Sep
17
|
Embroidery craft in Dong Cuu Village
|
|
Visiting Dong Cuu Village in Dung Tien Commune, Thuong Tin District, Hanoi, people are very interested in the colourful embroidered products reserved for festivals. The villagers have revived the old embroidery designs for traditional festive costumes which seemed to have been lost.
Situated on the right bank of the Nhue River, Dong Cuu Village has long been known for its craft of embroidered products used in traditional festivals. These products include altar curtains, couplets, hangings, parasols and dresses for rituals that are sold nationwide.
Legend has it that the saint of the embroidery craft in Dong Cuu Village was Doctor Le Cong Hanh (1606-1661). He learned embroidery while he worked as the King’s envoy to the Qing Dynasty in China. Back home, he taught the craft to the people in his native village of Quat Dong and neighbouring areas, including Dong Cuu Village.
According to the village elders who have a lot of experience in embroidery, the tools for the craft are simple. They include needles, frames in different shapes (circles and rectangles), scissors, rulers, pen brushes, chalk, threads with different colours and cloth (white cotton, satin and silk).
The combination of colours is an important technique which creates the beauty of the embroidered item and affirms the skills of the embroiderer. On a piece made by an excellent embroiderer the stitches are always equal, the threads blend with one another and the lines look soft.
In the past, the embroidery technique was simple and there were not as many colours as today. Embroidered items were mainly altar curtains, hangings, couplets and the ritual costumes of sorcerers.
It was not until the early 20th century that the craft developed due to the importing of different types of thread and colours from western countries.
Over the years, the craft has developed rapidly, creating embroidered products of high quality and fine art. Dong Cuu embroiderers have skilled hands. From designs drawn with chalk on the cloth they can create lively pictures.
Many artisans in the village wish to preserve and develop the old embroidery designs. Vu Van Gioi in Dong Cuu Village is renowned for the embroidery technique to restore the clothing of the kings and lords during the Nguyen Dynasty.
At present Dong Cuu villagers mainly create ancient decorative patterns on objects used in festivals and on the costumes of the artistic ensembles. The number of customers coming to Dong Cuu Village during festival season is on the rise.
The embroidery craft has increased the Dong Cuu villagers’ income. Developing the craft to stabilise the economy and restore and preserve the old embroidery designs are a target of the village.
|
|
|
|
Sep
17
|
The craft of casting bronze in Tong Xa
|
|
For over 900 years, bronze casting in Tong Xa Village, Yen Xa Commune in the district of Y Yen in Nam Dinh Province has been preserved and strongly developed, bringing a good life to the local people.
By the end of the 12th century, Nguyen Minh Khong who is considered the ancestor of bronze casting settled in Tong Xa to reclaim new lands and taught the local people the craft to help them earn their living.
Thanks to the secrets handed down by their ancestors together with their skillfulness, creativeness and the application of advanced technology, the local people have not only preserved but also strongly developed their traditional craft. Previously, they only cast household items and worshipping objects in small sizes, namely Buddhist statues, incense burners, basins and pots. However, they now make various kinds of products in large sizes that require high skills and techniques. In recent years, the artisans in Tong Xa Village and its neighbouring village, Van Diem, cast successfully several grandiose bronze monuments and statues. They are the Monument of Dien Bien Phu Victory, 16.2m in height and 220kg in weight located in Dien Bien and the statue of King Ly Thai To, 10.1m in height and 45 tonnes in weight in Hanoi. There are also the statue of The Great Buddha, 35 tonnes in weight on Non Nuoc Mountain, Soc Son Province, and three statues of Buddha, weighing 50 tonnes in Bai Dinh Pagoda in Ninh Binh Province.
Besides large monuments and statues ordered by customers, the villagers also make traditional items, including incense burners, bronze urns, statues of sacred animals, statues of famous people and statues of leaders in small and medium sizes. The statues of celebrities and leaders of the country made by Ngu Xa artisans are rendered beautifully thanks to painstaking care using delicate strokes.
To make high quality products, the villagers combine traditional techniques and secrets of modern technology. Therefore, the village’s products have gained prestige in the market.
Visiting the village, one will see with his own eyes the bustling life in the 900-year-old craft village. Along the main road in the centre of Lam Town in Yen Xa Commune are a series of shops selling Tong Xa products, which are always full of customers. The products are not only sold to local people, but also to other provinces nationwide and exported to foreign countries.
In the village, there are now about 150 workshops producing bronze fine arts items, providing jobs for over 1,500 people, each earning 3 - 4 million VND/month. Sales from the whole village reaches over 600 billion VND/year.
Apart from small scale establishments, many private enterprises with large scale production, such as Tan Tien, Quang Ha, Duong Ba Phong and Duong Ba Tan, were established, making a great contribution to shifting the traditional and small scale production into an industrial and modern direction, expanding production, increasing productivity and improving the quality of the village’s products.
To meet the demand of the domestic and foreign markets, a mechanical casting area was established in Lam Town in the district that involves the participation of many households. At present, both the villagers and private enterprises have invested in machines, expanded markets and sought new partners. It is a sound direction, promising a bright prospect for bronze casting in Tong Xa and making a contribution to developing the local economy.
|
|
|
|
|
Sep
17
|
Hanoi hosts fourth int’l book fair next week
|
|
VietNamNet Bridge – This year’s international book fair will be held at the Exhibition and Fair Centre in Hanoi from September 17-21 2012, reports VietnamPlus.
The biennial event, organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications, will celebrate the 60th anniversary of Vietnam’s Publishing-Printing branch (1952-2012).
The fourth such event also aims to promote a reading culture and promote an intellectually developing society. It will showcase and sell hundreds of thousands of publications and cultural products, including over 30 million domestic and foreign publications in various fields.
The fair includes information technology (IT) products for all ages and education devices. There will be activities on the sidelines of the event, including seminars, consultations, trading copyright, forum calls for investment and exchanges between the authors and readers.
|
|
|
|
|
EVENTS SCHEDULED FOR SEPT. 15-30 (daily updated)
|
|
17/09/2012 08:41:10
|
|
|
|
Early Mid-Autumn color at D5’s ‘lantern street’
|
|
17/09/2012 08:39:25
|
|
|
|
“Swan Lake” to be performed in Hanoi
|
|
17/09/2012 08:35:44
|
|
|
|
Tourism ministers meet to promote cooperation
|
|
17/09/2012 08:31:32
|
|
|
|
Davines Hair Show 2012 to open in Hanoi
|
|
17/09/2012 08:27:10
|
|
|
|
Cycling rally between Thailand and Cambodia to raise funds for a hospitality school in Siem Reap
|
|
15/09/2012 11:20:32
|
|
|
|
Haiphong to host National Tourism Year 2013
|
|
15/09/2012 11:17:33
|
|
|
|
Haiphong to host National Tourism Year 2013
|
|
15/09/2012 11:13:23
|
|
|
|
HCM City hosts first Mekong tourism city mayor meeting
|
|
15/09/2012 11:09:39
|
|
|
|