A retired school teacher in Vung Tau has turned his house into a store to sell books, newspapers and magazines that he has collected over a lifetime.

The 77-year-old Nguyen Hong Sanh works late nearly every night to maintain his collection of over 5 million books.

Nguyen Hong Sanh, who says his most valued possession is his erudition, has dedicated his life to books – he has over 5 million publications.

Two years ago, Viet Nam Television Channel 3 (VTV3) nominated Sanh as the holder of the largest collection of books in Viet Nam. Since then everyone connects his name with books and he has been coined the nickname “Sanh sach” (sach means book)

“Books are the greatest and closest teachers. They are also enthusiastic teachers. Even at two or three o’clock in the morning, if we need some knowledge, this teacher is always ready,” Sanh says.

“I don’t want to have only one enthusiastic teacher in my house, so I collect books one after another,” he says.

Step inside the house at 45 Nguyen Truong To Street and enter a world of books. The house is stuffed with millions of old books on any number of topics. Books are everywhere, piled in heaps on the ground floor, stacked on the wooden stairs and wall to wall in the mezzanine.

Sanh owns two rare copies of Miscellanies (Tap luc), and Dien luc co tich, both collections of literary works published in 1888 by Truong Vinh Ky – a Vietnamese scholar whose name is listed in the Larouse encyclopedia as one of eighteen most famous writers of the 19th century.

“Everywhere I go, I spend a lot of time at bookstores. This rare copy of Tap luc was found at an old-book store in My Tho City years ago. The owner of the store didn’t know the value of the book and it was just mixed up with the others,” Sanh says.

Also on the bookshelf is Souverains Et Abiliies D’Indochine of the Governor-general that Indochina published in 1943.

Taking a special place in Sanh’s collection are magazines and newspapers that are as old as the retired schoolteacher who found them. Vietnamese papers like Trung Bac Tan Van Chu Nhat (Central North Sunday Newspapers), Nam Phong Tap Chi (Southern Wind Magazine), Nam Ky Tuan Bao (South Viet Nam Weekly Newspapers) and Dong Duong Tap Chi (Indochina Magazine) are also in his collection.

“Since I was able to read and write, I have loved books. I did not love folk games like other children, but books. However, my family was poor, so I used to borrow books from friends, and make handwritten copies for myself,” Sanh says.

“I used to spend sleepless nights copying books. Not only copying the words, but also the illustrations to make the copies look like the originals.”

Sanh was born in the southern province of Long An’s Can Duoc District and studied literature at the Sai Gon Teacher Training College.

After graduating, he started work as a teacher in Vung Tau in 1956 and continued his habit of reading and collecting books. But a teacher’s salary was very low so Sanh sometimes copied books he liked.

In 1960, he opened Nhan dao thu quan bookstore (Humanitarian bookstore) where he bought, sold and traded books so he could afford to continue his obsession collecting them.

“In 1986, when the country entered the Doi Moi (renewal) period, I was once again able to collect books,” he says.

“I bought books, both old and new, using all of my money. I bought valuable books at any cost, even if I had to sell something in my house or even borrow the money from friends. All of my teaching salary was spent on books.”

Fortunately, his wife could support the children by working at the markets.

Apart from his salary and his wife’s takings at the market, Sanh had another source of cash – writing moral songs, Tuong (Classical drama) and Cheo (Traditional operetta) scripts.

“I presently have around 70 scripts of Tuong and Cheo arts and around 8,000 moral songs,” Sanh says.

“I was born in the southwestern region so I loved don ca tai tu (traditional southern music) when I was a child. Every Friday night, my friends would gather in my house to listen to my songs. I also have around 50 don ca tai tu students.”

These days Sanh’s Nhan dao thu quan bookstore is well-known among readers all over the country. Anyone who goes to Sanh’s house to seek books or search for information is warmly welcomed.

Everyday he receives hundreds of people from far and wide – a disproportionate number come from Ha Noi and Hue city.

It is very difficult to catalogue millions of books. “Sometimes when someone comes to my house to borrow a book that I am certain that I have, it takes several days to find it,” Sanh says.

“A 72 year old friend still flies from Ha Noi to visit my store from time to time. This is a real encouragement for me to continue collecting books till the end of my life.”

VietNamNet/VNS