VietNamNet Bridge - Best known as the vice chairman of the Viet Nam Football Federation, Vu Quang Vinh shares his quirky collection of lighters and horses from around the globe.

The sun is shining and the weather is sweet on the morning of my engagement with Vu Quang Vinh, vice chairman of the Viet Nam Football Federation (VFF) and editor-in-chief of

I am deeply impressed by a composite horse, bought in Chinese Taipei and displayed prominently on his desk. It strikes a brave battle pose that elicits a fervent feeling in me. The

Over the years, Vu Quang Vinh has collected over 200 kinds of horses and 400 kinds of lighters made of materials ranging from wood and stone to plastic.

At present Vinh has collected more than 200 kinds of horses and 400 kinds of lighters made of materials ranging from wood, stone and bronze to plastic, glass, and composite, of varying sizes and styles. Some are displayed in his three-storey home, others in his office.

“I try to create my own space by collecting lighters and horses. They help me reduce stress,” Vinh shares.

Vinh says he’s keen on collecting horses because he was born in the year of the horse and the animal has fascinated him ever since.

Vinh has been collecting horses since high school. At first, he stuck to simple wooden, plastic and
glass models.

His favourite horse is a wooden one he bought in a small town whose name he’s forgotten, all he remembers is that it was a melting pot of Russian, Norwegian and Finnish culture. It brings back green memories of the former Soviet Union.

He still regrets failing to buy a skilfully carved herd of five wooden horses in Belgium.

“They cost $250 but I only had $167 in my pockets. I tried to bargain but
they refused. When I borrowed money and came back, the piece had been sold. To this day, I feel that my collection lacks a vital component.”

But Vinh’s real passion is lighters. He started gathering lighters as a student at the Philology Department of Ha Noi University of Social Sciences and Humanities in 1975.

“The image of the legendary Greek hero, Prometheus, who stole fire from the Gods for the benefit of mortals – and as punishment was chained to Mount Caucasus by Zeus, where an eagle devoured his liver by day, only for it to re-grow by night – this image is very beautiful in my mind so I decided to gather lighters”.

At the time, Vinh didn’t smoke but he started smoking and is now addicted.

In more than 30 years of gathering cigarette-lighters, Vinh has collected 400 types (not 400 lighters). They come in a cornucopia of shapes: planes, telephones, kegs of wine, gramophones, ships, cars, motorbikes, bicycles, books, lions, tigers, lamps, trains, perfume vases, girls etc.

The life of a collector is not without trouble. “I have a zippo which looks like a one-meter gun. Once during customs, I was mistaken for a terrorist”, Vinh recalls with a smile.

Vinh also owns several one-of-a-kind lighters. There’s a zippo shaped like a Mercedes car which Vinh bought in China in a very small shop for $150. There’s a Thai lighter shaped like a lavatory pan and another one carved with a special signature. According to Vinh, he bought them from his close friend for VND2 million ($120).

Vinh continues to fill up his collection and he plans to open a gallery of lighters and horses after his retirement.

A talented dramatist

Vinh is best known as the vice chairman of VFF and an editor-in-chief of Children Newspaper but only some know that he used to be a famous dramatist.

Vinh, who was born in 1954 in a poor civil servant family in Ha Noi, has eight brothers and sisters so his family often lacked cooking. With a gift for languages and literature, Vinh graduated from the Philology Department of Ha Noi University of Social Sciences and Humanities and within seven years, had become art manager of the Youth Theatre in 1983.

In this position, he was filled with the passion to write drama. So far, ten of Vinh’s plays have been staged including the acclaimed Tam Cam, Muoi Lam Ngay Khang An (15 days for appeal), Buc Thu Bien Gioi (Border letter), and Gio Sang Mua (shift of the wind) which attracted audiences nationwide.

“At present, I don’t write much because I am too busy. Dramatic art is very severe, it requires a lot of time, energy and experience. But I will write until I die,” Vinh says.

(Source: VNS)