Origin & History of Bai Choi Bingo Game

Bai Choi (literally meaning ‘card and hut’ or ‘playing cards in the hut’) is a folk art combining music, poetry, stage acting, painting and literature in central Vietnam.

Nobody knows exactly when Bai Choi bingo game was first created. According to historians, it’s absolutely a creativity of Vietnamese people who moved to the central Vietnam region after the 15th century. Today, this folk game and singing is a common heritage of nine provinces/cities: Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, and Khanh Hoa. Hoi An is in Quang Nam province. There are 39 clubs, 27 families, and 106 artists practicing Bai Choi folk art. In 2017, it’s inscribed by Unesco to be an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, becoming the first Vietnamese traditional game listed.

Based on folklore, around the 15th century, numerous Vietnamese families moved southwards to new lands that were captured by the king after repeated Champa kingdom. Here, new comers reclaimed fertile areas to grow grains, catch fishes in rivers and sea. To protect their own harvest from dangerous wild animals, they built huts (or cottages) by bamboo and thatch with high stilts, and use drums or whatever makes noise to scare them away. In their free time, they talk, sing, play bai tu sac or the four color cards (a card game) to entertain.

In the 17th century, Dao Duy Tu (man, 1572-1634) had contributions to make the activity more organized and become an art through using cards, rules, performances. In the beginning, Bai Choi bingo game was played in mountain and midland communities. Later, festivals were held down the plain or coastal areas because there are more spacious places over there.  

By the way, Dao Duy Tu was born in present-day Tinh Gia district, Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam. His father was a folk singer but passed away when he was 5 years old. At age of 14, his mother took him to a Confucian school, and told a local mandarin to change his family name to Vu, her family name. To do it, the mandarin wanted her to be one of his wifes but she wanted to see her son’s presence in the imperial examination first. The reason was that the job of Tu’s father was a shameful profession in the society at that time, so he would be prohibited from joining any royal competitions. In 1953, he passed his first examination. His mother refused to marry the mandarin and told him that his daughter should marry Tu instead. Being angry, the mandarin reported Tu’s case and, then he failed and his mother killed herself. After hearing a good introduction about Nguyen lords in southern Vietnam, he left the north in 1625 and found ways to work in their government.

In the 1930s-1940s, to make Bai Choi game and performance more attractive, artists borrowed melodies from Tuong or Hat Boi (known as Vietnamese opera).

Between 1945 and 1954, when the First Indochina War occurred, Bai Choi was used to convey information from the Communist party and country leaders to people. After the Vietnamese army defeated French colonists, professional artists moved to north Vietnam. Here, Bai Choi performed and played on a stage for the first time.

In 1998, Phan Ngan artist (man) found those who know well about Bai Choi and established a club. Two years later, the festival of Bai Choi was held again after a long time (due to wars and colonial period).

In 2017, Bai Choi was inscribed by Unesco to be an intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of humanity. Hoi An is one of the cradles of this heritage.

Since 2011, Hoi An city leaders brought Bai Choi bingo game into the official program of Hoi An Ancient Town’s night streets, to introduce it to tourists from all over the world.