Discover the unique characteristics of Dong Ho paintings - a cultural heritage in need of urgent protection.

The craft of making Dong Ho folk paintings ( Bac Ninh province) has recently been recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of urgent protection.

UNESCO's inscription of Dong Ho folk painting on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding affirms the unique historical and artistic value of the craft, while also creating motivation for artisans to continue preserving the skills and secrets of this traditional craft, which is facing the risk of disappearing.

According to Meritorious Artisan Nguyen Dang Che, the craft of making Dong Ho folk paintings has existed for a long time. The genealogy of the Nguyen Dang family in Dong Ho village records that the craft of making paintings existed since the 16th century and flourished in the 1940s.

After 1945, the craft of making Dong Ho folk paintings faced the risk of extinction, as there were no buyers. Therefore, families switched to making votive paper goods. Currently, only two families in Dong Ho village still make paintings: the Nguyen Huu family and the Nguyen Dang family, with three dedicated families remaining committed to the craft.

Dong Ho paintings are a unique style, deeply rooted in traditional culture, featuring cheerful, innocent images and embodying dreams of a prosperous and happy life. These paintings depict the age-old aspirations of working people for a harmonious, prosperous, and happy family life, and a just and good society.

With its unique characteristics and profound cultural values, Dong Ho paintings, through their rustic and familiar symbolic images, contain hidden messages full of humanistic significance.

Rich in design, style, and themes, Dong Ho folk paintings reflect almost everything that happens in the simple life of working people, such as herding buffalo and playing the flute, collecting coconuts, wrestling, and jealousy, as well as dreams and aspirations for a better life, such as etiquette, righteousness, glory, wealth, herds of pigs, and flocks of chickens.

The appeal of Dong Ho folk paintings lies not only in their depictions of life—garbringing granaries full of rice, chickens filling the yard, and aspirations for wealth and prosperity—but also in their portrayal of married life, with a humorous yet profound perspective.

Regarding materials and colors

After printing, Dong Ho paintings are removed from the printing plates, glued onto bamboo trays, and then dried in well-ventilated areas. Only when the paintings are dry are the other colors printed. The black outlines are always printed last. (Photo: Minh Quyet/TTXVN)

The first unique feature that captivates the viewer's senses is the color and the quality of the paper used. The paper used for printing is dó paper, made from the bark of the dó tree, which is porous, soft, thin, durable, and easily absorbs color without smudging during printing.

A layer of iridescent lacquer is applied to the paper by crushing the shells of scallops (a type of thin-shelled sea shell) and mixing them with a paste (made from rice flour, glutinous rice flour, or sometimes cassava flour), then using a pine needle brush to spread it onto the dó paper.

Using pine needle brushes creates lines that follow the sweeping motion, and natural seashells provide a shimmering white color from the small seashell fragments under the light. Other colors can be added to the paste during the process of making seashell paper. The colors used in the paintings are natural colors from plants and herbs, such as black from the charcoal of the neem tree or bamboo leaves, green from copper rust or indigo leaves, yellow from pagoda tree flowers, red from cinnabar, and redwood, etc. These are basic, unmixed colors.

Regarding genre

Based on subject matter, Dong Ho paintings can be divided into seven main categories: devotional paintings, celebratory paintings, historical paintings, narrative paintings, proverbial paintings, landscape paintings, and paintings reflecting daily life.

Regarding the production process

The process of creating paintings involves many steps, including two main stages: designing the pattern (woodblock carving) and printing (painting the picture). Here, it's clear that each artist requires a certain degree of innate talent as well as high-level skills.

There are two types of woodblock printing: line printing and color printing. Line printing woodblocks are made from persimmon wood or mulberry wood. The tools for carving the woodblocks are chisels, also known as a set of chisels, made of hardened steel (about 30-40 pieces per set).

The artisans of Ho village create the painting designs by hand, while the other stages are done using printing plates.

In terms of artistic value

Dong Ho folk paintings are symbolic and decorative, yet they retain a simple, easy-to-understand quality that is very close to the lives of people in the Northern Delta region.

Regarding content

Dong Ho folk paintings deeply reflect the spiritual and material life of people and society according to the folk aesthetic perspective of the people of this region. These paintings express the age-old dreams of working people for a harmonious, prosperous, and happy family life and a just and good society.

The meaning of some Dong Ho folk paintings:

Dong Ho folk paintings are divided into many categories: devotional paintings, celebratory paintings, historical paintings, narrative paintings, proverbial paintings, landscape paintings, and paintings reflecting daily life (2025). (Photo: Hoang Hieu/TTXVN)

The painting "Mother Hen and Her Chicks " speaks of maternal love, affection, mutual support among family members, and the responsibility of parents towards their children.

The painting of Yin and Yang Pigs : closely associated with everyday life, expressing the desire for a prosperous and peaceful life. This reflects the depth of the feeling of love and protection of a mother's love for her child.

Rooster and Roses Painting : The rooster represents five virtues: intellect, martial prowess, courage, benevolence, and trustworthiness. The painting symbolizes bringing good fortune, prosperity, and longevity to the new year.

The painting "Carp Gazing at the Moon" symbolizes overcoming difficulties, the will to strive for success, and the pursuit of academic achievement.

The painting "Vinh Hoa" (Prosperity and Glory) symbolizes the aspiration for success in the new year, embodying the virtues of a gentleman: benevolence, righteousness, trustworthiness, courage, and mastery of both literary and martial arts, for the man of the family.

The painting "Prosperity" depicts a little girl hugging a duck, conveying the wish for graceful, gentle, and pure qualities.

The painting of a shepherd boy playing the flute depicts the peaceful tranquility in the impoverished and humble life of a young buffalo herder.

The painting "The Toad Teacher": Praising the Vietnamese people's love of learning and respect for their teachers.

The painting "The Catfish Sue Each Other" is a tragicomedy about the ignorance and stupidity of the common people and reflects the corruption and bribery of officials in the old regime.

The painting depicting "Vinh Quy Bai To" (Returning Home in Glory to Pay Respect to Ancestors): "Vinh Quy Bai To" is not only an honor for the newly graduated scholar, his parents, relatives, and villagers, but also an opportunity for the scholar to express gratitude to his ancestors, parents, and teachers, in accordance with the Vietnamese moral principle of "The merits of the father, the kindness of the mother, and the gratitude to the teacher." This is a very valuable and cherished cultural tradition.

Wrestling painting: extols the spirit of chivalry. Wrestling is a traditional Vietnamese martial art that originated with the nation's founding and has been closely associated with national defense and spring festivals. This is a famous painting from Dong Ho village.

The "Jealousy Confrontation" painting is a witty yet highly educational piece depicting everyday life. It portrays a wife with her skirt rolled up, wielding scissors to cut the mistress's hair. The husband, caught red-handed, keeps one hand on his mistress's chest to protect her while using the other to try and appease his wife. A child is shown with clasped hands, pleading for forgiveness for their parents' behavior.

The painting serves as a warning that parents' actions deeply affect children's minds, significantly impacting their character development later in life. The painting carries profound humanistic meaning.

The painting "The Mouse Wedding" (Mouse's Triumphal Return): vividly portrays the pure, simple, and honest spirit and character of ordinary people, while also being rich in folk philosophy and possessing profound, subtle humanistic values. The mouse wedding, outwardly a joyous occasion, must include offerings to the cat. The painting portrays the charming beauty of feudal society through the witty and insightful imagery of animals.

Besides the Dong Ho folk paintings depicting everyday life with simple yet meaningful themes, there are also more esteemed paintings of the four seasons, representing luxury and nobility, which were only used by kings, emperors, and officials in the past.

For example, "Four auspicious symbols, Four vases, Four auspicious cranes, Four auspicious female figures" ... are imbued with a regal quality due to their symbolic imagery representing elegance, nobility, and the wish for everything to go well in the new year.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/tim-hieu-net-doc-dao-cua-tranh-dong-ho-di-san-van-hoa-can-bao-ve-khan-cap-post1082132.vnp