Nguyen family keep the art of Dong Ho alive

teleSUR English

07/12/2025 FTS 04.30 Vietnam, the art of Dong Ho painting, a fundamental part of the nation's identity, is facing two challenges: the recent government motion to include it in Unesco's list of intangible cultural heritage and the shortage of practitioners due to competition from modern art.   teleSUR  These and more stories now!  🌐Join teleSUR's community and be part of a space where your ideas matter.  https://chat.whatsapp.com/KLABTE41aSj3ioYabXQQ6K 🗣 Don't be left behind, join teleSUR's Channel https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va98Z437Noa2tjytCt1N Web💬 https://www.telesurenglish.net/ X🧶 https://twitter.com/telesurenglish Instagram 📸 https://www.instagram.com/telesurenglish/?hl=es Facebook 📱 https://www.facebook.com/teleSUREnglishOfficial Youtube ⏯ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmuTmpLY35O3csvhyA6vrkg Tiktok👌🏼 https://www.tiktok.com/@telesurenglish?_t=8hMLCY0a6z7&_r=1

Transcript

00:00In Vietnam, the art of Dong Ho painting, a fundamental part of the nation's identity, is facing two challenges.

00:09The recent government motion to include it in UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage

00:14and the shortage of practitioners due to competition from modern art.

00:19Let's see more details in the following history.

00:21Dong Ho painting has been a fundamental part of Vietnam's cultural repertoire for centuries.

00:32The practice involves a complex and multifaceted process that requires skills in painting, wood cutting, and sublimation.

00:42Today, the art of Dong Ho painting is facing a crisis, as there are very few of its representatives left in the country.

00:53In the city of the same name as the art form lives Nguyen Vion, a descendant of a family with more than 400 years of experience in Dong Ho.

01:03The process begins with creating a painting on paper.

01:14This design is then glued to a wooden block, where an artisan carves its reversed image into the wood.

01:20Once the black outline is ready, the artisan fills in the colors.

01:24Dong Ho folk paintings typically use between two and six colors, usually five basic tones,

01:31with the six created by combining two of them.

01:34Dong Ho folk paintings include several techniques, such as press printing and hand painting.

01:40This piece, for example, is made using the press printing method.

01:45First, we create the outline drawing, then carve it into the wood block,

01:49and finally press the inked block onto paper to produce the painting.

01:53For a painting like The Pig Family, which uses five colors,

01:57we need five separate wood blocks, one for each color.

02:01To stylize the details of the painting,

02:12a wood block is used for the outline and several others for each printed color,

02:17and they are carefully engraved by hand so that the wood blocks can be preserved for generations.

02:24In the past, to prepare Vietnamese New Year paintings,

02:30artisans had to begin the process six or seven months in advance.

02:35To create a Dong Ho folk painting, every element comes from nature,

02:47flowers, leaves, plants and materials sourced from the mountains, forests, and sea.

02:54The bark of the dew plant from the forest is used to make dew paper.

02:58Scallop shells from the sea provide a white pigment,

03:01earth from the mountains yield the maroon color.

03:04Flowers and leaves make the yellow and green pigments,

03:08while the black comes from the ash of burnt bamboo leaves.

03:12All of these natural materials come together to create Dong Ho folk paintings,

03:17which traditionally convey wishes of good fortune and prosperity.

03:20This style of painting is considered a faithful reflection of traditional aesthetic values,

03:33social philosophies, and humanitarian desires.

03:37The traditional themes of Dong Ho painting are symbols of good luck,

03:41historical figures, popular allegories, folk tales, and social commentary.

03:47Elements of everyday life are well integrated into these paintings to express the thoughts and desires of the people.

03:54Industrial printing and modern digital images have reduced the demand for handmade prints,

04:00and economic pressures have led some families to abandon the production of folk art,

04:05but Nguyen remains committed to keeping her family's legacy alive,

04:10and to involving nature in every aspect of this art, not just in the illustration.

04:18In 2020, the Vietnamese government gave its support for the submission of the paintings to the UNESCO Preservation Programme,

04:26for their cultural value.

04:28This year, Nguyen and other Dong Ho practitioners support this decision,

04:32and ask the international organization to add the art form to the list for intangible cultural heritage,

04:38in need of urgent safeguarding.

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