The Quintessence of Vietnamese Craft Villages

Because of my special love for Dong Ho folk paintings. I came today to Dong Chau village, Fong Ki ward, Bac Ninh city. Long famous for making dew paper. The main material for Dong Ho folk paintings. Ma'am, I learned that our village makes dew paper. But I don't see a single workshop here. Have people moved elsewhere to make it? Many people used to make it. The whole village did. Then society changed, you see. And people turned to industrial work. What kind of bark is this, ma'am? Dew bark. Dew paper gets its name from this bark. Before, the whole village had to go into the forest. To cut the trees and bring them back. We used to pound it in a mortar, like rice. Now we use a motor. Hearing her story, I imagined entering the village long ago. You must have always heard the pounding of the mallets. It was very hard work. The traces of this famous dew paper village are gone. Yet they still seem deeply etched in the villagers' memories. A testament to Dong Chau dew paper's thriving past. I went to see Mr. Pham Tom. One of the few families still preserving the traditional craft in Dong Chau. Uncle, with so many villagers having left the craft. What keeps you loving it and preserving it to this day? I'm very proud of my family's paper-making craft. I love it because our paper is precious. Dew paper can last for around four to five hundred years. Four to five hundred years? The pinnacle of my life was making imperial decree paper. Secondly, making paper to restore. Books and documents for central government offices. Your family must have its own secret techniques, right? Of course. But if I ask, you probably won't reveal them. Absolutely not. Watching the artisan carefully handle each sheet. Tirelessly applying layer after layer of color. I saw two skillful pairs of hands quietly separate finished sheets until nightfall. I came to cherish even more the people of Dong Chau, who have preserved and pursued this craft to this day. This boy's image moved me, yet also made me think of the craft's fading future. Will he continue the craft and preserve his family's tradition? As society changes and develops, how can the people of Dong Chau preserve their traditional craft? Even so, Dong Chau dew paper has endured and continues to shine. A product that lasts for centuries, its beauty goes beyond simplicity and resilience. It also carries a deeper value.