Dong Ho, a craft village in Bac Ninh
province, has been famous for its folk woodcut painting since the 11th
century. The paintings provide a reflection of contemporary social issues and
convey farmers’ desires of a better life. One of the most special features of
Dong Ho paintings is that they are totally made by natural elements with điệp paper
(powders of seashells and glutinous rice), and colors refined from various
kinds of natural materials.
Each painting of Dong Ho has four
basic colors such as black, red, green, and yellow. To make a painting, craftsmen
have to press woodblocks with different colors on a sheet of paper. Then, the
painting is covered with a layer of rice paste to strengthen its durability and
dried under the sun afterwards.
The woodblocks are carefully carved by hand and handed down from generation to generation.
In this post, I will introduce you one
of the most famous paintings of Dong Ho - “Đám cưới chuột” (Rats’ wedding)
which dates back 500 years ago. It is a painting that carries both humor and
sarcasm.
The humorous factor lies in the story
featured in the painting: a rat can get married to another rat. However, the
painting goes beyond the story of rat’s wedding. There are many layers of
meaning in the painting.
Photo: Internet
The first layer of meaning is that it
depicts wide class gap in the contemporary society where ruling class had supreme power to control the life of lower class. In the painting, big cat
represents ruling class, while small rats represent farmers – a low class in
the society. The farmers were born to stay lower class, living under the control
of ruling class and did not have a chance to change their fates. Besides, the
painting depicts the fright of lower-class people before the power of ruling class. The
rats accompanying the couple are scared to death. The leader, who is supposed
to be the most confident, goes towards the cat with curved body and folded tail
(that’s why its tail cannot be seen in the painting); meanwhile, some of the
other rats are looking behind cautiously. Even to express their indignation,
the farmers did not dare to speak out but to borrow a story of animals in a painting.
The second layer of meaning is that the
corruption issue in the society in the past was very common. The couple in
the painting has to bring a bird and a fish to the cat in exchange for silence. Moreover, the groom is riding on a horse, and the bride is sitting in a palanquin, which
shows that the couple has a high social status. However, this status may be
bought by money. In the old society, money could buy anything. Stupid people
could get higher positions if they had money; on the contrary, poor people, no matter talented or not, remain staying lower class for their entire lives..
The third layer of meaning is that the
rats are conducting the mission of sending gifts of a Vietnamese king to a Chinese
emperor for allegiance. The image of the first two rats carrying a bird and a
fish which are the cat’s favorite food shows the relationship between Vietnam and China at the old time when a Vietnamese king had to regularly send gifts to a Chinese emperor to express his loyalty and support. That’s the reason
why many generations of Vietnamese rulers called themselves kings, while
Chinese rulers emperors.
Behind seemingly simple depiction of
the wedding of the rats are there many layers of meaning. In general, "Đám cưới
chuột" is a skillful painting which depicts social issues in the past and
expresses the farmers’ discontent at the oppressed society. Therefore, the painting will always play an
important position in traditional Vietnamese art.
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