Above: The wooden blocks themselves are sometimes framed and hung on the wall
Nguyen Dang Che painting a wood block
One of the very few families left that carries on the art
With Nguyen Tam Deng in 2006
Mr. Nguyen showing his wood block prints
Having an interpreter is essential
HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN?
Nobody can really pinpoint the origins of the wood block in Viet Nam, but when I was visiting The Nguyen family in Bac Ninh, I found a most interesting article by Eric Thiel, portions of which are reprinted below:
"Nguyen Dan Che's connection to his ancestors goes beyond the spiritual realm. For nearly four centuries, his ancestors were artist craftsmen who produced rustic, colorful pictures printed from etched wooden blocks, ubiquitous adornments during the Tet Lunar Year Holidays. But just over a decade ago, the family tradition spanning 20 generations was poised to end with Che. Indeed, the ancient printing craft, once the mainstay of 17 extended families in the Small Village of Dong Ho, near Ha Noi, had virtually disappeared.
Then, in 1991, after retiring from his post as a professor at the Ha Noi Institute of Art, Che returned to Dong Ho to revive his family's traditional occupation. Today, he is one of the few practicing masters of this ancient craft. Che and his two sons and grandson, now make the prints just as their ancestors did, using natural inks derived from local materials and paper made by hand. The images he prints are also steeped in antiquity, offering glimpses of village life and traditional Viet Namese values.
UNKNOWN ORIGINS Nobody knows the exact origins of this type of woodblock printing, but scholars say that this crafts' popularity peaked in the 17th and 18th centuries. While several northern villages produced wood block prints, Dong Ho Village, about 40 km northeast of Ha Noi in Bac Ha (corrected) province, was the most famous source. Eventually, this type of print came to be called Dong Ho. "
As you near the workshop, this sign will greet you
UNESCO has designated this a heritage site
Typical street in the village
The Viet Namese recycle EVERYTHING
"Upheavals and deprivations due to warfare, the collectivization of family craft production and the introduction of modern means of printing each took their toll on Dong Ho printing, which slowly faded into obscurity. Che remembers setting the printing blocks being used to firewood or construction materials. One finely etched block, Che recalls, was used as the door of a chicken coop.
""I was struck with sadness when I saw that"" he says. ""I decided that I would round up all the remaining blocks in the village - and there weren't many left - so that I could preserve them and try to keep the tradition from perishing"".
Over 100 of these sturdy blocks now line the walls of Che's studio. Some, displayed in a locked case, date back 200 years. Che says that although foreign visitors have offered him considerable sums of money for these blocks, he has no interest in parting with these relics of his family's history.
VILLAGE VALUES Artistic ingenuity was not the imperative for Dong Ho prints. Rather each print was intended to convey a prophetic fable, allegory, social value or historical struggle. As such, the prints provided a colorful means of transferring important moral beliefs to the young. The prints also expressed cheerful themes associated with the Tet Lunar Year such as happiness, good luck, fertility and prosperity.
Many prints feature common village animals, like roosters, buffaloes and fish, as well as magical creatures like dragons. These animals carry such symbolic meanings as happiness, propriety, industriousness, or intelligence. One print features a professorial toad instructing a class of toads and frogs. If it seems like a sarcastic potshot at the educated upper class, consider that the toad was a powerful and respected entity in the spirit world capable of even coaxing the gods into providing rain.
One can certainly look for social commentary in the Dong Ho prints, - suggestions of simple village life taking a dig at the feudal establishment. Take the well known "mouse wedding" print, which depicts a fanciful mouse wedding procession en route to the village temple. In wait lies a grim-faced cat, its paw extended exacting bribes of fish and birds.
Dong Ho prints often carry messages that are as relevant today as they were back then. One of my favorite prints is the depiction of jealous fighting. The prints shows one woman brandishing scissors aiming to cut the flowing locks of a younger, bare-breasted woman in the protective arms of a man.
EARTHY ART To fully appreciate Dong Ho Prints, one must understand how they are made. Specialized craftsmen produce the paints and paper, while others etch the woodblocks and paint the prints.
The inks come from a variety of fruits, flowers and leaves (yellow and blue), as well as eggshells (white) and stones (red). These raw pigments are mixed with just the right amount of glutinous rice before printing to make a glue-like paint that will neither absorb through the paper when wet not chip off after drying.
The paper is made by hand from the bark of the vine like do-tree, and then coated with a glowy silver-white substance made from pearlized seashells. Even the brushes used to coat the paper and printing blocks are made from local materials: bound spruce leaves flattened at the tips.
Finally, the prints themselves are made by brushing paint onto the carved wood blocks, one block for each color - and pressing these blocks on paper. After each color, the print must be air-dried. Prints traditionally contain from three to five colors.
THE NEXT GENERATION On a balmy June morning, Che appears at his gate and ushers me into the courtyard where Do Paper is being coated and spread about to dry in preparation for printing. Once inside, Che proudly points out a number of framed citations from the government and the Artists Association. As tea is poured, Che passes around several albums of Do Paper filled with the messages and signatures of hundreds of visitors from around the world. He also has stacks of magazines in various languages with articles about him.
The Farmer & the Ox
Mice Flying a dragon kite
Village Life
Chicken and Young
The Mouse Wedding
The Playground
Frog School
The Match
The Coconut Tree
Child with Goose
Fish
Flute Player on donkey
Riding the Buffalo
Jealousy
Baby with Rooster
Man with Ox
"I started doing this just for the sake of preserving the tradition. The idea of it generating a lot of interest or being profitable never occurred to me", Che says. "But I am certainly pleased how things have turned out".
Che now talks of opening an exhibition center and even a guesthouse for visitors in Dong Ho Village, which has received UNESCO recognition as a traditional craft village and support from several governments. But funds for such an endeavor are proving hard to find.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of the growing interest in the ancient art is that two of Che's five children and one grandson are now actively involved in carrying on the family tradition. It's a great family tradition that's come a long way, says Che's son Tam. We can't let it stop here."
Wrestling Match
Catching fish
Pig with young
Birds & men at play
ORDERING THE BLOCK PRINTS
Yes, you can now possess all of the twenty block prints pictured above. Each measures 15½" x 10½", including the deckles. They are enclosed in a handsome portfolio, pictured at left which is protected by a poly bag. The cost for the collection is US$150.00. The prints are not sold individually, and lead time is undetermined at the moment.
Also available are some wonderful journals, also with handmade Do Paper, in a variety of sizes. We are in the process of obtaining the various sizes with pricing.
We are determined to help support the continuance of this craft which started centuries ago. In this century, the only one left preserving this art is Che's son, Tam Dang, whom I visited in December 2006.
