Ha Van Cau. He taught himself French and Chinese scripts and is now fluent in both. He is particularly well known as a cheo researcher. For several decades, he has lectured on Cheo at the Hanoi-based University of Theatre and Cinematography. Cau has served a, an editor for entries about theatre in the Vietnam Encyclopedia and the Hanoi Encyclopedia. His research papers have been printed in numerous books including Introduction to Cheo Writing (1969). Reciting Poems and Playing Cheo (1972). A Collection of Cheo Comedies (1972) Some Issues with Cheo Script (1979) and the Techniques of Cheo Performing (2000). Many of these books have won prizes from the Vietnam Folk Art Association. Overseas scholars interested in cheo consult his research papers and praise his works, which have been translated into German, French, Hungarian and Japanese.
At an international conference on theatre held in Germany in 1978, his report, “Contributions to Studies of the Use of Brecht as Interruptive Effects on Oriental Theatre.” drew broad attention from conference participants. Subsequently the report appeared in numerous foreign newspapers. Cau has written nearly thirty traditional opera scripts; most are cheo. His scripts, the three Sisters’ Restaurant (Quan Ba Co) and Le Quy Don (the name of a celebrated Vietnamese scholar) won the first and second prizes respectively from the Vietnam Association of Theatrical Artists in 1993. Asked about his recipe for success, he said, smiling. “When I was young a senior poet warned me that I would not be able to write anything readable. His warning served as a stimulant to my later effort.” He also fondly recalls his former teacher, Long Chuong, who helped him with his career. In this Cau has turned out to be a Confucian scholar for Confucians remember the famous saying about respect for teaches: “One word is a teacher: half a word is a teacher.”
