A Chronological Development
of Vietnamese Art
Vietnam has a history of over four thousand years .
Vietnamese Art had contributed greatly in the process of development of
the national culture through various dynasties. From the beginning of the
history to the presents day, Art has gone through different stages of development.
There have been times Art played the role of language to express the ideology
of the people.
The development of Vietnamese Art through different
dynasties
· Pre - historic time: Art was shown in its very simple form of dyeing
the body to camouflage against wild beasts or to decorate in a crude form
of the people in that time.
· Nation foundation time: Taking place four thousand years ago, this
was the nation founding time of Kings Hung, also this was the period of
Bronze-Age. People already knew the art of decoration and forming objects
in their very crude form.
· Van Lang time: About 2350 BC people found the presence of Bronze
drums, god statues, ornaments like: leg rings, bracelets, earrings. The
beginning of pottery was also found at this time. In drawing people could
sketch human and animals by quick and simple lines.
· Au Lac time: (First-Fourth Century) In the reign of King An Duong
the citadel Co Loa was built in a spiral shape that if straightened out
it will has the length of more than ten miles. This was a huge construction
of the time. There are still remnants existing on the old foundation. In
art field, there were home utensils in baked clay with design decorations.
· Dai La time: (Dai La citadel was capital of Vietnam at that time.
Today it within the periphery of Ha Noi .) Some of potters were enameled.
The ways of the design decoration were under the influence of Tuy dynasty
and Duong dynasty in China. In the time of NgoQuyen's dynasty, a kind of
baked and enameled tile with design decoration in the same reign year of
939.
· Ly dynasty: Art of this time was deeply influenced by Buddhism
and was popular in architecture, sculpture and pottery.
·Tran dynasty: Continuing the art tradition of Ly dynasty. The way
of carving became more, polished exactly the way of china's in using the
symbols like: the waves, the clouds, the lotus. One interesting point could
be noticed is the China's and bore in it the indomitable idea of the Vietnamese
people to China. The construction was symmetrical and simple.
· Le dynasty: A new transitional step was taken but still concentrated
on architecture. The key figure of decoration was still the dragon but the
tongues of flame in the shape of the head of spears were added among the
clouds in compliance with Chinese models.
· Post-Le dynasty: development in handicrafts, architecture, engraving
and carving on precious metals. Art of this time represented masses of people
and national characteristics and replaced natural phenomena by daily activities
of the people like: wood cutting, hunting boatrowing, ploughing. . .with
less influence of China than in the late of the nineteenth century . Because
of the partition of the country, architect and sculpture were limited. On
the contrary, flared up a creativity of wood carving, pasteboard and silk
painting whose colors were made form minerals and plants.
· Nguyen dynasty: this is the most prosperous time in architecture
and sculpture. Great achievements like the Royal Citadel, pagodas, temples,
royal mausoleums were made. Art of this time has in it the broad-minded
and creative characteristics. Some groups of artists using a mixture of
chines, Japanese, Korean, Thailand's, India's art including Western's to
create a special trait abounding go national quality.
· In 1923; Vietnamese art began to be systematized and built into
a kind of education that takes the same direction with world trend in Painting,
Architecture and sculpture.
TRANH TET
Vietnamese Painting about New Year
Tranh Tet is also called woodcarving painting edition or Dong Ho painting
because this kind of painting was produced by woodcarving printing and mostly
by artisans of Dong Ho hamlet in the North. The origin of this kind of painting
is still not clear, no one knows exactly where it comes from . But what
ever names it was called, this kind of painting was show and sold to the
people in the holidays of Tet.
Based on some family annals that related to the its origin, Tranh Tet took
its origin from Ly dynasty (1010-1225) but there are some who argue that
it had just appeared in Ho dynasty (1400-1414) and developed extensively
in Le dynasty (1533-1788).
But according to artisans of Dong Ho hamlet (Bac Ninh province, in North)
and Nam Dang hamlet (Nghe An province, in Central), this kind of painting
was imported from China in fifteenth century by Luong Nhu Hoc, a doctor
of literature, in dynasty, brought back the art on an envoy mission to China.
From that time on, it had changed in from and contend.
All Tet painting have deep in them profound meanings and national, educational
characteristics, sometimes inserted with light kind of satires. Tet paintings
can be classified as followed:
· Well wishing: painting of roasters. pigs, warrior, Happiness-Wealth-Longevity
( in drawing or in calligraphy with the meaning of wishing someone with
richness, security, high position and fecundity.)
· Historical: painting of national heroes and heroines like: General
Ly Thuong Kiet, The Trung Sisters, Trieu heroine, King Tran Hung Dao
· Educational painting : mister toad goes to school, Twenty-four
persons who preserved filial piety, painting about fables.
· Entertainment paintings: the rat that passes First-rank doctorate
examination, the glorious return of high-status rat, the conciliation of
rat and cat, the paper Doctorate, coconut picking, schoolmaster toad…
In regard to art respect, this is an art in its simple and popular form
with simple and improvising traits but bear in them an uncouth and emotionally
attractiveness. The colors are splendid is loose not imposed by the regulation
of symmetry.
Each year Tet painting becomes more rich in the subjects as well as in number
of editions. Sometimes the number was as high as two millions a year. Up
until 1940 , there came The Indochina Communists. They considered this type
of painting as a corrupted culture and superstition so it died down without
appearing any more on the big days of Tet.
The way to produce this kind of painting is very simple. The artisans carve
the hard wood (usually the wood of decandrous persimmon). Then, apply colors
on the carvings and print on the paper or silk. The paper or silk is glued
by powder made from seashell called calcium dust. Other colors are taken
from minerals of plants. There are five principal colors:
1. White (from calcium dust)
2. Shiny bluish green (from the shell of nacre or mother of pearl)
3. Black (ink of China)
4. Cuprous dust (cooper dust)
5. Argent dust (silver powder)
In addition to these five main colours, artisans use supplementary colours
like red, red sand, Chinese red, rosy red powdered rose… After wards,
yellow, green, indigo, brown are used to make the painting more splendid
each day.
Vietnamese woo-carved painting has in it gay and gaudy colours its formation
is strong and uncouth showing the unique national characters which are gentle
in life and rustic in soul. Although it does not contain the noble trait
which is light and poetic like Japanese painting. Also, it is not secret,
profound, and quiet like Chinese painting. Vietnamese wood craving painting
in simple and uncouth in it self which enter directly into our heart with
and emotion sometimes admonitory or lightly satirical. All of those warm
our heart with faith and a little bit of pride of our ancestors or give
us innocent peals of laughter on the first days of Spring.
A poor poet in the old day Tran te Xuong, could capture the whole essence
of a resounding and splendid Tet in just two lines:
In the yard, sporadically and dully pop the mouse (tiny) firecrackers
On the wall, gaudy red (hang) the rooster painting.
Written by TRAN HAI
Translated by TRUONG THANH
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