This Lost Vietnamese Tradition Is Making a Shocking Comeback
Dai Phat Thanh Vietnam – In a country racing toward modernization, it’s easy to assume that old ways have been left behind forever. But in Vietnam today, something unexpected is happening. A lost Vietnamese tradition that once seemed doomed to disappear is suddenly experiencing a powerful revival and it’s being led by the very generation many thought had forgotten it.
This is not just about nostalgia. It’s about identity, cultural preservation, and a growing hunger to reconnect with ancestral roots. The tradition in question? It’s Hát Xẩm a centuries-old form of Vietnamese folk music performed by blind street musicians, once a vital thread in the fabric of Northern Vietnam’s spiritual and cultural life.
Originating during the Trần dynasty (13th–14th century), Hát Xẩm was traditionally performed by visually impaired musicians who wandered markets and public squares, singing tales of morality, love, social injustice, and folklore. Using instruments like the đàn nhị (two-string fiddle) and đàn bầu (monochord zither), performers would improvise lyrical ballads that reflected the struggles of common people.
For generations, this lost Vietnamese tradition was both an art form and a livelihood for those marginalized by society. Its melancholy tones and poetic lyrics became a cultural imprint until it began to vanish during the mid-20th century.
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The decline of Hát Xẩm began during the 1960s and 70s, a time when Vietnam was focused on survival amid war and post-conflict reconstruction. Urbanization, Western influence, and shifting tastes in entertainment pushed traditional arts to the background. Younger generations saw the practice as old-fashioned, even pitiful.
Without official recognition or financial support, many of the last remaining Xẩm performers died in obscurity. Cultural historians feared it would never return and for a time, they were right.
But something changed in the 2010s. A handful of Vietnamese musicologists, artists, and cultural activists both in Vietnam and the diaspora began to ask: What are we losing when we let traditions like Hát Xẩm disappear?
Efforts to digitize old recordings, publish academic research, and reintroduce Xẩm in festivals and music schools slowly gained traction. The turning point came in 2015 when a group of Hanoi-based artists founded the Xẩm Hà Thành Project, a community initiative aimed at reintroducing the lost art to the public through performances, lectures, and interactive workshops.
The project went viral on social media, with clips of modern singers performing Hát Xẩm arrangements in contemporary styles receiving hundreds of thousands of views. Suddenly, this forgotten music became something new and cool.
Perhaps the most shocking part of this comeback is who’s leading it. Young Vietnamese, especially Gen Z artists and students, are embracing Hát Xẩm not just as a cultural artifact but as a form of personal and artistic expression. They’re remixing traditional songs with hip hop beats, animating old lyrics with modern visuals, and incorporating the themes of old Xẩm ballads social inequality, resilience, and justice into present-day narratives.
At the Vietnam National Academy of Music, interest in folk performance classes has nearly doubled in the past five years. What was once considered a lost Vietnamese tradition is now resonating with an entirely new generation.
The Vietnamese government, recognizing the cultural and tourism potential of this revival, has begun supporting efforts to preserve and promote Hát Xẩm. In 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism granted official “intangible heritage” status to the tradition, allowing for increased funding, documentation, and academic research.
Local governments in Hanoi, Ninh Bình, and Nam Định have hosted festivals and cultural exchanges centered on Xẩm, while museums are incorporating the music into interactive exhibits. What was once street performance for survival has become part of the national narrative a symbol of endurance and identity.
Vietnamese communities abroad particularly in the United States, France, and Australia are rediscovering traditional music as a means of cultural connection. Workshops on Xẩm singing, virtual performances, and collaborations between Vietnamese and international musicians have become increasingly common.
For members of the diaspora who have long felt disconnected from their heritage, engaging with lost Vietnamese traditions like Hát Xẩm has become a powerful act of cultural reclamation.
The resurgence of Hát Xẩm may seem like a niche story an obscure musical revival among hundreds of disappearing traditions. But its impact is far more significant.
It simply waits for the right moment, and the right people, to bring it back.
And in this case, it’s the youth of Vietnam and the diaspora who are taking that role seriously.
What makes this comeback so shocking isn’t just that Hát Xẩm is back it’s that it’s evolving. No longer bound to dusty archives or dying villages, this lost Vietnamese tradition is pulsing with new energy and relevance.
The message is clear: tradition is not static. It can disappear, yes but it can also return, reshaped by those who dare to listen.
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