Unique craft village nearly 600 years old
According to the book “Traditional Crafts” published by the Council for Research and Compilation of History of Hai Hung Province in 1984 and the book “Geography of Hai Duong City” compiled by the Hai Duong City Party Committee, published by the National Political Publishing House in 2013, the founder of the craft - Tham Hoa Luong Nhu Hoc was sent by the royal court to the Ming Dynasty (China) twice. The first time was in the first year of Thai Hoa (1443, under the reign of King Le Nhan Tong) and the second time was in the first year of Thien Hung (1459, under the reign of King Le Nghi Dan).
After two diplomatic missions, he brought the woodblock printing craft back to his hometown, perfected the steps, and taught it to his first two disciples, Pham Lien and Pham Doi. Then, he taught it to the people of Hong Luc village (or Hong Lieu, now Thanh Lieu residential area, Hai Duong city), and Thanh Lieu woodblock printing was officially established. The techniques of printing, carving, and binding were also perfected and widely developed throughout the country.
During the process of developing the craft village, to meet the demand for printing books to spread the culture and ideology of Dai Viet, a lot of manpower was needed. He taught the people to create a large printing center of Dai Viet. Today, when remembering the homeland of woodblocks, people are reminded of the song that has been passed down for many generations here:
"Dinh Sinh, Quan Seu, Trang Pagoda
In those three villages, there is no work to eat"
Thanh Lieu village is famous for its woodblock printing and engraving profession. Thanh Lieu village artisans are proficient in woodblock engraving, printing and bookbinding techniques. In the past, Thanh Lieu village not only traded in sutras, books, paintings... printed from woodblocks but also sold pre-engraved woodblocks. Many pagodas, temples, ancestral temples... bought Thanh Lieu village's spirit-engraved woodblocks and printed them themselves.
Many scriptures were carved and printed here, including the massive “Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu” which was first completely carved by artisans from Hong Luc village (Thanh Lieu) and Lieu Trang village, following the king’s orders, in the 18th year of Chinh Hoa (1697). The woodblocks are currently stored at the National Archives Center IV (Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province).
Thanh Lieu woodblock printing has a long history of formation and development. The profession has appeared in the locality for 581 years, serving the people's life, culture, society and spirit and contributing to preserving historical and cultural values and spreading knowledge to the community and society.
Nowadays, with the invention of machines and the development of printing technology, machine printing has replaced woodblock engraving (printing), and the craft has gradually faded away. The artisans of the village undertake to restore ancient woodblocks, restore ancient printing blocks, and engrave new Buddhist scriptures in the ancient style for pagodas such as Tram Gian Pagoda (Hai Duong), Co Loan Pagoda (Ninh Binh), Vinh Nghiem Pagoda (Bac Giang)... The artisans of the village also undertake to engrave woodblock paintings, ten objects, talismans, and seals for Phap and Thanh Dong masters; engrave folk paintings for collectors, culture lovers, and serve experiential activities...
Continuing the quintessence of woodblock carving
When the woodblock printing craft was lost, the people of Thanh Lieu village gradually forgot the existence of a precious traditional craft in their homeland. Respecting and mourning the profession of his ancestors, young artisan Nguyen Cong Dat (born in 1992, from Thanh Lieu village, Tan Hung ward, Hai Duong city) made efforts to revive the craft village.
On the journey to preserve and revive the craft village, young artisan Nguyen Cong Dat has traveled all over the South and the North, up the mountains and down the sea to learn about the woodblock carving art of his ancestors. He met with History Professor Le Van Lan and historians Duong Trung Quoc and Tang Ba Hoanh to research and find information about the ancestors of the craft. Despite his young age, artisan Cong Dat has been rekindling the fire of woodblock carving with his ancestors in Thanh Lieu.
According to artisan Cong Dat, wherever he heard of woodblocks, he would go there. To read woodblocks, artisan Cong Dat had to learn Chinese and Nom characters. Because a woodblock engraver had to know Chinese characters, understand the rules of writing, and recognize the letters printed in reverse. From there, he created a reverse engraving to print the letters in reverse.
As an ancient printing technique, woodblock printing requires meticulousness and skill from the artisan from choosing wood to carving letters, mixing ink, rolling ink to printing on paper to get the most beautiful and vivid print. On average, each woodblock print takes the artisan 3-5 days to complete.
“Currently in Vietnam, 3 world documentary heritages and 4 national treasures all have great contributions from artisans of Thanh Lieu village. Therefore, as a later generation, I feel that I have the responsibility to preserve and promote the woodblock printing craft,” said artisan Cong Dat.
Artisan Cong Dat said that for the woodblock printing profession to develop sustainably, it needs a lot of attention from departments and agencies of Hai Duong province, especially the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the province. Along with that, restoring the old communal house where the founder passed on the profession as well as building a space to display and teach the profession to future generations to know that this place - Hong Luc (Thanh Lieu) is the cradle of the Vietnamese woodblock printing profession.
At the same time, organize activities to experience woodblock carving and printing for the young generation; cooperate with National Archives Center IV, researchers, museums, pagodas that are currently preserving ancient woodblocks of Thanh Lieu village... organize seminars, display products, ancient artifacts, to build a tourist destination to experience woodblock carving and printing in the village.
“After a period of being forgotten, more and more people are looking for heritage values. I really hope that our young generation will inherit and continue to promote the traditions of the craft village after many years of being forgotten,” said artisan Cong Dat.
