Vietnamese People and the Four Immortals

As a Vietnamese, the first thing I learned and heard about is the glorious history, patriotism and strong national pride. Since childhood, I have shown a great passion for art, as well as learning about world cultures and histories. But as I grew up and studied abroad, I realized that what I understood and craved to learn more about was my country's culture, because I knew that was what I was most proud of. I think that religion is the cradle of culture, and with this in mind, I decided to illustrate the series named “Vietnamese People and The Four Immortals”.
The Four Immortals are the four legendary saints that Vietnamese people honoured a long time ago, and each has a different meaning. The Mountain God of Tan Vien symbolizes the spirit and will to conquer nature and overcome natural disasters; The Heavenly General of Phu Dong represents tenacious courage in fighting foreign invaders, youth power, national solidarity and spiritual motherhood; Saint Chu Dong Tu represents love, marriage, and comforts, wealthy; The Holy Mother Lieu Hanh represents the desire for freedom, independence, filial piety, justice, sacrifice and also symbolizes the desire to escape from the binding rules of society towards women.
I combined the meanings of the saints with real historical images and events. I chose the scene where the Vietnamese rescued people from the flood and landslides after typhoon Yagi in 2024, the iconic historical image of a tank crashing through the gates of the Independence Palace on April 30th, 1975, ending the Vietnam War. With the meaning of Saint Chu Dong Tu, it is difficult to choose an exact story, so I think of the image of soldiers during the Vietnam War. Exchanging letters was always a way for soldiers to their families to express their feelings and affection. I illustrated the image of a soldier thinking about his wife, writing letters to her with love and hope that one day they could be together again. For the last meaning, I painted the legendary woman, the eternal symbol of the Vietnamese Heroic Mother, Mother Nguyen Thi Thu. She always helped the soldiers when needed, and she also accepted when her children wanted to go to the battlefield because she knew this was what the country needed. With the desire for freedom, her husband and children were ready to join the battlefront, unfortunately, 9 out of 11 of them died in the war.