Preserving spring in woodblock paintings

As if seeing spring festival coming

"The district market has items that are only sold near Tet such as dong leaves, coriander, incense and indispensable Tet paintings. At that time, the market had only one person selling Tet paintings. He said the paintings were made by artisans from Hong Luc village - the hometown of the founder of woodblock printing - Third Prize Laureate Luong Nhu Hoc. That's what I heard him introduce when I came to see the paintings."

Leisurely sipping warm tea, Mr. Nguyen Truong Nhan in Gia Loc town wistfully recalls the Tet atmosphere of old years.

Tet paintings are an elegant pastime of the ancients. There is a folk saying "First calligraphy, second painting, third porcelain, fourth wood" to refer to the traditional pastimes of the Vietnamese people during Tet. In addition to Dong Ho folk paintings, there are also Thanh Lieu woodblock paintings (now Tan Hung ward, Hai Duong city).

"Woodblock paintings from my hometown are rarer because they are scholarly paintings," Mr. Nhan commented.

In search of the origin of woodblock prints, I went to Thanh Lieu village. In a peaceful, quiet space, filled with the fragrant scent of incense, artisans in the craft village meticulously carved images of winding dragons during the spring festival, modeled after the spring festival paintings in the book "Techniques of the Annamese".

This is a dragon dance painting, that is a mai flower painting, then a carp riding on clouds painting... all are introduced by young artisan Nguyen Cong Dat and other veteran artisans of the village to visitors who are interested in learning about Vietnamese culture and history.

According to Mr. Nguyen Cong Trang, one of the few people who still continue the woodblock printing profession in Thanh Lieu village, in the past, artisans made both aristocratic and folk paintings.

Aristocrat paintings are often made to order... The paintings are delicate right from the subject. The paintings are printed on thin but durable Do paper. The carvings are graceful, elegant, with a blend of light and dark. The background of the painting creates distinct blocks of light and dark.

The few folk paintings that the elders often make are sold at the district market or hung in the house during Tet.

Admiring the woodblock prints depicting the winding dragon dance, Ms. Nguyen Thi Chi, a tour guide of Vietnam Booking Joint Stock Company (Hanoi) shared: "Looking at the Tet woodblock paintings is like seeing the spring festival atmosphere coming. There is a village communal house, the bustling sound of festival drums and in the distance are groups of people carrying palanquins next to the bustling lion and dragon dance teams...".

Ms. Chi has taken tourists to Dong Ho painting village many times, so she clearly sees that Thanh Lieu woodblock paintings have different features. If Dong Ho paintings are full of folk colors and familiarity, Thanh Lieu woodblock spring paintings are mostly delicate and sharp, similar to Hang Trong paintings (Hanoi).

According to Thanh Lieu village artisans, woodblock paintings have the features of Hang Trong paintings, which is understandable because they use the same engraving and printing techniques. In the past, Thanh Lieu village artisans came to the capital to make a living. Therefore, the elegance and sophistication shown in the spring paintings here are no less competitive than Hang Trong paintings.

According to Mr. Tang Ba Hoanh, Chairman of the Historical Science Association of Hai Duong province, in the past, folk paintings, including woodblock paintings, could be enjoyed all year round but were most popular during Tet and spring. That is also a long-standing beautiful custom of our nation.

There are no exact documents, but through the history of the development of the craft villages making paintings, it can be seen that playing Tet paintings has existed since the Ly and Tran dynasties. Every time Tet comes, spring comes, our people buy bright paintings, bring them home to hang with the wish to "send off the old - welcome the new", drive away risks and misfortunes, and welcome glory and wealth into the house.

Cultural beauty today

In the past, playing with Tet paintings was an elegant hobby of each family. Nowadays, life has changed, few families hang paintings, but the artisans of Thanh Lieu village are still diligently introducing Tet paintings to many people, especially the young generation and tourists. Coming to Thanh Lieu at the end of the year, we can see the spring atmosphere on the woodblock carving tables.

Young artist Nguyen Cong Dat commented that along with the ups and downs of history, folk paintings are no longer in their prime, but the hobby of collecting paintings and people who love the simple, rustic beauty of woodblock paintings still remains.

In recent years, as material life has improved, the concept of "eating Tet" has gradually shifted to "playing Tet" and in the trend of "returning to the roots", the hobby of collecting Tet paintings seems to be making a comeback. The way of collecting paintings is also richer and more diverse... The form and materials can be renewed but still based on the themes of folk paintings "Ly Ngu Vang Nguyet", "That Dong", "Vinh Hoa", "Phu Quy", "Tu Quy", "Tu Binh"... containing the concept of life, with the purpose of educating everyone from the beginning of the new year to cultivate virtue, train talent, accumulate blessings, and leave virtue for future generations.

Artisans from Thanh Lieu village are painstakingly re-carving spring paintings in the book series "Technique du peuple Annamite" (Technique du peuple Annamite or Mechanics and crafts of the Annamites). The book is considered the "Treasure of Vietnamese culture" of the early 20th century. This is a book printed in the style of woodblocks (printed on one side) consisting of 348 sheets of large-sized Do paper (62cmx44cm; 5.4cm thick), recording the daily life and work of Vietnamese people in the Northern Delta in the early 20th century, including many paintings depicting the atmosphere of Tet and spring celebrations of ancient Vietnamese people.

A new spring has come, Thanh Lieu woodblock printing village, nearly 600 years old, has just received the good news that it has been recognized as a craft village by the People's Committee of Hai Duong province.