The exquisite woodblock printing technique of Sinh village

When mentioning Sinh village paintings, people in Hue often immediately think of Mr. Ky Huu Phuoc - the artisan who painstakingly revived this art form that was once on the verge of extinction. Few know that right in this village, there is a man quietly preserving the craft of woodblock carving - the very essence that determines the lines, composition, and spirit of Sinh paintings.

REVERSE ENGRAVING ART

If artisan Ky Huu Phuoc, the 9th generation of the Sinh village painting family (Lai An, Duong No Ward, Hue City), is considered the "keeper of the flame" and the one who brought folk painting back into modern life, then Mr. Pham Cong Khai (51 years old) is the only one who still possesses and fully practices the art of woodblock printing.

"Almost no one in the village still practices this craft. I'm the only one left, so I'm trying to hold onto something so that future generations can imagine what a once-famous craft village was like," Mr. Khai confided.

A highly skilled sculptor, Mr. Pham Cong Khai was able to create dozens of types of woodblock prints for paintings. PHOTO: HOANG SON

Due to difficult family circumstances, Mr. Khai had to drop out of school in the early 1990s to follow relatives to the Hue Imperial Citadel to learn wood carving. After three years of diligent work with chisels and hammers, persevering on the rocky path from Sinh village to the Imperial Citadel, he finally received his apprenticeship from his teacher. During those years, the demand for printing Tet (Lunar New Year) paintings was very high. People in Hue, throughout the South and North, ordered paintings continuously, so the need for printing plates was constant. With his skilled craftsmanship and sophisticated carving techniques, Mr. Khai quickly grasped the "secrets" of woodblock printing.

"Traditional paintings from Sinh village number around 100 designs, corresponding to that many printing plates, and I have to memorize them all. As long as a customer requests it, I can carve the woodblock immediately, sometimes even on the same day…," Mr. Khai recounted. According to him, the craft of carving woodblocks not only requires dexterity but also challenges memory and visual thinking, because the craftsman must carve completely in reverse compared to the finished image. Every line, composition, and lettering must be reversed in the craftsman's mind before carving the wood. Just one small mistake will distort the image and distort the expression when printed, forcing the entire woodblock to be discarded.

Despite inventing new printing molds, Mr. Pham Cong Khai still uses traditional Do paper and homemade ink made from local ingredients. PHOTO: HOANG SON

UNIQUE "COMBINATION" FOR PROMOTING THE PROFESSION

Speaking of the period when machine-printed paintings flooded the market, Mr. Pham Cong Khai just sighed. Industrial paintings were cheap, fast, and printed in large quantities, while completing a handcrafted painting took much longer. The price of paintings was therefore many times higher, making them uncompetitive. The traditional painting-printing craft of Sinh village was gradually pushed to the sidelines, on the verge of extinction. From a life of tireless woodblock printing, Mr. Khai became unemployed and was forced to turn to wood carving to make a living.

A series of woodblock prints depicting images carved in reverse on wood. PHOTO: HOANG SON

However, throughout that time, he carefully preserved his woodblock carving tools. By early 2025, when he decided to return to the craft, those chisels, rulers, and mallets had been with him for nearly 30 years. "I also kept quite a few original woodblocks, some sets are over 30 years old, the wood is worn and needs restoration. But thanks to the originals, I can recreate them exactly, without any errors," Mr. Khai recounted.

The opportunity to return to woodblock printing arose when tourism in Hue developed and crafts associated with heritage began to be recognized again. He would look at paintings to recreate them on woodblocks, then painstakingly work from memory, carving and making numerous adjustments to complete sets of traditional paintings. Recently, he was commissioned to create a set of 18 woodblock prints for display in Hanoi...

Mr. Khai explained that unlike Dong Ho paintings, which are primarily for decoration, Sinh village paintings are created to serve religious beliefs, used in rituals for peace and good fortune, during Tet (Lunar New Year), and are usually burned after the ceremony. Therefore, the value of the paintings lies in the spiritual meaning embedded in each drawing. Sinh paintings are divided into three main groups: portraits, objects, and animals. All are connected to folk worship needs. That's why, when he opened his establishment to welcome tourists for a unique experience, he realized that only truly discerning individuals can appreciate the aesthetic value of paintings like the Eight Sounds (Bát Âm).

The wooden planks carved with human figures gradually took shape under Mr. Khai's skillful hands.

PHOTO: HOANG SON

Mr. Khai created woodblock prints that suited the tastes of tourists. PHOTO: HOANG SON

Besides restoring ancient paintings, Mr. Khai also creates new woodblock prints for tourism, featuring scenic spots in Hue such as Thien Mu Pagoda, Truong Tien Bridge, and Ngo Mon Gate… However, for Mr. Khai, anything that belongs to tradition must be preserved. The printing paper is still specially ordered do paper, and the ink is mixed from local ingredients. The wood used for the woodblocks must be persimmon wood, mulberry wood, or other types of wood that absorb water well and have a fine grain so that the printed lines appear sharp and clear.

As he confided, Mr. Khai brought the chisel down with his mallet. A piece of wood chisel popped out. On the surface of the wood, the image of a woman holding a musical instrument from the Eight-Tone set gradually became clear. At that moment, the woodblock print itself was a work of art. Therefore, Mr. Khai's space was not only a place for printing and painting Sinh paintings, but also a space for demonstrating the art of wood carving. A small but extremely unique "complex" was existing in the middle of Sinh village. (to be continued)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tuyet-ky-khac-moc-ban-tranh-lang-sinh-185260205201051915.htm