War Nearly Killed This Vietnamese Art. Meet One Family Keeping It Alive | Still Standing

Dong Ho is a traditional Vietnamese folk art. These paintings used to be a common part of home decor during each Vietnamese New Year. Today, just two family lines are left making this art in Dong Ho village.

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Meet One Of The Last Families Still Making Vietnamese Dong Ho Art | Still Standing

[ash_-_skyle]

I once heard a story of how this art came to be.
There was a king who wanted a painting to decorate his castle. He sent a message to all of the artist in the country that he would reward them if they could paint for him. But there's a catch. The painting was supposed to be painted on fabric but not on paper. Many people tried but instead ruined the fabric. Soon after, no one was willing to try because it was impossible to paint on fabric. However, in a village somewhere(Dong Ho village), there's an artist who was persistence in try the new method. He tried painting with whatever he could find. He came up with an idea of applying the base coat(made out of crushed 'diep' seashells) on the fabric. Not only that it worked, it created a shiny background to work on. With his idea finalized, he went to the castle. As he was painting, he noticed there weren't any art tools. He then go rouge by utilizing what he had. He used his hands, leaves, branches and dipped them in paint. As a result, a simple yet beautiful and dynamic painting was made. The king was satisfied with his performance and rewarded him he hefty sum. With his reward, he went back to his village(Dong Ho village). He wanted to improve and popularised the new art.
Thank you for reading this. I'm sorry if the sentences don't make any sense.
I typed the story as as I remember so there might be wrong information or missed details.
However, you still can get the gist of it(I guess).

[ManhHungPham]

It could have been much nicer if they have had mentioned the papers being used, as it is an art form on its own. As in 0:04 you can easily notice that the paper's texture is somewhat different to our usual printing papers. The best type of papers they could use in Đông Hồ paintings is called "Giấy Điệp" (literally: Điệp-paper or seashell-paper), which is made of "Giấy Dó" (Dó-paper, a type of papers originated from Vietnam and is made from the bark of Rhamnoneuron trees) coated in a mixture of sticky-rice glue and seashell-starch (shells of a specific scallop called Mimachlamys, in Vietnamese they are called "Sò Điệp").

For the coating, they use a pine-leaf-broom to sweep the above mentioned mixture on the surface of the Dó-paper. The result is a sheet of Điệp-paper which possesses a charming white background with nice identical parallel rays of light coming from the remaining sparkling micro shell-particles. The Dó-papers alone could last up to 500 years, now the Điệp-papers last not only that long but they are even waterproof and glittering. Đông Hồ paintings can be made with either Dó-paper or Điệp-paper.

[thetrison]

I'm Vietnamese. This art form is quite popular in our country. In schools, history classes make brief mentions of it, literature classes talk about its influence on our culture, and art classes use it as inspiration, etc. But, to be honest, I've always thought the trade was completely lost since the art form is so ancient... Until I clicked on this video. Thanks.

[TheViettan]

I live nearby this village. Every year, I buy some for my family and for my international friends to support these artists.
I am very proud of this.

[vinu]

It could be a great initiative to share details on how to reach the business or where to buy this from, so we can continue to support this art.

[SinhthoibtMai]

As a Vietnamese, thanks you for making the video. However, I have a comment that the video mention about Vietnamese war with French but using Chinese images at 5:55. Please using Vietnamese images which are very popular and easy to find. Thank you again for making the video.

[joeyw]

When you talk about a struggling business trying to save a lost art I really think you should include some contact information. As I'm writing this over 3000 people have watched this episode. I would think someone out of all those people would want to purchase a piece

[buddhimananayakkara]

It's so amazing to see how she put each block precisely by hand using just simple dots. Modern screen printers mess up the alignment frequently even using fixed mechanical arms. What an skill. God bless them!!

[dazedneptune]

I hope the art will live on. I definitely want to buy one when I travel back to Vietnam someday.

[worldwide_cruising]

*Can we all appreciate this true craftsmanship?*

[vincentchan]

'folk art is rarely hung in modern homes today"
I have one in my home and believe me every time someone new visits my house they admire it for a while... easily one of the most beautiful pieces of artwork I own.

[PachetePockets]

I used to live in Vietnam for a couple of years. It is one of the most incredible cultures of anywhere in the world. I've traveled and lived all over the world and Vietnam has always been, and always will be, my favorite country.

[abiramihariprasad]

Wow
....I can't believe am seeing this...because I still remember a painting from late grandfather home, me remember him saying that it was passes on to him from his late grandparents..said when there in Vietnam as refugees and kept that as a reminder and somehow got back to India after the war.
After all these years am learning the story behind it...Feeling very Euphoria seeing many pieces of this ancient art! 💕

[cliffwoodbury]

its a beautiful art and if i ever go to veitnam i will buy at least one

[randaya]

I actually got to do this in my school. It is definitely intensive, because you're talking about carving a block of wood with precision so that you can print it on the picture. Any mistake incur is fatal. Đông Hồ art is beautiful that the labor into making it is worth it. This family is not the only one doing it.

[KateandBree]

Look at how beautiful these prints are. So beautiful.

[spootnik]

I believe this family is from the Dong Ho Village in Song Ho Commune, Thuan Thanh District, Bac Ninh Province. Hopefully the art will survive this pandemic and tourist will return to Vietnam. I sure will be getting a few paintings.

[bakedpretzels]

Thank you for this episode. I was born in Saigon and left when I was younger. This is giving me a sight of history that I didn’t know of.

[denseone]

My nephews are Thai-Vietnamese, and it saddens me to know such a tangible part of there cultural inheritance is at risk of disappearing. I hope they are able to embrace it once they are old enough to understand.

[marialinguist]

kì công lắm - this art is so detailed and is a famous national treasure but it's sad it's lower in demand. i want to buy it. we have to preserve it!!