Keep the flame alive.

Preserving the

Artisan Nguyen Ba Quy inspects products at a display booth in Thieu Trung commune.

In Tra Dong village, Thieu Trung commune, the traditional bronze casting craft is a precious cultural heritage left by our ancestors. Through the ups and downs of time, the people here have preserved the essence of the craft, unmatched by few other places. From the elderly to the young, they diligently work day and night, using their skillful hands to create valuable products. In 2018, bronze casting was recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

This "hereditary" craft truly applies to the family of artisan Nguyen Ba Quy (born in 1987). His father, Meritorious Artisan Nguyen Ba Chau (born in 1962), was the first person in the country to successfully cast bronze drums using traditional handcrafted methods that had been lost for centuries. He also successfully set five Guinness World Records in Vietnam for traditional bronze casting.

For artisan Nguyen Ba Quy, born into the "cradle" of the craft village, his childhood was spent surrounded by the blazing fire of bronze casting furnaces. His father guided and taught him the craft, from kneading clay and shaping molds to distinguishing materials, melting bronze, and carving intricate patterns. All of this nurtured his passion for the traditional craft from a young age. Then, in his late teens and early twenties, traveling with his father from North to South to learn from experience and create new products helped him understand the cultural value of bronze artifacts, fueling his creative aspirations and love for the craft.

Mr. Quy shared: “My father was a bronze caster, so since I was little, he often taught me that this craft is very valuable because from charcoal, firewood, straw, scrap metal, and junk, through the diligent, dedicated, and creative hands of the workers, valuable products can be created. To have a successful product, one must go through a complex technical process, and importantly, the artisan must know how to ‘breathe life’ into each traditional product. Only then will the finished product have sharp, exquisite patterns and contain the unique values of each craft village. Perhaps it is my passion for the craft and my love for the craft village where I was born that has helped me continue to inherit, learn, and research to create quality products.”

Guided by his experienced father and fueled by the daring spirit of youth, Nguyen Ba Quy has always strived to learn and innovate, creating many exquisite products. Among them is the large-scale replica of the Ngoc Lu bronze drum. In 2018, artisan Nguyen Ba Quy was awarded a certificate by the Vietnam Record Holders Association – Vietnam Record Organization – for establishing the record of "The person who created the largest replica of the Ngoc Lu bronze drum using traditional handcrafted methods in Vietnam." Furthermore, he and his father set a record for casting 1,000 statues of Mother Au Co as gifts for the APEC Summit in 2017. In 2021, the Quy Chau bronze drum product was ranked as a 4-star OCOP product.

With his outstanding personal achievements, at the age of 30, Mr. Nguyen Ba Quy was awarded the title of "Master Craftsman" by the Central Executive Committee of the Vietnam Handicraft Village Association. In May 2025, at the age of 38, he was honored to be one of 46 artisans nationwide to be awarded the title of "Outstanding Artisan". In June 2025, he was also one of the exemplary artisans nationwide to participate in a meeting with President Luong Cuong at the Presidential Palace on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam Handicraft Village Association.

For this young artisan, the craft village and traditional crafts are not only places that preserve cultural heritage and produce handcrafted products showcasing the creativity and skill of the artisans, but also provide employment for many workers, contributing to the socio -economic development of the locality. To develop production, his family established Dong Son Che Dong Traditional Bronze Casting Company Limited, where he serves as deputy director. The joy of this young artisan has contributed to creating a friendly working environment for skilled craftsmen to learn from each other, create, and produce many valuable products for the traditional craft village, so that more and more people will know about the traditional bronze casting products of Tra Dong village.

In the Dat Tai carpentry village of Hoang Hoa commune, continuing the family tradition to preserve and develop the craft is also a way to "keep the flame" of the village alive. At the Lam Hang woodworking production facility, the young owner, Nguyen Van Lam, a member of the 9X generation born in Dat Tai village, had previously gone away to study and work, but after settling down and starting a family, he returned to the village to inherit his father's business and develop the traditional woodworking production facility with his family.

“The carpentry craft of Dat Tai has been renowned for about 500 years, and over time, the people of Dat Tai village have remained dedicated to the craft. I am fortunate to have inherited my family's traditional craft. My father has nearly 50 years of experience in the trade, and for our generation, cherishing and preserving the craft, modernizing it, and developing it to suit market trends and tastes is not only about developing the family economy but also a responsibility and duty to preserve the beautiful cultural heritage left by our ancestors.”

Currently, Lam Hang's woodworking facility provides employment for 6-7 permanent workers and more than 10 seasonal workers. To apply technology to production, his family has invested hundreds of millions of VND in machinery to support the process, reducing the workload of carpenters, saving time, and producing a wider variety of products at more competitive prices.

People like Nguyen Ba Quy, Nguyen Van Lam, and many other young people are following in their fathers' footsteps, continuing to do a good job as successors, keeping the traditional "flame of the craft" alive for today and tomorrow.

Text and photos: Viet Huong

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/giu-lua-nghe-truyen-thong-cua-cha-ong-260237.htm