PANO – The dan bau (monochord), a one-string xylophone is one of the typical traditional musical instruments of Vietnam. It consists of 4 parts: a bamboo tube, a wooden rod, a half of a coconut shell, and a silk string. During the revolutionary war against the invaders, the soft sound from the monochord became one of the effective weapons to fight against the enemies. It helped people ease their pain, linked souls together and called for the return of those Vietnamese people who had been misled by the enemy.

The impact of such a meaningful instrument reminded me of the story related to soldier Le Anh Phong who used his talent at playing monochord to delight Vietnamese soldiers and encourage misguided people to follow the right way.

With a good command of music, Le Anh Phong and some other youths in Quang Binh Province were selected for the “Art Class K15” set up by the Central Unification Committee in 1969 to study in Ha Dong Town in northern Vietnam.

At that time, due to the urgent requirement, the trainees studied in two years instead of the 4 years as scheduled. Among them, some studied musical instruments, some studied vocal music while others studied folk songs.

Having graduated, Le Anh Phong and several trainees immediately left for the battle field of Tri Thien and became members of the Tri Thien Army Art Troupe.

During 1970 to 1975, the situation in Tri Thien Province was very tense. Though the Paris Accord was signed on January 27, 1973, putting an end of the American invasion of Vietnam, the soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) had brazenly violated the accord trying to reoccupy the liberated zone.

At one place in Tri Thien, Vietnamese soldiers were stationed on one side of a mountain while the enemy stood on the other side.

In order to live in harmony and strictly observe the cease-fire, Vietnam’s soldiers had to restrain themselves while trying to calm down the enemy troops.

Acknowledging that the enemy liked music, the liberation soldiers used to sing folk songs or play the monochord. The enemy, at first ignored the performance but a few days later, they could not resist the sweet melodies of Hue and melodious sound of the monochord.

With his monochord, Le Anh Phong played a number of famous songs trying to awaken the puppet soldiers. In return, the ARVN sometimes invited Vietnamese soldiers to come and play monochord at their posts.

With the support of an electric amplifier made by people in Dong Ha, the sound of the monochord could go further.

Ignoring the appeal of “Do not follow the propaganda of the communists”, enemy soldiers secretly came to enjoy the show.

Thanks to this method, Vietnamese soldiers knew the enemy troops’ operation rule that whenever their soldiers did not come, there would be an operation somewhere so that they could well prepare to not be in a negative situation.

Le Anh Phong said the sweet voice of Hue singers and melodious sound of the monochord had made a number of enemy soldiers to cross their ranks to the revolutionary force of Vietnam.

At present, Le Anh Phong is leading a happy life with his wife Tran Thanh Gai, who used to be his classmates at “Art Class K15”. The old monochord now is well preserved as a valuable property of the family.

Translated by Tran Hoai