhi devoted herself to researching the distinct characteristics of dragons through the ages.

Nhi said the rules of the chess set are similar to the familiar Ludo game, but the special thing lies in the design of the chess pieces. Each chess piece is distinguished by the color and shape of the dragon of each dynasty. In particular, the Later Le house is shown with two different versions of the dragon: Early Le (blue) and Late Le (pink), to arouse curiosity, helping players realize that the Later Le period had two historical periods.

Nhi focuses mainly on the differences at the top of the chess pieces to represent 5 typical dragons in different periods of Vietnamese history. PHOTO: PV

Nhi spent 4 months researching and 1 month completing the product. Due to the time crunch, she decided to keep the basic rules of the game instead of creating a completely new board game. "Coming up with an idea and implementing it in just 1 month to submit it with my graduation project was a real challenge. The time pressure was so great that I had to consider many factors to complete the chess set in the most meticulous way," Nhi shared.

Before completing the final version, Nhi tested many times to adjust the size and shape of the chess pieces. "If it is too small, the details of the dragon will be lost. If it is too large, the chess board will be cumbersome and difficult to use. Therefore, the current design has been edited many times to ensure both aesthetic factors and convenience for players," Nhi confided.

One of the special highlights is the color and pattern of the chess set. Despite the limited time, Nhi still decided to hand-color it to express the traditional spirit and meticulousness of the ancients. "After 3D printing the mold, I experimented with many color options. Finally, I chose to mix the colors myself and paint completely by hand to preserve the spirit of folk art," Nhi shared.

Want to be more creative for Vietnamese culture

As soon as it was posted on social media, the chess set quickly received great attention from netizens. Nhi said that the simplicity in the gameplay but the depth in the design made the chess set easily accessible to all ages. In addition, the distillation of the characteristics of Vietnamese dragons helps the product not lose its solemnity, but on the contrary, creates closeness to modern life.

When asked about her upcoming plans, Nhi shared that she will focus on promoting the Dragon Chess set to board game enthusiasts who love dragons and Vietnamese culture. "As for the future, I dare not say yet, but I will definitely continue to carry out many creative projects to spread national cultural values," Nhi affirmed.

Commenting on the project, Master Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao, lecturer at Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture, highly appreciated the creativity and applicability of the product. "This is a good project, with potential for development and practical production," Master Thao commented.

According to Master Thao, with his intense love for national culture and his constantly creative thinking, Nguyen Bao Long Nhi is contributing to bringing the image of the Vietnamese dragon closer to the community, so that traditional values are not only preserved but also brought to life in modern life.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/co-gai-ap-u-giac-mo-lan-toa-hinh-tuong-rong-viet-qua-bo-co-doc-dao-18525030511281422.htm