Đông Hồ woodblock print “Nhất Bản Vạn Lợi” – One Capital, Ten Thousand Profits

Threshing, carrying sheaves, a resting water buffalo: the work of the rice paddy, bearing a wish for prosperity.

History and symbolism

The characters 一本萬利 are read as “Nhất bản vạn lợi”: “one capital, ten thousand profits.” This popular New Year’s blessing expresses the wish that every effort will yield a hundredfold return. Scenes of rural life, with sheaves being threshed or carried on shoulder poles, remind us that for the villagers, wealth came from the land. The image is a counterpart to “Bách Mẫu Dư Điền.”

Craftsmanship

Everything is handmade by Nguyễn Hữu Đạo, a fifteenth-generation Đông Hồ printmaker: dó paper coated with crushed shell powder (điệp), natural pigments, and a woodblock engraved for each color. Since 2025, this craft has been included on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. Artisan’s seal. Hand-printed: slight variations may occur from one print to another.

Decoration & gift idea

A beautiful print for a shop, office, or entryway: a gift for a store opening or business launch.

Đông Hồ prints in brief

Nearly five centuries old, Đông Hồ’s popular prints originated in the village of the same name in Thuận Thành (Bắc Ninh Province). Every print is entirely handmade, from the design and woodblock engraving to printing. Its themes—wishes for happiness, scenes of daily life, history, and worship—have made it the traditional image of Têt, the Lunar New Year. In December 2025, UNESCO added this craft, which is still perpetuated by only a few families, to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

Specifications

• Size: 27 × 36 cm
• Orientation: Portrait (vertical)
• Technique: woodblock print (wood engraving), hand-printed
• Support: dó paper coated with crushed shell powder (điệp)
• Natural pigments
• Signed with the seal of artisan Nguyễn Hữu Đạo
• Sold unframed – the frame shown in the lifestyle photos is for illustrative purposes only
• Origin: Đông Hồ village, Thuận Thành, Bắc Ninh Province, Vietnam