Discovering Hue through “Di Mo Rua?”

Hopefully, “Di Mo Rua?” will soon reach many young readers

Although this tour cannot cover all of Hue, and as the author himself admits, it is “merely skimming the surface,” the journey through this book will certainly help readers know and understand Hue more deeply, from local speech and expressions to stories from both the royal court and folk culture, from past to present, from landmarks to cuisine, traditional craft villages, and many other aspects of the city.

The book adopts a combination of illustrations and lightly humorous, concise writing, with the goal of providing basic information while sparking enough curiosity for readers to seek out additional information and broaden their own knowledge.

The book’s sources were clearly gathered from many references and then enriched by the author’s imagination, adding creative touches to make the stories more engaging. Reading the appendix reveals the enormous volume of materials the author researched in order to create this book.

Knowledge that many people may think they already know, such as distinguishing between civil and military mandarin statues in royal tombs, is transformed into quiz-style questions followed by explanations that surprise readers. Many such puzzles appear throughout the book, creating an enjoyable sense of interaction. It also serves as a suggestion for tour guides: during tours, they might consider turning the information they share into riddles and questions.

A miniature “dictionary” of Hue dialect expressions placed at the beginning of the book also helps readers who visit Hue feel less confused by words such as “mo”, “te”, “rang”, “rua”, etc...

Using the Huong River as its narrative pathway, the author leads readers to Hue’s landscapes, scenic spots, and historical relics, each accompanied by related stories (both historical accounts and folklore) along with hand-drawn maps and brain-teasing puzzles. Thanks to this approach, “Di Mo Rua?” generates excitement, stimulates curiosity, and inspires imagination.

Readers can also immerse themselves in many uniquely Hue stories: ancestral worship customs, royal court music, Emperor Thanh Thai’s female military unit, glass paintings, Chuon Village liquor, Hue Singing, traditional games, craft villages, and more. Everything is connected through a coherent narrative flow and simple illustrations that effectively evoke imagination and visualization.

By exploring Hue in a fresh, youthful, humorous, and charming way, ‘Di Mo Rua?’ easily wins over readers, especially younger audiences, inspiring them to explore Hue more deeply instead of merely visiting for check-ins and photographs.

Speaking about the reason behind the book’s creation, Phan shared that he had spent two years living in Hue. During that time, he read many books to learn more about the city, but felt that most of them remained somewhat academic. He realized that Hue lacked light, accessible books aimed at younger readers.

As an illustrator and comic author, Phan came up with the idea of transforming that knowledge into comics. He spent a year completing the manuscript. The author reread source materials, compared and cross-checked information, conducted field trips to take photographs and create sketches, and met with many people to verify the reliability of specific details.

The year-long process of drawing, writing, checking, and self-editing also became an opportunity for Phan to understand and love Hue more deeply. The result is this fascinating and refreshingly original book presented to readers.