Bac Ninh completes dossier on Dong Ho folk painting genre
The northern province of Bac Ninh has completed a dossier seeking UNESCO’s inclusion of the making of Dong Ho folk paintings in the list of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding.
"Blindman's buff", a work of the Dong Ho folk painting genre (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – The northern province of Bac Ninh hascompleted a dossier seeking UNESCO’s inclusion of the making of Dong Ho folkpaintings in the list of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding.
The provincial People’s Committee has proposedthe Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism send this dossier to the PrimeMinister for consideration and submission to UNESCO, the ministry said on March11.
According to researchers, this is a woodblockpainting genre created by residents in Dong Ho village of Song Ho commune, BacNinh’s Thuan Thanh district. The paintings vividly reflect the traditionalagricultural society, along with the life and practices of rural Vietnamesepeople.
In the past, there were 17 clans in Dong Hovillage engaging in the trade. After 1945, folk painting genres like Dong Ho,Hang Trong and Kim Hoang gradually fell into oblivion. In 1990, some localartisans began collecting old paintings and woodblocks in an effort to revivethe Dong Ho painting genre.
At present, the making of Dong Ho folk paintingshas been recovered and has its values upheld in the contemporary life. It wasrecognised as part of the national intangible cultural heritage in 2013./.
Traditional and contemporary Dong Ho folk paintings are being showcased at an exhibition opened at the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi on October 31.
Like many other traditional crafts, the change in people’s demand when the country switched to the market economy has caused numerous difficulties and challenges to the Dong Ho folk painting genre.
It's a bright sunny day in Ho Village in the northern province of Bac Ninh, and locals awake to the sound of machines printing votive money for the dead as they set about their daily routines.
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"Blindman's buff", a work of the Dong Ho folk painting genre (Photo: VNA) 
