Launch of project “Reviving Chuon village traditional scroll making craft”

A set of woodblock prints featuring “Phuc Tu Linh” was researched and restored by the “Reviving Chuon village traditional scroll making craft” project team

Driven by the concern that the Chuon village traditional scroll making craft might be lost forever, a project team, led by Ngo Quy Duc, began a journey almost from scratch. The past few years were spent tirelessly searching for fragmented documents, connecting with artisans from related craft villages such as Thanh Lieu, Dong Ho, and Hang Trong, and testing, cross-referencing, and restoring each ancient printing technique. The first achievement of this journey was formally introduced at the event: a set of woodblock prints featuring “Phuc Tu linh”, accompanied by the couplet: “Thien dia tam duong thai - Can khon van su xuan”, conveying wishes for peace and prosperity for Tet.

Within the program, the team shared the emotional story of reviving the craft, from initial deadlocks to the moment of touching the finished results. The program also featured a demonstration of traditional scroll printing techniques, allowing the public to witness the process of creating a Chuon village traditional scroll, and experience it firsthand by printing a small piece of large calligraphic character from the restored woodblocks.

The traditional scroll set featuring “Phuc Tu Linh”, printed from restored woodblocks, recreates the artistic spirit and auspicious meaning of Chuon village traditional scrolls during Tet

The project team stated that in the coming time, they will continue to integrate these traditional scrolls into contemporary life to create a sustainable space for the heritage within community cultural activities. According to Mr. Ngo Quy Duc, the project leader, the next goal is to search for documents and traces, and the potential to restore Tay Ho paintings, a folk art genre that once existed in Hue but is now lost. This is considered the “missing piece” in the system of Hue's three folk painting lineages, including: Sinh, Chuon, and Tay Ho.