Lucky chicken
Looking at the painting of two majestic roosters in a "confrontation" pose, one leg firmly planted, the other raised high ready for "battle," I thought the painting's title was "Heroic Verse." But after asking Nguyen Huu Qua, an artist of the Dong Ho folk painting tradition, I realized I was wrong!
It turns out the painting's title was clearly written by the ancients in four Chinese characters: Tam Duong Khai Thai. "This painting is truly fitting for the first day of spring," Mr. Qua said. Further explaining, the artisan from Dong Ho village said: The ancients used the 12 hexagrams to represent the 12 months of the year. The 11th month is the Phuc hexagram, with one yang line, also known as the first yang month. The 12th month is the Lam hexagram, with two yang lines below, called the second yang. The 1st month is the Thai hexagram, with three yang lines, also known as the third yang month.
"Tam" means three, "yang" refers to the yang line in the I Ching, "kai" means opening, and "tai" means smooth sailing. The Tai hexagram (Earth-Heaven Tai hexagram) is the 11th hexagram in the I Ching. The inner trigram consists of three solid lines (three yang lines) symbolizing Qian (Heaven). The outer trigram consists of three broken lines symbolizing Kun (Earth).
The Tai hexagram symbolizes balance and harmony between Heaven and Earth, between Yin and Yang. It also represents January, the month when the Yang energy within the earth begins to flourish and rise, while the Earth energy descends. Heaven and Earth embrace each other, sustaining each other, causing all living things to awaken, all things to return to spring, trees to sprout and flourish, bringing the beauty of spring to humanity.
"Tam Duong Khai Thai is a New Year's blessing, wishing that January - the first month of spring, the first month of the new year - will bring good fortune in all endeavors, leading to a successful year ahead and opening up many auspicious opportunities," said artisan Nguyen Huu Qua.
Interestingly, the word "yang" (未) is pronounced similarly to "yang" meaning goat. The Chinese favor homophones with different meanings, so in Chinese New Year paintings, the "three goats bringing prosperity" motif often depicts three goats grazing peacefully. Our ancestors, however, didn't paint three goats but instead two roosters, which are both majestic and familiar, yet carry a deeper symbolic meaning.
The rooster is not only a familiar animal in every household but is also considered to embody the "five virtues": a red comb like a scholar wearing a hat (literary); sharp spurs (martial arts); unwavering courage in the face of adversity (courage); sharing when finding food (benevolence); and punctuality in announcing the time (trustworthiness). The rooster's crow calls the sun to rise, its light enveloping humanity, dispelling darkness, and eliminating evil. The word for rooster, "kê," sounds similar to "cát," meaning auspicious, lucky, and good fortune.
According to artisan Nguyen Huu Qua, chickens are the most frequently depicted animals in Dong Ho folk paintings. Besides the aforementioned "three goats bringing prosperity" painting, other notable examples include the "rooster and hen" painting (in Chinese, "thu" means hen, "hung" means rooster), the "five nights of regular crowing" painting, the flock of chickens painting, the "chicken and chrysanthemum" painting, and the auspicious chicken painting…
The pigs are well-fed.
Besides chickens, pigs are also a familiar motif in Dong Ho folk paintings. Folklore still preserves the verse: “Oh, traveler on the main road, stop and admire the scenery to dispel your sorrow. Buy a brightly colored painting, buy a flock of chickens and pigs that will breed abundantly.” It is no coincidence that these verses mention the images of chickens and pigs, animals that are close to the lives of Vietnamese rural people.
According to artisan Nguyen Huu Qua, pigs in Dong Ho paintings are not only familiar but also have very special "designs." "In the Dong Ho painting style, there are three paintings depicting pigs: 'Solo Pig,' 'Pig Eating Taro,' and 'A Group of Pigs.' The image of the pig in the painting originates from the 'ỉ' pig breed – with its sagging back and bulging belly, familiar in Vietnamese villages – but what's unique is that the pig has two distinctive yin-yang swirls, giving the painting its soul."
The swirls (or whorls) on the pig's body are not only a "realistic" depiction of the distinctive, spiraling tuft of hair, but also convey a message about the workings of the universe. Because yin and yang symbolize the origin of balance and continuous development, they represent the philosophy of the constant movement of all things and the harmony of heaven and earth.
The yin-yang symbol is combined with the image of the "ỉ" pig – a local breed endemic to the rural areas of Northern Vietnam – signifying continuous fertility and abundance. "The image of the sow and her litter of five piglets (representing the five elements) playing and eating voraciously in the painting serves as a wish for a prosperous, fulfilling, harmonious, and prosperous new year with many children and grandchildren," Mr. Quả shared.
The embodiment of the Vietnamese spirit
Along with Hang Trong paintings, Kim Hoang paintings, and Lang Sinh paintings, Dong Ho paintings are one of the unique styles of Vietnamese folk paintings printed using woodblocks. While Dong Ho paintings are not exclusive to Tet (Lunar New Year), perhaps it is in Dong Ho that the rustic, simple spirit of the countryside is most deeply felt.
Paintings are produced year-round, but around Tet (Lunar New Year), the demand for new paintings to replace old ones skyrockets, creating a "painting season" that becomes an indispensable part of the Tet rural market: "The painting vendor trudges along carrying two baskets / Looking for a crowded place to sit and sell," "The children are engrossed in admiring the painting of a rooster / Forgetting the woman standing by the roadside calling" (Doan Van Cu).
Traditional Vietnamese New Year paintings, with their simple lines and familiar imagery, always embody the good wishes of the Vietnamese people for the new year. This is not only directly expressed through calligraphic paintings (in Chinese characters) such as: happiness, prosperity, longevity, propriety, wisdom, wealth, and fortune, but also subtly illustrated through flowers, fruits, animals, and objects such as: peaches symbolizing longevity; pomegranates symbolizing fertility and abundance; toads symbolizing academic success and wealth; and fish symbolizing academic achievement (carp leaping over the dragon gate) and abundance (from the homophone of "fish" for "abundance").
Seeing folk paintings evokes the feeling of Tet (Vietnamese New Year). Maurice Duran, a French researcher (author of the book "Vietnamese Folk Paintings: Collection and Research"), remarked: "Folk paintings reflect the soul of the Vietnamese people in the way they have absorbed it from religion, beliefs, literature, thought, history, and unique aspects of daily life. Within this system of ideas, it is appropriate to say that the entirety of Vietnamese folk paintings constitutes an important artistic heritage for the nation."
“The vibrant colors of the nation shine brightly on the gilded paper” (Hoang Cam), amidst the biting cold and bustling Tet market, in the drizzling rain, the old house is warm and full of the spirit of spring…; Dong Ho paintings are meant to preserve and convey the aspirations of generations…
Dong Ho paintings have been inscribed as an intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent protection.
On December 9, 2025, at the 20th session of UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection held in India, the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 Convention adopted a decision to inscribe the Dong Ho painting craft on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of urgent safeguarding.
According to the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 Convention, Dong Ho folk paintings are closely associated with important festivals such as Lunar New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival, as well as ancestor worship and deity worship rituals of the Vietnamese people. However, today there are too few skilled and dedicated people to continue teaching and producing the paintings, so the craft needs urgent protection.
Source: https://baophapluat.vn/thay-tranh-la-thay-tet.html
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