Nguyễn Hữu Đạo, heir to Đông Hồ: the tenth generation of a family of printmakers
In the village of Đông Hồ, on the banks of the Đuống River in Bắc Ninh Province, only two families remain today who truly carry on the tradition of folk printmaking: the Nguyễn Hữu and the Nguyễn Đăng. This means that behind every authentic print sold by VietArt is not a factory, but a handful of artisans who hold the craft close. Nguyễn Hữu Đạo is one of its youngest faces.
A chain of transmission spanning ten generations
Đạo is the son of Nguyễn Hữu Quả, an “outstanding artisan,” who was himself the son of the late Nguyễn Hữu Sam, a guiding figure in the post-war revival of Đông Hồ. The Nguyễn Hữu family claims an unbroken transmission of the craft spanning ten generations, down to Nguyễn Hữu Quả’s son.
In this family, the craft is not learned at school: you grow up in it. Children of the lineage touch thị wood, giấy điệp paper, and brushes as early as seven or eight years old, starting with modest tasks—spreading color, drying sheets, tidying the workshop. It is this gradual immersion that distinguishes a Đông Hồ print from a mere decorative product.
For collectors to remember: buying an authentic Đông Hồ print means directly supporting a rare family transmission. The craft survives only because a few households refuse to abandon it.
The engraved blocks: the village’s “genetic heritage”
In the Đông Hồ tradition, engraved woodblocks (mộc bản) are considered a family heirloom (“vật gia bảo”), passed from one generation to the next, sometimes given as part of a dowry. A good block, maintained over decades, hardens until it becomes “hard as horn.”
During the village’s “hibernation” period (the 1980s and 1990s), when residents turned to votive paper to make a living, many blocks were neglected or even used as wedges or chicken coop doors. Nguyễn Hữu Quả, Đạo’s father, spent years buying back and restoring these old blocks, which he describes as the “genetic heritage” that makes it possible to reconstruct an entire culture. In 2013, a French collector even brought back old blocks dating from the colonial era.
| Element | Status in the family | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Old engraved blocks (mộc bản) | Family heirloom passed down through inheritance | Ensure the fidelity of the original design |
| Natural pigment recipes | Oral, unwritten knowledge | Ensure authentic, non-chemical colors |
| Printing techniques (xấp ván) | Learned through immersion from childhood | Impossible to industrialize without loss |
Đạo: transmitting through experience
While his father Nguyễn Hữu Quả innovates technically—testing printing on bamboo paper and sending his designs to international clients—Nguyễn Hữu Đạo expands the audience through direct experience. He takes the engraved blocks to cafés and large shopping malls in Bắc Ninh and Hanoi, where the public, especially young people, can print and color their own prints.
Đạo is also the guardian of a strict standard: Hồ village prints accept no chemical adulteration. The black comes always from fermented bamboo leaf ash, the red from cinnabar stone (sỏi son), and the yellow from hòe flowers. It is this fidelity to natural materials that gives the prints a depth that industrial ink cannot imitate.
Why this matters to you
Buying a print from this workshop is not acquiring a reproduction: it is receiving a hand-printed object on giấy điệp paper, with plant and mineral pigments, from a family that UNESCO helped bring to light by designating Đông Hồ a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in December 2025.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Nguyễn Hữu Đạo? He is a young artisan from Đông Hồ, the son of outstanding artisan Nguyễn Hữu Quả and the grandson of Nguyễn Hữu Sam. He belongs to the Nguyễn Hữu family, one of the last two lineages in the village still practicing traditional printmaking.
How many families still make prints in Đông Hồ? Only two families still truly carry on the craft today: the Nguyễn Hữu and the Nguyễn Đăng.
Are the prints sold by VietArt handmade? Yes. Authentic prints are printed by hand using engraved woodblocks and natural pigments, according to the traditional technique known as xấp ván.
Suggested image captions / alt text:
- alt: “Nguyễn Hữu Đạo printing a Đông Hồ print by hand”
- alt: “Nguyễn Hữu family mộc bản engraved woodblocks”
- alt: “Đông Hồ printmaking family workshop in Bắc Ninh”
Suggested internal linking: → “How to recognize an authentic Đông Hồ print” → “Đông Hồ designated a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2025: what it means” → “Making a Đông Hồ print, step by step”
Sources: interviews with the Nguyễn Hữu family (Mekong ASEAN, Feb. 2026; Công Lý, Dec. 2023); USSH research (Nguyễn Phan Trà My, 2024).