The journey to revive the traditional Chuồn village censer.

VHO - After a long period of absence and seemingly on the verge of extinction, the traditional ceremonial scrolls of Chuon village have been restored by a group of young heritage enthusiasts, opening up an opportunity to revive the ancient culture of the people of Hue every time Tet (Lunar New Year) comes around.

Mr. Ngo Quy Duc's set of five wooden printing blocks for couplets from Chuon village was recently showcased in Hanoi.

In Hue, there are three famous styles of folk painting: Sinh village paintings, Chuon village couplet paintings, and Tay Ho paintings. For various reasons, only Sinh village paintings have been preserved, passed down, and widely promoted within the community; while Chuon village couplet paintings and Tay Ho paintings have "disappeared" from people's lives for a long time.

Almost gave up…

Chuon Village, also known as An Truyen Village, now part of My Thuong Ward, Hue City, is famous for its scholarly tradition and cultural heritage. In the minds of the older generation, Chuon Village's calligraphic scrolls were closely associated with the Lunar New Year. These scrolls were highly prized and displayed in prominent positions in homes, ancestral temples, and other places of worship. However, for decades, this cultural tradition has almost disappeared since the last artisan who made these scrolls passed away.

In a research and exploration journey initiated by a group of young people passionate about traditional cultural heritage, led by Ngo Quy Duc (41 years old, Hanoi), the traditional couplets of Chuon village are gradually being rediscovered. Sharing about this journey, Duc said that there were times when the group wanted to give up due to a lack of materials and funding, but when they saw documentary images of the red couplets during the traditional Tet holiday of the people of Hue, the group became determined to see it through.

The research team spent an entire year meticulously searching through fragmented documents, reconstructing the dragon and phoenix motifs on 2D drawings. They then traveled to Thanh Lieu village in Hai Duong (now part of Hai Phong City), renowned for its woodblock printing tradition for over 500 years, to commission artisans to recreate the woodblocks. There, with the collaboration of artisan Nguyen Cong Trang and young artisans Nguyen Cong Dat and Pham Quang, the woodblock sets, initially three and then five, of the ancient Chuon village couplets were meticulously completed with refined technical details. From the initial test prints using traditional ink on Do paper, the team continued to adjust the patterns, border composition, and refine the details to closely approximate the original Chuon village couplets.

One of the key factors in their success was the recreation of traditional colors. Instead of using industrial ink, the research team blended cinnabar to create a deep red color and hibiscus flower to create a muted orange, printing on thin, durable do paper. When the paper was peeled from the wooden surface, the Four Sacred Animals motifs appeared sharp and harmonious, reminiscent of the traditional scrolls from Chuon village in Hue.

In January 2026, Ngo Quy Duc's group launched and introduced the impressive "Fortune - Four Sacred Animals" series of couplets from Chuon village. On a background of red-dyed dó paper, the motifs of Dragon,麒麟 (Kirin), Turtle, and Phoenix, along with ancient couplets, appear solemn, vibrant, and deeply rooted in Tet culture. Notably, the journey didn't stop there; they continued to "upgrade" the five-panel couplet series (Ngũ sự) with the addition of the "Crane on the Turtle's Back" pair of paintings, which were introduced to the public in Hanoi just before the Lunar New Year of the Horse 2026.

In January 2026, the "Fortune - Four Mythical Creatures" series of couplets marked the return of the couplet-making craft of Chuon village in Hue.

Solutions are needed to make the selling price more affordable.

In the past, many families in Chuon village knew how to print decorative couplets to sell throughout the country for hanging during Tet (Lunar New Year). Usually, from the 10th lunar month, households would start printing couplets until the end of the 12th lunar month, with some households printing hundreds or even thousands of sets. Because of this, people in Hue in the past often preferred hanging couplet paintings to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

According to researcher Nguyen Xuan Hoa, former Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Hue City, Chuon Village is a famous area of ​​Hue, preserving many beautiful traditional cultural features. Chuon Village couplets are an indispensable cultural product during the Lunar New Year; without them, the spirit of Tet is diminished. Over the years, young people have researched, collected, and revived these couplets with unique creativity, contributing to the revival of the cultural space of the villages along the Tam Giang lagoon in particular and of Hue in general.

However, researcher Nguyen Xuan Hoa also noted that the current crafting process is very elaborate, especially the manual coloring stage, resulting in a relatively high product price compared to the general purchasing power of the local people. In the long term, for the craft of making Chuon village vases to survive and be sustainable, appropriate solutions are needed to make the selling price more affordable.

According to Mr. Ngo Quy Duc, the project's journey is not over yet, but only just beginning. The project hopes to soon pass on the technique of printing couplets to the people of Chuon village, reviving this traditional craft in the modern era. In the future, the group will continue to connect and collaborate with famous Vietnamese painting villages to restore the lost printing plates. Simultaneously, they aspire to revive the Tay Ho woodblock printing tradition of Hue, contributing to the completion of Vietnam's "folk culture tapestry."

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/hanh-trinh-hoi-sinh-lien-lang-chuon-208004.html