73-year-old sculptor Pham Van Hang from Da Nang is famous for 4 large copper poetry books in Vietnamese, English, French and Chinese.

The books, which weigh 240kg in total, were recognised by the Viet Nam Book of Records in 2007 as the largest of their kind in Viet Nam.  They have been on display at numerous exhibitions featuring rare books nationwide over recent years.

Mr Hang and his copper poetry books

The set of books, themed “Taking up Composing Poems during 30 Years”, consists of 29 poems which reflect the valuable philosophy of humans.  It took the sculptor approximately one year to compose each poem.

A book in English

Mr Hang spent 5 years and a great deal of energy elaborately engraving the poems onto copper plates and cooperated with 3 English, one Chinese and 4 French translators, all of whom met his strict requirements.  Having completed the set of copper books, Mr Hang is indescribably happy with his special work.

The experienced sculptor remarked that he wanted to create a set of copper books in order to effectively preserve his favourite short poems, rather than making any records or boasting his talent to draw a great deal of attention from others.