Artist Xuan Hinh talks for the first time about the hidden corner that few people know

Born in 1960, the eldest son in a large poor family in Bac Ninh, artist Xuan Hinh's childhood was associated with farming and hard work.

“I am the eldest son so I have had a hard life since I was a child. From the age of 13, I started trading, experiencing many ups and downs, bitterness, resentment, anger…Up until now, my life has been quite difficult, but I don't want to say it because if I say it, it will only make my siblings and family sad and think a lot. My family has 7 siblings and I am the eldest child, so I have to take care of and shoulder a lot of work in the family.", Xuan Hinh said.

Although he was not born into a family with an artistic tradition, difficult circumstances forged his determination, willpower, and cleverness. Since childhood, Xuan Hinh helped his parents with many things - cooking, sweeping the floor, washing dishes, and even trading everywhere.

The male artist recalls the time when he struggled to make a living, when he did not hesitate to do any business that could make money. From selling pigs, chickens, fish sauce to gold scraps, old clothes - whatever was profitable, he did.

Although he pursued folk arts such as Quan Ho and Cheo, and then entered the theater school, life was difficult and he had to study and do business at the same time. There was a time when he had to go all the way to Chuong Duong bridge to catch a bus to Hoang Lien Son, exchange goods with the people in the mountains, and bring them back to the city to sell to make ends meet.

Thanks to trading since his student days, Xuan Hinh revealed that he had saved about 3-4 taels of gold. He used almost all of this money to treat his father's illness.

“The most regrettable thing is that when I became famous and successful, my father could not witness it. After graduating and earning some money, the first thing I thought of was building a tomb for him, then buying a house. After becoming a show producer, I returned to my hometown to build a church.”, the artist confided.

Despite experiencing many events and difficulties from childhood to starting a career, Xuan Hinh always considers the past a valuable part of his journey to adulthood.

“I grew up with my hands, my will, and the early wisdom of a child who understood that he had no right to be weak.”His artistic destiny came to him when he was recruited into the Bac Ninh Quan Ho Folk Song Troupe at the age of 16. After that, he took the entrance exam to the School of Theater and Cinema and continued to study and work at the same time, still taking the opportunity to trade, because as he admitted: "The blood of trading is ingrained".

In nearly 5 decades on stage, Xuan Hinh has played hundreds of roles: from old men, old women, children, singing Van, Xam, to classic comedy roles. Although he is affectionately called by the audience and the media with many titles such as "King of Northern Comedy", "King of Cheo", "Number 1 Comedian", for him - a son of Quan Ho land - the greatest wish is to be attached to the national culture for life. He just wants to be called "the rustic humorist".

Having been attached to Cheo, Xam, Hat Van… for nearly half a century, Xuan Hinh considers traditional culture as a “precious thing”, a “karma that comes to the body”."Retired but still dreaming", he said, when mentioning each role, each song, each melody - all are carefully crafted by him with the heart of an artist "serving a hundred families".