Unique Dong Ho painting market in Bac Ninh

Over time, after the war, the market was no longer held, but the managers and people here still yearned to revive the old atmosphere, determined to find solutions to preserve the craft of making Dong Ho folk paintings.

A time of glory

The Dong Ho painting market has existed for hundreds of years, lasting until the mid-1940s. Although this market is no longer held today, the memory of its glorious past is always present in the minds of the people here.

The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Bac Ninh province has restored the market at the Dong Ho Folk Painting Conservation Center, Song Ho ward, to satisfy the wishes and love of painting lovers.

Dong Ho paintings have the full name of Dong Ho folk woodcut paintings, a line of Vietnamese folk paintings originating from Dong Ho village (now Tu Khe area, Song Ho ward, Thuan Thanh town). This type of painting is often published on the occasion of Lunar New Year, so it is also called Tet paintings. Nowadays, along with the development of society, the need to enjoy culture and arts of the people, Dong Ho paintings are not only displayed on Tet but also "played" by people all year round.

Recalling the old Tet painting markets, artisan Nguyen Dang Che, one of the few people who still preserve and conserve the paintings at Song Ho, said that the old Tet painting market took place at Dong Ho communal house on the 6th, 11th, 16th, 21st and 26th of the 12th lunar month every year.

In each market session, thousands of paintings of all kinds are displayed for sale. What is special is that people who buy paintings can pay money or exchange goods for paintings. According to the memories of the villagers and the later generations who heard their ancestors tell it, customers who buy paintings come from all over the provinces near and far, down the Duong River, on the road to trade paintings. Traders who come to buy paintings bring all kinds of goods such as people from Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh bring fish sauce, people from Binh Luc (Ha Nam) bring oak silk, people from Phu Tho bring tea, Vinh Bao (Hai Phong) brings tobacco... The villagers are famous for their talent and generosity, and buying and selling is also easy.

After 1945, the Dong Ho painting market was no longer held. The bustling atmosphere of the Dong Ho Tet painting market in the past now only remains in the memories of the elderly...

Returning to the old painting market atmosphere, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Yeng (88 years old, Dong Ho area, Song Ho ward, Thuan Thanh town) said that in the past, she had the opportunity to participate in the Tet painting market sessions. At that time, the whole village communal house area was bright with colors, paintings were spread on mats, hung on walls, hung on strings... The atmosphere of the painting market on the eve of Tet was bustling and joyful like a festival. That bustling scene was recorded in the song: "Hey, you who go on the main road/ Stop to admire the scenery and dispel your sadness/ Buy a colorful butterfly painting/ Buy a flock of chickens and pigs competing to lay many eggs".

After the market session, tens of thousands of paintings of all kinds, including chickens, pigs, carps, mouse weddings, four seasons, beautiful women, coconut gathering, jealousy... were neatly packed to be put on the boat. Just like that, the Dong Ho paintings carrying the cultural beauty of Kinh Bac region were transported everywhere from the North to the South. The people who made the paintings and the painting village all felt proud. Now witnessing the "revival" of the painting market, he felt like he was returning to the old market when the painting genre was still popular. It was like a small corner of the old painting market.

Reviving the Tet painting market

In order to recreate a precious cultural heritage of the homeland, the Center for Monuments Conservation and Tourism Promotion of Bac Ninh province organized an exhibition to recreate the space of Dong Ho painting market. With 20 booths introducing materials, painting making process, painting display, hometown products... local people, visitors can return to the ancient painting market once. This is also one of the activities to preserve and promote the value of Dong Ho folk paintings, the craft of making Dong Ho folk paintings.

Present since early morning, skillful hands meticulously drawing each stroke of Dong Ho paintings, artisan Nguyen Thi Oanh - the only female artisan of Dong Ho paintings said that, before, through the stories of her father and grandfather, she learned about the traditional painting market.

For the first time participating in the Tet painting market organized by the Center for Monuments Conservation and Tourism Promotion of Bac Ninh province, her family prepared many types of paintings from traditional to modern. Having the honor of introducing paintings all over the world, creating more than 50 painting themes of all kinds, coming to the painting market she had the opportunity to display her works. Through that, she wishes to contribute part of her efforts to the preservation of the craft of making Dong Ho folk paintings.

At the painting market, each booth displays a different theme such as the booth displaying materials for making paintings, the booth displaying local market food, the booth displaying and introducing paintings, the booth carving wood carvings, etc., helping many people feel excited, as if they were reliving a traditional market. She hopes that these markets will be held more often so that Dong Ho folk paintings will be known to more people, artisan Nguyen Thi Oanh shared.

Ha Quy Minh Tuan, a student at Song Ho Secondary School, was excited. Although his hometown has a famous Dong Ho painting style, he only knew about this style of painting in literary works. This was the first time he witnessed with his own eyes the traditional way of making paintings of his ancestors. Paper is made from the Do tree, which is then coated with a layer of scallop shells to make scallop paper. The colors of the painting are quite special, taken from natural materials such as red from young bricks, black from bamboo charcoal, yellow from Sophora japonica flowers, green from cajuput leaves, white from scallop shells, etc. To create a painting, the painter has to go through many stages. Through this, he is even more proud and loves the traditional painting style of his hometown.

In order to preserve and promote the value of Dong Ho folk painting, every year, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Bac Ninh province organizes a Dong Ho painting fair to serve local people and tourists from all over.

With the determination of the entire political system and the people's desire to preserve and develop the value of the painting craft and this precious painting genre, in 2013, Dong Ho folk painting was recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Bac Ninh has built the Dong Ho Folk Painting Conservation Center, displaying more than 1,000 documents and artifacts researched and collected from artisan families and local people.

In March 2020, Vietnam submitted the dossier "Dong Ho folk painting craft" to UNESCO for consideration to be included in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and is expected to be considered at the 19th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2024. Craft keepers, the people of Bac Ninh in particular and the whole country in general hope to receive support from international friends so that the Dong Ho folk painting craft can be preserved and developed.