Unit 1: Local Environment - A Closer Look 2

Recently, we made a trip to visit Dong Ho village with a desire to meet the old artisan – Nguyen Huu Sam. Just when we arrived villagers at the dyke in the village and talked with the villagers about the artisan, they immediately told us about him.  The old house owned by the artisan is situated in a long alley of the village. On the walls of the house there are many folk paintings in different genres, from daily life paintings to landscape paintings shown in a set of “four seasons”. Mr. Sam told us about his past. When he was three years old, he was instructed in the craft of making Dong Ho paintings by his father. At five, he could help his father apply the Dong Ho paintings, and learn how to print the paper with proper colours. At seven, he was able to draw with a pen and make the most difficult samples. Years went by and the soul of Dong Ho folk paintings has kept seashell powder paint to the poonah-paper. In the 1940s, this craft flourished. At that time, he was assigned by his parents to take the paintings to the market for sale. Mr. Sam said that 17 families in the village have been engaged in making Dong Ho paintings. Artisan Sam has always been devoted to the making of Dong Ho paintings and has waited for opportunities to restore this traditional craft. In 1967, when the local authorities assigned him to restore the traditional genre of Dong Ho folk paintings, he gathered 50 villagers with professional skills and collected hundreds of woodblocks to establish the Dong Ho Painting Cooperative. Thanks to his efforts, such famous painting as "Rat's wedding", “Rooster”, “Scene of jealousy” and “Writing verses about precious flowers" have been revived. Dong Ho paintings have been available in many parts of the world such as Japan, France, Germany, Singapore and the United States.