Stories Behind Our Collections
- vietmystofficial
- 1 thg 6, 2025
- 12 phút đọc
At VietMyst, we believe that every object can tell a story, and every story can connect us to our roots. Our figures are more than just collectibles; they are miniature gateways to the vibrant, rich, and often whimsical world of Vietnamese culture. Each curve, every color, and every character is carefully crafted to bring a piece of Vietnam's heart into your home.
Join us on a journey to explore the inspirations and tales that breathe life into our three unique collections.
Story about Thánh Gióng – The Celestial Warrior
At the time of Hùng King, there was an elderly woman who lived alone and had no children. One morning, as she visited her fields, she suddenly saw a giant footprint that had crushed several rows of eggplants. She exclaimed: "Oh, whose foot is this big!" Suddenly, she felt a shiver run down her spine as she placed her own foot into the strange print. After trying the strange footprint, she became pregnant. After a full term, she gave birth to a plump baby boy. She named him Gióng.
But the boy, even at three years old, still lay on his back demanding to be fed, unable to sit, crawl, speak, or laugh.
Around that time, the Ân invaders attacked our country. The Ân invaders were extremely cruel, led by a general called Ân King. Wherever they went, they burned houses, destroyed doors, killed people, and looted property. Hùng King had led his army to battle many times but could not defeat them. Hùng King was very worried and immediately sent envoys everywhere to find a talented general to save the country.
One day, an envoy arrived at little Gióng's village. Gióng heard the royal decree that the King was looking for a talented person to fight the invaders and save the country. Gióng's mother, who was cradling her child, joked: "My child! If you are so slow to walk and talk, when will you ever fight the invaders and protect the country!" Unexpectedly, Gióng looked at his mother and spoke for the first time: "Mother, call the envoy in for me!" After speaking, he fell silent again. His mother was both joyful and frightened, and quickly told her neighbors. Everyone who came to the house found it astonishing. Finally, one person said: "Let's just invite the envoy to see what he wants."
When the King's envoy entered and saw the boy Gióng, he said: "You are a three-year-old child who has just learned to speak, why did you ask me to come here?" Gióng replied with maturity: "Go tell the King to forge for me an iron horse, an iron sword, an iron armor, and an iron helmet, and I will drive away the invaders." Everyone who heard this was immensely surprised, believing that a divine being had appeared. The envoy immediately galloped back to report to the King. Hearing this, Hùng King rejoiced and ordered blacksmiths to gather all the iron to forge a horse, sword, armor, and helmet as the boy had requested. When everything was forged, it was unimaginably heavy. Dozens of people tried to lift the sword but couldn't move it. Hùng King had to send thousands of soldiers to find every way to bring it to little Gióng.
Upon hearing that the soldiers were bringing the iron horse to the village, Gióng's mother fearfully ran back to tell her son: "My child! The King's business is no joke. The soldiers are thundering outside the field, what shall we do now?" Hearing this, Gióng suddenly stood up and said: "Don't worry about fighting the invaders, Mother. But you must feed me a lot!" His mother quickly cooked rice for him, but Gióng ate every pot she cooked immediately. Each time he ate a pot of rice, Gióng grew a little more and demanded more food. The more his mother fed him, the faster he grew, instantly becoming an incredibly strong young man. When the rice ran out, his mother called upon the neighbors. The whole village eagerly brought rice, potatoes, buffalo meat, wine, fruits, and cakes, filling the courtyard. But no matter how much they brought, Gióng ate it all, and still demanded more. After that, Gióng continued: "Mother, you must find fabric for me to wear." People rushed to bring silk to sew clothes for Gióng. But Gióng's body grew miraculously, and the clothes, once sewn, immediately became tight and short, requiring more fabric to be brought for extension. Soon, Gióng's head touched the roof. Everyone was still astonished when the soldiers arduously carried the iron horse, sword, armor, and helmet. Gióng stepped out of the house, stretched, and suddenly became tall and towering, his legs longer than a trượng (ancient unit of measurement), shouting a sound like thunder: "I am a General from Heaven!" Having said that, Gióng put on his iron armor, donned his iron helmet, and wielded his sword, performing a few spins. Then he bid farewell to his mother and the villagers, and jumped onto the horse's back. The iron horse suddenly reared up, spitting a stream of fiery red flames forward. Gióng urged it on, and the horse flew like the wind, taking strides tens of sào (another ancient unit of measurement) long. In a flash, the horse charged into the enemy camps scattered across several forests. Gióng's sword flashed like lightning. As many enemy soldiers charged out, so many died. The horse breathed fire, incinerating rows of enemy camps, burning down even several forests. But the enemy general, Ân King, still stubbornly yelled, urging his troops forward. Gióng fought harder and harder, and enemy corpses lay scattered everywhere. Suddenly, his sword broke. Gióng, without a hint of confusion, swiftly pulled up bamboo bushes from both sides of the road and swung them furiously at the enemy groups trying to hold their ground under their commander's orders. In no time, the enemy troops had fled everywhere, and Ân King was smashed to pieces. The remaining enemy soldiers knelt and surrendered. Hùng King's army, as well as the villagers, had only to rush out and tie them up. In less than half a day, Gióng had rid the country of its menace. By then, Gióng's horse had reached the foot of Sóc Sơn mountain. Here, Gióng took off his armor and helmet, then both he and his horse flew straight up into the sky.
After the victory, to remember the hero, Hùng King ordered the construction of a temple to Thánh Gióng in his home village, conferring upon him the title of Phù Đổng Thiên Vương. Today, we still see traces like the series of round ponds stretching from Kim Anh, Đa Phúc to Sóc Sơn, which people say are the footprints of Thánh Gióng's horse. The forest burned by the iron horse's fire is now named Làng Cháy (Burned Village). The bamboo trees that Gióng pulled up to strike the invaders, which were burned by fire and turned from green to yellow with scorched marks, still exist today, and are called tre là ngà (or đằng ngà).
Check out VietMyst's Thanh Giong figure in the "Vietnamese Fairy Tale Reimagined" collection
Story about Tấm (Tấm Cám)
Once upon a time, there were two half-sisters, Tấm and Cám. Tấm's mother passed away early, and her father married Cám's mother. Tấm's father loved her dearly, but then he fell ill and passed away not long after. Tấm had to live with her stepmother, Cám's mother. The stepmother was a cruel woman who made Tấm do all the housework every day, while Cám, on the other hand, spent her days playing around.
One day, the stepmother told Tấm and Cám to go fishing in the field. The stepmother instructed, "Whoever catches more fish will be rewarded." Tấm obeyed her mother's instructions, diligently caught fish, and soon her basket was full. Cám, however, was busy playing and by late afternoon still hadn't caught a single fish. Seeing that her sister Tấm had caught many fish, Cám came up with an idea and told Tấm: "Sister Tấm, sister Tấm. Your head is dirty, dip deeply so mother won't scold you when we get back." Tấm believed her sister's words, left her basket of fish with her sister to watch, and waded into the pond to wash her hair. On the bank, Cám emptied all of Tấm's fish into her own basket and ran home first. When Tấm came ashore, her fish basket was empty. Tấm sat down and cried bitterly when suddenly, the Buddha (Ông Bụt) appeared and asked: "Why are you crying, child?" Tấm told the Buddha everything that had happened. The Buddha told Tấm to look in her basket to see if there were any fish left, and there was only one small gudgeon. The Buddha then said: "Stop crying now. Take this gudgeon home, put it in the well, and feed it rice every day. When you feed it, remember to call: 'Bống ơi bống bang bang, Come up and eat golden, silver rice from our home, don't eat stale rice and plain porridge from others.'" Having said that, the Buddha disappeared. Tấm listened to the Buddha's advice and took Bống home to raise it in the well. Every day at mealtime, Tấm would bring rice to Bống, eating only one bowl herself and saving one bowl for the gudgeon. Before long, the gudgeon grew incredibly fast.
Seeing Tấm bring rice to the well every day, the stepmother grew suspicious and sent Cám to spy on her. Cám returned and told her mother everything. The next morning, the stepmother sent Tấm to herd buffalo in a distant field, sweetly telling Tấm: "My child, buffalo herding is forbidden in our village's fields. If you herd buffalo, herd them in the distant fields, don't herd them in our village fields, or the village will confiscate them." Tấm listened to her mother and led the buffalo far away. At home, Cám and her mother went to the well and called just as Tấm usually did every day. The fish heard the sound and surfaced at the mouth of the well. Cám and her mother caught Bống and slaughtered it. In the evening, when Tấm returned from herding buffalo, she brought rice to the well and called, but Bống didn't appear. She only saw a red lump of blood floating. Seeing this, Tấm sat down and cried bitterly. The Buddha appeared and asked: "Why are you crying, child?" Tấm again told the Buddha everything. This time, the Buddha said: "Your Bống has been eaten. Stop crying! Go home, gather the fish bones, put them into four jars, and bury them under the four legs of your bed." Tấm listened and went into the house to look for Bống's bones, but she couldn't find them anywhere. Suddenly, a chicken ran out from somewhere: "Cluck-cluck-cluck, give me some rice grains, I'll dig out the bones for you." Tấm took some rice grains and fed the chicken. The chicken went into the kitchen, dug through a pile of ashes, and found Bống's bones there. Tấm picked them up, put them into 4 jars, and buried them under the four legs of her bed. A short while later, the King held a festival, and everyone eagerly went to watch. Cám and her mother prepared to go very early. Tấm asked her mother for permission to go along, but the stepmother mixed a peck of rice husks with a peck of rice grains and told Tấm to separate them, saying she could only go to the festival when she finished. Tấm cried bitterly again. The Buddha appeared again and asked: "Why are you crying, child?" Tấm tearfully explained the situation to the Buddha. The Buddha sent a flock of sparrows down to pick for Tấm, and in a flash, it was done. But Tấm had no beautiful clothes to wear to the festival, so she covered her face and cried again. The Buddha appeared again: "Why are you crying, child?" Tấm sniffled: "How can I go to the festival with my clothes so torn?" The Buddha replied: "Go dig up the four jars buried under the four legs of your bed." Tấm obeyed and dug up the four jars. The first jar opened to reveal a dazzlingly beautiful dress, the second jar revealed a pair of exquisitely embroidered shoes, the third jar was a tiny horse, but strangely, when placed on the ground, the horse suddenly transformed into a real horse, and the last jar contained a sturdy saddle. Tấm was overjoyed, quickly changed her clothes, and set off for the capital. The horse galloped and soon reached the capital, but unfortunately, on the way through a muddy spot, Tấm accidentally dropped one shoe and didn't have time to pick it up. At the festival, Tấm wrapped the remaining shoe in a cloth and pushed her way through the crowd. Just then, the King's entourage passed by the muddy spot where Tấm had dropped her shoe. The two leading royal elephants kept lowering their heads and refused to move. The King ordered his soldiers to investigate and they found a single shoe. The King picked it up and admired it: "Such a beautiful shoe, the person who wears it must also be very beautiful." The King ordered all the women and girls at the festival to try on the shoe. If anyone's foot fit the shoe, she would be taken as his wife. Everyone eagerly came to try on the shoe, but no one's foot fit. Cám and her mother also tried but failed. When it was Tấm's turn, the stepmother sneered, "A bell and chime are nothing compared to her. She's just a broken pot shard from the fence." But on the contrary, when Tấm tried on the shoe, it fit perfectly. She then presented the second shoe she held in her hand, and it was indeed a pair. The soldiers cheered, and the King was overjoyed, quickly sending someone to escort her to the palace.
From that day on, Cám and her mother harbored deep resentment. On the anniversary of her father's death, Tấm asked the King for permission to return home to observe the memorial. Seeing Tấm return, Cám and her mother, already disliking her, conspired to kill Tấm. The stepmother told Tấm: "Today is your father's death anniversary, climb up the betel palm tree and pick some down to offer to your father." Tấm obediently climbed the betel palm tree, while below, the stepmother began chopping at the base. Tấm felt the tree shaking and asked: "Stepmother, what are you doing down there?" The stepmother replied: "There are too many ants at the base, I'm catching them so they don't bite you." Tấm fell into the pond and drowned. The stepmother gave Tấm's clothes to Cám to wear and returned to the palace, lying to the King: "Sister Tấm unfortunately fell into the pond and died. Now Cám, her sister, will take her place." The King was angry but said nothing. Tấm died and transformed into a golden oriole, flying into the King's palace. One time, Cám was washing the King's clothes when she suddenly heard a bird singing: "Wash my husband's clothes, wash them clean Hang my husband's clothes on a pole Don't hang them on the fence, or they'll tear my husband's clothes" Cám was very scared when she heard that. The golden oriole sang cheerfully in the palace, and wherever the King went, the golden oriole flew after him. Seeing the bird clinging to him, the King said: "Golden oriole, golden oriole, are you my wife hiding in my sleeve?" The bird flew and perched on the King's hand, then burrowed into his sleeve. From that day on, the King only cared for the bird, making it a golden cage and tending to it daily. Cám saw this and was furious. She went home and asked her mother for advice. The stepmother instigated Cám to catch and eat the bird, burying its feathers in the corner of the garden. When the King found out, he was very angry. At the corner of the garden where the golden oriole's feathers were buried, two xoan đào trees grew, providing lush shade. The King saw this and hung his hammock there to rest. Cám again went home and told her mother. Cám's mother again instigated her to chop down the two xoan trees to make a loom. One time, while weaving clothes for the King, Cám heard the loom making a sound: "Cót ca cót két Taking my sister's husband I'll gouge out your eyes" Cám was utterly terrified and quickly ordered someone to burn the loom. From the ashes, a market tree grew with lush green branches and leaves, but it only bore one fruit. One day, an old woman passing by on her way to the market, stopped to rest under the tree. Seeing the market fruit, she gently said: "Fruit, Fruit, fall into my basket I'll keep you to smell But I won't eat you" As soon as the old woman finished speaking, the market fruit fell into her basket. She took it home and placed it on her pillow, only smelling it and not eating it. Every day she went to the market, and when she returned home, the food was meticulously prepared, and the house was clean. After several days of this, she grew suspicious. One time, she pretended to go to the market, but halfway there, she turned back. She stood outside the door and looked in, seeing a young woman emerge from the market fruit and clean the house. She quickly ran in, tore off the market fruit's skin, and hugged the girl tightly. She adopted the girl as her daughter. From then on, Tấm stayed home helping the old woman with her work.
The old woman opened a tea stall right at home, and Tấm helped her prepare betel quid with phoenix wings, and the stall became increasingly popular each day. One time, the King passed by and stopped to rest at the tea stall. Seeing the betel quid prepared just like Tấm used to prepare it, he inquired: "Madam, who prepared this betel quid so skillfully?" The old woman honestly replied: "My daughter prepared this betel quid." The King wanted to meet her daughter, so the old woman called Tấm out. The King was overjoyed to recognize Tấm and sent for her to be brought back to the palace. Upon returning to the palace, Tấm recounted all the events to the King. The King was furious and ordered Cám and her mother to be punished, but Tấm, feeling compassionate, asked the King to spare them. The King expelled Cám and her mother from the palace. As soon as they left the city, a storm descended, and Cám and her mother were struck by lightning and died in the middle of the field. From then on, the King and Tấm lived happily ever after.
Take a look at VietMyst's Tam figure in the "Vietnamese Fairy Tale Reimagined" collection
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