Hàng Trống Prints: The Pinnacle of Hanoi's Folk Art
In the panorama of Vietnamese folk art, Hàng Trống prints hold a special place. Less popular than Đông Hồ prints—whose peasant robustness conquered the world—they are nonetheless unanimously considered by researchers and collectors to be the technical pinnacle of Vietnamese folk prints. Born in the alleyways of old Hanoi, intended for an urban and cultivated clientele, they combine the precision of woodblock printing with the freedom of brush painting, producing works of sophistication and spiritual depth unparalleled in the rest of the Vietnamese folk repertoire.
Today, only one artisan continues this tradition under original conditions: Lê Đình Nghiên, over 80 years old, who works in his home at 22 Cửa Đông Street, Hoàn Kiếm district, Hanoi. With his son Lê Hoàn, they are the last guardians of a flame that has burned for over four centuries. To understand Hàng Trống prints is to understand what folk art can achieve when it is nourished by urban sophistication, Confucian philosophy, and religious devotion.
Drum Street: Birth of a Tradition
The name "Hàng Trống"—literally "Drum Street"—refers to one of the 36 streets in Hanoi's old merchant quarter, the former imperial capital of Thăng Long. This street, still at the heart of the historic Hoàn Kiếm district, was once the nerve center for the production of high-quality ritual and decorative objects: drums, fans, ceremonial parasols, flags, and, of course, prints.
Hàng Trống prints originated in Vietnam around the 16th century, born from a meeting of Buddhist and Confucian aesthetics. They catered to a clientele radically different from that of Đông Hồ: not the peasants of the Red River Delta, but the prosperous merchants, scholars, officials, and aristocrats of the imperial capital. The inhabitants of Hanoi had a refined aesthetic sense, which explains the many distinctive characteristics of Hàng Trống prints.
The golden age of this tradition was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At that time, Hàng Trống prints were sold throughout the Hàng Bồ, Hàng Nón, and Hàng Trống areas. Drum Street was then a veritable artistic hive, where dozens of workshops produced hundreds of different models, from the simplest greeting prints to large votive compositions exceeding one and a half meters in height.
This flourishing period gradually ended in the 20th century, with the tradition declining especially after the end of the war against the United States, when almost all workshops ceased their activities. Many artisans even burned their carved blocks and tools, victims of a change in Hanoians' tastes on one hand, and the economic impossibility of making a living from the trade on the other.
The Art of the Popular Court: What Makes Hàng Trống Unique
To understand Hàng Trống prints, one must first grasp the gap that separates them from other Vietnamese popular traditions. This gap is considerable—not in terms of value or meaning, but of artistic conception and target audience.
A Hybrid Technique: Between Engraving and Painting
Hàng Trống prints use a technique that is half-print, half-paint: only the outlines are printed from an engraved block, with colors added entirely by hand with a brush, using the vờn màu (color modeling) technique.
This process involves several rigorous steps. The first step is printing. The artisan uses a roller to evenly spread ink on the engraved block. They then place a sheet of paper over it, then rub it with a luffa sponge coated with wax to bring out the engraved lines clearly. The block is then set to dry to prepare for the next step.
The second step is bồi tranh (paper backing), a decisive phase that determines both the beauty and durability of the work. Using two pine brushes with bristles neither too soft nor too hard, the artisan applies a glutinous rice flour or wheat flour glue to the back of the print, then successively glues three to five layers of dó paper divided in half to stiffen the entire piece. The print is then detached and dried flat on a wall or wooden board.
Finally comes the crucial step—the one that gives Hàng Trống prints all their uniqueness. The vờn màu technique (or cản màu, color modeling) is the heart of Hàng Trống art. The artisan uses a large soft brush, one half of which is loaded with color and the other dipped in pure water. As soon as the brush touches the paper, it simultaneously produces two intensities: dark where the color is concentrated, light where the water dominates. By sliding the brush along the engraved outlines, the artisan creates a natural gradient that gives the forms an impression of volume and depth—a three-dimensionality that Đông Hồ or Kim Hoàng block prints cannot achieve.
In addition to vờn màu, artisans also use the nét phin (fine line drawing, or công bút) technique to accentuate certain expressive details. This gesture requires absolute precision—the line must be drawn in a single stroke, without hesitation or tremor.
Some particularly elaborate compositions require up to four days of work to complete. A few exceptional custom-ordered models are made entirely by hand, without prior printing—true folk paintings, unlike any other.
Paper: Large Format and Flexibility
Unlike Đông Hồ prints on their pearly dó paper (điệp) and Kim Hoàng prints on their red paper, Hàng Trống prints use large-format dó paper, smooth and uncoated—or sometimes xuyến chỉ paper (fine silk paper) for the most elaborate pieces. This choice is not a limitation but a condition: the fluidity of vờn màu requires paper that absorbs moisture evenly, without resistance.
The engraved blocks for Hàng Trống prints are often very large: heights can exceed 1.45 meters for widths of 0.45 meters and more. These dimensions correspond to the vast interiors of Hanoian bourgeois houses, where the prints were hung in lacquered frames or on vertical scrolls, in the manner of literati paintings.
The Palette: Lam and Peony Pink
The two emblematic and distinctive colors of Hàng Trống prints are sky blue (lam) and peony pink (hồng điều). These hues, obtained from synthetic phẩm pigments that gradually appeared to satisfy the urban taste of the clientele, give Hàng Trống prints their particular atmosphere—both luminous and enveloping. They combine with other vibrant colors—red, orange, yellow, green—all governed by black outlines obtained from long-composted bamboo leaf ash.
Colors must adhere to a fundamental principle: the balance between warm and cool tones, according to the philosophy of yin-yang harmony. This is not a matter of pure aesthetics—it is a cosmological requirement embedded in the very design of the works.
Themes: Between Heaven and Earth, Between Gods and Humans
The repertoire of Hàng Trống prints is dominated by approximately 80% votive and sacred themes—a proportion that reflects the primary function of these works in the social and religious life of Hanoi.
Votive Prints: Guardians and Deities
The vast majority of Hàng Trống prints were used for devotional practices in Taoist temples and pagodas, particularly for the Mother Goddess worship (Đạo Mẫu). They feature representations of Mẫu Liễu Hạnh (the Celestial Mother, revered in Nam Định), Bà Chúa Thượng Ngàn (the Mountain Goddess), Mẫu Thoải (the Water Goddess), the various Lords (Ông Hoàng) mounted on carp, horses, or snakes, the Princess of the Third Enclosure, and of course the famous Ngũ Hổ—the Five Tigers.
The Ngũ Hổ (Five Tigers) is one of the most emblematic and technically accomplished compositions in the Hàng Trống repertoire. The five tigers with distinct colors—black, green, red, white, and yellow—represent the five cosmic directions and the five elements. The yellow tiger is enthroned in the center in a position of majesty. The colors, postures, and attributes of each tiger express the symbolism of the Five Elements philosophy (ngũ hành). In the Hàng Trống version, vờn màu transforms these creatures into three-dimensional silhouettes of striking presence—far from the flat decorative surfaces of other traditions.
Prints of Đức Thánh Trần (General Trần Hưng Đạo, deified national hero, 1228-1300) and Quan Âm (the goddess of compassion, Vietnamese equivalent of Guanyin) complete this pantheon with compositions of remarkable richness and detailed precision—gowns with countless folds, finely engraved jewelry, radiating halos.
The Carp and the Moon, a Masterpiece of Ambiguity
The Lý Ngư Vọng Nguyệt (Carp Gazing at the Moon) exists in both Đông Hồ and Hàng Trống traditions—and comparing them is the best way to understand what distinguishes the two styles.
In the Hàng Trống version, the carp's body forms a supple and muscular "S" between two moons: the real moon in the sky, and its reflection in the water. This duality—real and reflection, visible and hidden—evokes the ambiguity of the Taoist yin-yang circle. The vờn màu gives the scales a quasi-tactile texture, and the blue-green of the surrounding water imperceptibly blends into the white of the paper, creating an impression of aquatic depth impossible to reproduce with flat colors. It is the same symbolism as in the Đông Hồ version—the ambitious carp aspiring to great heights—but expressed with a pictorial subtlety of a completely different order.
Festival Prints: Tứ Bình and Tố Nữ
The Tứ Bình (Four Seasons) and Tố Nữ (Elegant Ladies) constitute the most prized works in the festive repertoire of Hàng Trống.
The Tứ Bình represent the four seasons through their symbolic plants and trees—pine, chrysanthemum, bamboo, and plum tree according to Confucian tradition, or peony, lotus, chrysanthemum, and plum tree according to another version. These compositions, influenced by Confucian aesthetics, are reflected not only in their themes—the "Four Nobles" of literati painting—but also in the vờn màu brush technique, which directly evokes the ink wash painting of classical Asian art.
The Tố Nữ depict elegant young women, dressed in long gowns (áo dài), playing traditional instruments or holding symbolic attributes. Their beauty rests on a series of exquisite details: willow-leaf arched eyebrows, eye corners receding in betel-leaf curves, bamboo-bud hands—all the delicate grace of the idealized Hanoian woman. These figures, often presented in series of four (corresponding to the four traditional feminine arts), were hung in the living rooms of bourgeois homes as an expression of cultivated beauty and good upbringing.
Secular Themes: Chronicles of a City
Alongside votive and festive themes, Hàng Trống prints developed a body of urban life scenes unparalleled in other traditions. These social life themes celebrate beautiful customs and national traditions—dragon dances, lion dances—but also, uniquely, scenes of Hanoi life during the French period: military parades, Western-style fairs.
This ability to integrate contemporary—even foreign—elements into a traditional art form testifies to the vitality and adaptability of the Hàng Trống tradition. It was these same qualities that, during French colonization, led authorities to order artisans to print the slogan "Pháp-Việt đề huề" (Franco-Vietnamese Union) on their prints—proof that these images had true mass communication power.
Lê Đình Nghiên: The Last Guardian
Artisan Lê Đình Nghiên lives at 22A Cửa Đông Street, in the Hoàn Kiếm district of Hanoi. He is the third generation of a family originally from Bình Vọng village (Thường Tín district) who settled on Hàng Trống street to practice the printmaking profession. His grandfather Lê Xuân Quế practiced the art of prints, his father Lê Đình Liệu succeeded him, and among the latter's seven children, only Lê Đình Nghiên perpetuated the trade.
In 1972, the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum recruited him with a single mission: to restore the Hàng Trống prints preserved in the museum's collections. Since then, Lê Đình Nghiên has not only maintained the tradition—he has expanded it, creating new models while remaining faithful to the spirit and techniques of the ancients.
The Lê Đình Nghiên family still preserves about fifty ancient engraved blocks from the Hàng Trống tradition—an invaluable treasure that constitutes the last physical link to the great age of this art. These carefully protected blocks are the starting point for each new production.
Lê Đình Nghiên's restoration and creation work now takes place year-round—whereas his ancestors only produced in the run-up to Tết. Amateurs, collectors, and researchers who make the pilgrimage to his house in the alleyways of old Hanoi find prints of unchanged quality for centuries, made using techniques that only he, in Hanoi, still fully masters.
His son Lê Hoàn has taken up the mantle of transmission. Their collaboration—described in the reference book on Hàng Trống prints—illustrates how this heritage seeks to ensure its own continuity, one generation at a time.
Hàng Trống in the Contemporary World
Far from remaining frozen in the past, Hàng Trống prints are experiencing a renewed interest in contemporary art and design circles. In 2018, designer Trịnh Thu Trang published "Họa sắc Việt từ tranh Hàng Trống" (Vietnamese Colors from Hàng Trống Prints), the first project in Vietnam to systematically analyze the chromatic palettes and ornamental motifs of this tradition to transpose them into contemporary design—digitized color codes, vector files, combination guides—to make these visual resources available to artists and designers.
Regular exhibitions at the Cultural Exchange Center of Hanoi's Old Quarter have introduced Lê Đình Nghiên's works to a new audience, confirming that motifs such as Lý Ngư Vọng Nguyệt, Tứ Bình, Ngũ Hổ, and Tố Nữ continue to captivate viewers as they did two centuries ago.
In the realm of contemporary interior design, Hàng Trống prints hold a special place. Their palette of delicate blues and pinks, their slender vertical compositions, and their refined lines make them compatible with decidedly modern interiors—much more so than the more colorful and massive compositions of Đông Hồ. Framed in thin, understated moldings, they create focal points of serene elegance.
Hàng Trống, Đông Hồ, Kim Hoàng: the art of choosing
Three traditions, three characters, three ways to adorn a wall. If Đông Hồ is the frank and robust print of the rural world, and if Kim Hoàng is the bridge between the two—popular and cultivated, red and expressive—Hàng Trống is the art of the scholarly city: sophisticated, spiritual, each piece unique thanks to the brushwork.
To choose a Hàng Trống print is to choose depth over vitality, nuance over brilliance, contemplation over celebration. It is also to make the rarest choice: these works, produced by a single family in Hanoi, are by definition limited in quantity.
At Viet Art (vietart.eu), we offer a selection of Hàng Trống prints—originals made in the workshop of Lê Đình Nghiên and his son, or high-quality reproductions faithful to the originals—accompanied by their complete presentation sheet. If you are looking for the Vietnamese popular print closest to an individual work of art in the Western sense, the answer is here.
Conclusion: the art that thinks
There is a phrase that often comes up among Hàng Trống enthusiasts: "At first glance, one is struck by the rich brilliance of the colors; but looking closely, one discovers in this splendor the meticulous lines of the engraving, the subtle gradations of the brush, something serious and profound, like in an ancient Chinese ink painting. Perhaps this is the particular beauty of the art of the imperial city: beneath the surface of splendor, a silent and penetrating thought."
In an often noisy art market, Hàng Trống prints choose silence. Perhaps that is why they endure.
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