Resurrection of Chuon Village

In the ancient capital of Hue, once a land of countless crafts, many traditional trades now only exist in name. In this series, Thanh Nien reporters trace the traces of these old crafts, meet the last remaining inheritors, and also those who are quietly preserving these trades out of love for the imperial city.

This Tet holiday, the traditional couplets of Chuon village (Phu An commune, former Phu Vang district, now My Thuong ward, Hue city) will "come back to life" after about a decade of being lost. Interestingly, this revival comes from the generosity of a man originally from Hanoi - Ngo Quy Duc.

Mr. Ngo Quy Duc has devoted much effort to restoring the renowned traditional ceremonial scrolls of Chuon village.

PHOTO: HOANG SON

The ancient custom of playing with words has been lost.

Along with many local specialties (fragrant wine, whale fish cakes), the renowned Chuon village in Hue, situated beside Chuon Lagoon, has long been famous for its noble calligraphy craft. Chuon is a village known for its studiousness, with many people achieving high academic honors and holding high positions in the imperial court. This tradition has left its mark on the craft of making couplets, from the ability to write beautifully, the understanding of the beauty of calligraphy art, to the formation of the elegant custom of hanging couplets during Tet (Lunar New Year) or using them as gifts and presents with cultural significance.

In the past, many families in the village knew how to print New Year couplets. The craft was usually in full swing from around the 10th lunar month until just before Tet (Lunar New Year), with each household printing from several hundred to several thousand sets per season. However, about 10 years ago, the craft of making couplets in Chuon village became just a name when artisan Huynh Ly, the last person to preserve the craft, passed away. Deeply committed to preserving Vietnam's traditional craft heritage, Ngo Quy Duc, after successfully reviving many lost crafts in the northern provinces, came to the ancient capital of Hue to search for traces of the couplet-making craft in Chuon village.

The couplet designs are printed on paper and mounted onto a wooden surface.

PHOTO: SX

"After many days of fieldwork in Chuon village, what I regret most is the loss of the wooden printing blocks with the character 'Phuc' (meaning good fortune) and two couplets by Mr. Huynh Ly. None of his descendants have been able to preserve the craft, nor have they been able to safeguard his legacy. In the very village where this style of couplet originated, all that remains is an old couplet hanging in the family's ancestral temple, silently fading like a fragile testament to a prosperous era," Mr. Duc said sadly.

Since 2022, Ngo Quy Duc has visited Chuon village many times to search for "clues". By 2025, after many years of accumulating experience, he spent a lot of time in Hue researching the remaining couplets and accurately recreating the details on the technical drawings…

The image of the village scroll (with the large character "Phuc") along with the two couplets was recreated using graphics by Mr. Ngo Quy Duc.

PHOTO: SX

THE EXTRAORDINARY EFFORT TO RECREATE THE WOODBLOCK

"Traditionally, each household in Chuon village would specialize in a large calligraphic inscription, for example, some houses would use the character 'Phuc' (Happiness), others 'Loc' (Prosperity), 'Tho' (Longevity)... But when I actually saw it, I only saw one large inscription, the character 'Phuc', along with two couplets - which was the specialty of Mr. Huynh Ly's house. By combining photocopies with images of scrolls from over 10 years ago found online, I successfully reconstructed a detailed drawing of the 'Phuc' character with beautiful four-mythical-creature motifs," Mr. Ngo Quy Duc recounted, adding: "Thanks to my expertise in information technology, digitizing old archival images, restoring the drawing style, and recreating the layout went smoothly. After completing this stage, I took it to the artisans in Thanh Lieu village (formerly Hai Duong province ) for assistance."

The first chisel strokes on the wooden printing blocks for the village of Chuồn were initiated by Mr. Ngô Quý Đức.

PHOTO: SX

After years of researching traditional woodblock prints, Mr. Duc said that achieving the accurate images and details of the couplet was not difficult for the artisans of Thanh Lieu village, as the village was famous for its woodblock carving during the Nguyen dynasty. "Having found the right wood for woodblock carving, I and the elders of the village went to the temple dedicated to the founder of the woodblock printing craft, Luong Nhu Hoc, to light incense and then made the first chisel strokes. After two months of hard work, the artisans produced a complete print. On the day of the test print, each ink stroke appeared on the dó paper, sharp and detailed, and I was overwhelmed with happiness," he recalled.

According to surviving documents and oral traditions, the Chuon village couplets were not mere decorative paintings. Each one was typically nearly 1 meter high and about 70-80 cm wide, large enough to create a dignified display on a family altar or ancestral hall. "In the past, people worshipped calligraphy a lot," Duc recalled. Calligraphy wasn't just for viewing; it was a message, a reminder from ancestors to their descendants. Therefore, for him, reviving the Chuon village couplets is not just about restoring a lost craft, but about bringing back a traditional form of education , where literacy and morality were once placed at the highest position in every home.

The re-carving of the Chuồn village wooden scrolls is an important basis for the revival of Chuồn village scrolls.

PHOTO: SX

According to Mr. Duc, restoration does not mean simply copying the past. After restoring the "Phuc" (Happiness) character set, he plans to continue restoring the "Loc" (Prosperity) and "Tho" (Longevity) characters, and other character sets, gradually recreating the system of ancestral altar couplets that were once popular in this region. In the long term, the couplets may be further developed using the Vietnamese Quốc ngữ script, but still retaining the traditional woodblock carving technique, stroke creation, and color printing; while also diversifying the sizes, from large ones for hanging on altars to smaller versions for decoration and souvenirs.

The woodblocks are carved inside the temple dedicated to Luong Nhu Hoc, the founder of the woodblock printing craft.

PHOTO: SX

The biggest challenge in the restoration lies not in the technique but in the documentation and finances. A large set of woodblocks made from persimmon wood – the most suitable type of wood for carving – takes about two months to create, costing at least over 50 million VND, not including paper, paint, and labor. Currently, he and his colleagues are calling for community support to gradually complete the set of couplets, hoping that this type of calligraphic artwork can continue to be present in contemporary life. (to be continued)

The hope of reviving Tay Ho paintings.

Tay Ho paintings, a folk art form that once existed in Hue, have now completely disappeared. Aside from a few vague mentions online of the existence of Tay Ho village, there is virtually no documentation left detailing the form, themes, or printing techniques of this art form. The only rare clue comes from a Hue resident who has lived in the US for many years and brought some woodblock prints from Tay Ho village for display. However, the remaining images are only the size of a fingertip, and when enlarged, they become blurry. "From these few pieces of documentation, I am searching, comparing, and reconstructing the original images, every detail of the painting, with the hope that one day Tay Ho paintings will be revived like the couplets from Chuon village," shared Ngo Quy Duc.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/phuc-sinh-lien-lang-chuon-185260201225251464.htm