Traditional Pictures of Vietnam
Their Characteristics and Their Roles in Vietnamese Culture
The traditional pictures, made with techniques passed down through many generations, have a special place in the traditional cultural life of Vietnam.
Traditional pictures have been produced in several places in Vietnam but the works of Dong Ho village in Bac Ninh province and of Hang Trong guild in Hanoi are the most famous. In fact, nowadays the art of making pictures survives only in those two places. In Dong Ho village, the artisans are farmers to whom making pictures is a supplementary trade of leisure time while artisans of the Hang Trong guild are the professional who live on making pictures. This leads to the differences in styles and contents of their productions. However, both places employ the woodcut print technique with different degrees and use the same materials. They also follow basic artistic rules that characterize Vietnamese traditional pictures.
The process of making traditional pictures generally consists of three stages: drawing drafts of the pictures, engraving them on wood and printing. Each guild has its own methods of colouring. The paper used for printing pictures is made from the bark of the do plant (rhamnoneuron plant). The colours are extracted from local materials. An artisan can do the whole process alone but more often the work is divided to increase quality and to train apprentices.
The Vietnamese traditional pictures are more symbolic than realistic. They conjure the idea about the topics rather than reproduce reality. The arrangement of objects does not obey the rule of perspective like Western paintings but aim to create perfect symmetry even when that is illogical and unnatural. The details are highly stylized and the colours are strong. The sophistication of the pictures is varied depending on the local taste and targeted market.
In Vietnam, traditional pictures have various functions. They are used as ornaments, good luck charms or for devotional activities and are believed to have some spiritual powers. Therefore the contents of the pictures express the traditional lifestyle, beliefs and wishes of Vietnamese people. Many of them depict holy animals and gods that are believed to protect human from evil, national heroes, beloved folk takes, popular literature themes, scenes from daily labour and festivals, lively children, domesticated animals that symbolize happiness and prosperity. Those pictures reflect the wish for a good life according to the traditional Vietnamese standard (safe from accidents and illness, successful crops, having many children especially sons, wholeheartedly enjoy festivals), the respect for the gods and heroes and the traditional moral precepts. There are also sarcastic pictures that humourously criticise the corrupted officials, the hypocritical or the immoral.
Demand for traditional pictures rises around the last month of the Lunar year when people prepare for the Lunar New Year. The trade of the traditional pictures has been in serious troubles since the introduction of Western culture. However, the artisans have been tirelessly struggling to keep their art alive.
