There's an old saying: “Hoạ hổ hoạ bì nan hoạ cốt; Tri nhân tri diện bất tri tâm.” It roughly means "When drawing a tiger, only the skin and fur can be drawn, but it is difficult to draw its bones; It is easy to recognise someone's appearance, but difficult to understand his heart."

This seems to be very true for people born in the Year of the Tiger as they often go against the crowd and make unexpected breakthroughs.

Always exploring

Artist Nguyễn Nghiêm Nhan was born in 1962. He graduated from the University of Hà Nội, majoring in literature, and the University of Theatre and Cinema with a major in theatre directing.

SOUL OF A TIGER: Artist Nguyễn Nghiêm Nhan. — Photo courtesy of the artist

When it comes to people born in the Year of the Tiger, people often think they are hot-tempered, even aggressive, but Nhan has a romantic and gentle side.

He has more than 30 years of experience working at Việt Nam Television and is involved in many culture and art programmes. He also pursued a career in documentary films and has organised many creation camps for artists.

Talking with Nhan, people feel that he is a soul that loves art and always lives to the fullest. Recently, he surprised the public when he launched his first painting exhibition at the age of 60.

The exhibition "Nhâm Dần" has a total of 60 acrylic paintings of tigers on canvas and paperboard.

The tigers in Nhan's painting have many different emotions and states such as love, reflection and romance. They go from traditional right through to modern images. They are drawn in a Fauvist style, with a vibrant colour palette, leaving a strong impression on viewers.

The tigers in Nguyễn Nghiêm Nhan's painting are in a Fauvist style, with a vibrant colour palette, leaving a strong impression on viewers. — Photo courtesy of the artist

Talking about the first solo exhibition, Nhan says that when he holds a paintbrush, he discovers new sides of himself.

"That's what people born in the Year of the Tiger are, always exploring and finding new horizons. Perhaps, I have found myself in painting. What many years ago I dreamed of, has now come true,” he says.

Nhan adds that the tiger characters in his paintings are also a portrait of his many desires, ambitions and hopes for a brilliant new year.

“This exhibition not only marks an important milestone in my life but also celebrates 2022, a meaningful year ahead,” he says.

Breaking prejudice

It's uncertain how many young couples today still believe in a "tiger curse" on girls, but many age-old folk tales suggest that girls born in the Year of the Tiger find it difficult to gain true love, and even bring bad luck to their families.

Bùi Băng Giang, a businesswoman born in 1986, also in the Year of the Tiger, is not only very successful in her career, but also a woman with her own perspective on balancing work and family. She exudes the beauty of a modern woman with self-control, passion and happiness.

Talking about the 'tiger curse', Giang says that she does not pay too much attention to the prejudices of society.

Experiencing many ups and downs in business, Giang believes that people born in the Year of the Tiger usually have a warm, generous and enthusiastic heart. They have the courage and determination to become leaders, pioneers and are able to take on great responsibility in work and life.

Giang says that she feels grateful and appreciates her own experiences and values, which include both her work and married life.

"I think that the mutual understanding and respect of husband and wife is simple, but it is the key to happiness and love,” she says.

TIGER MUM: Giang feels grateful for her work and married life. — Photo courtesy of Bùi Băng Giang

A happy family seems to be the foundation for Giang to succeed with her brands: Asia Exotica Vietnam tourism company and Comida Ngon, a flower brand in Hà Nội.

Sharing her plans for 2022, Giang says she hopes to spread more positive energy to the community through her two business projects.

“I hope 2022 will open up new hope, when countries and tourist attractions are reopened, and people's tourism demands will increase after a long time fighting the pandemic,” she says.

“Currently, Asia Exotica is rushing to prepare human resources and products to welcome tourists, while with the Comida Ngon flower brand, we hope to continue to launch many new artistic products and spread positive values to the community."

Reaching for success

Lê Ngọc Anh, chairman of the board for Times Pro Real Estate JSC, is also a 'tiger lady', eager to rise up, assert herself and take her business to new heights.

The businesswoman says that she has characteristics that are both similar and different from those of the tiger: fierce, straightforward, being unafraid of challenges, but also respectful, emotional, flexible, and quick to adapt.

TIGRESS: Lê Ngọc Anh is quick to adapt to new challenges.

Anh used to work in the banking and finance industry for a long time. This was the time when she was constantly researching information about real estate and cultivating knowledge in many different fields, from media and web creation to design and advertising.

At a time when the market had many signs of improvement, Anh quit her stable banking job to enter a new challenging game. After only a short time the businesswoman achieved success, and has progressed from being a salesperson to a manager and sales director with hundreds of staff.

In 2019, she decided to launch the real estate company Times Pro.

“When determining the right career, focus on finding and developing yourself in that field. It takes time to mature and succeed. There is no such thing as luck, you must rely on your own efforts," she says.

After two years of development, Times Pro has successfully distributed and advised many investment projects with a scale of trillions of VN đồng.

Looking back on the successes she has achieved in the past, she says: "What I have done shows that all obstacles are only 'tests,' and we must have faith and ceaseless efforts. Faith makes strength. Times Pro shares the same beliefs and aspirations to create sustainable, prosperous and lasting assets.” VNS