Among the Vietnamese plastic arts, wood engraving is a long standing traditional one. We have inherited from our ancients from Dong Ho village a valuable tradition of wood engraving in color. These engravings are appreciated by generation to generation and have become an indispensable moral alimentation. Dong Ho images have their place deep in the soul of the people and …

It is not very long since Vietnamese art in general and contemporary Vietnamese art in particular emerged from unrecognizing – I’d rather say anonymity – to have its say on the world’s art scene. For a long period, scholars and researchers in the West were prone to dismiss Vietnamese culture as a wan replica of Chinese or a mishmash of …

Through the Upheavals of History Compared to other Asian countries, and according to several art commentators, Vietnam was the earliest to merge into the main stream of modern art, as defined by the West, in both form and content. Such a fact can be easily seen with the coming into existence of Ecole Des Beaux Arts (Indochina’s School of Fine …

1925-1945 The Establishment of the Fine Art College of Indochina 1995 marks the 70th year of existence of Vietnamese painting. From 1925 to 1945, the first epoch of the history of Vietnamese painting coincides with the history of the Fine Arts College of Indochina (FACI) because it was that college which created conditions for the birth and development, vigorous until …

Dong Ho Painting is a kind of Vietnamese folk painting originating in Dong Ho Village in Song Ho Commune, Thuan Thanh District, Bac Ninh Province. Dong Ho paintings have about 300 years of history in the north of Vietnam. Dong Ho pictures are printed on a special kind of Dzo paper. The printing paper is made of bark of a …

The traditional Vietnamese art of silk painting has become famous around the world for its simple poetic themes and vibrant colors. The success of a silk painting very much depends on the quality of the silk, and this depends on many factors, from the quality of cocoons to the decisive techniques of starching and weaving. Differently with other kinds of …

Since the 1950s, installation and performance are two branches of contemporary art that have become important facets of mainstream art. Vietnam’s modern artists, forever innovators, are at the forefront of expanding installation and performance art into new realms. First appearing in Vietnam in the early 1990’s, several small installations and performance shows first appeared at an out-of-the-way corner of Buoi …

Xoan singing is a folk cultural product of Phú Thọ province. The last point of time that Xoan accompany still sang in communal houses of the villages in spring was in 1945

"Hat then" are religious epics of Long Poems, performed by the highland Tay and Nung minority groups. Those songs tell the story of the path to paradise to ask the Jade Emperor to settle troubles for the head of household.

Hat Xam, or the song of the blind artists, has existed since the Tran dynasty (13th century).

Hat van, or hat chau van, is a traditional folk art which combines trance singing and dancing, a religious form of art used for extolling the merits of beneficent deities or deified national heroes.

Lullaby songs are a sort of folk music often heard in Vietnam, especially in the countryside. They are used not only to lull small children to go to sleep but also to express human feelings such as homesickness, wife missing her husband...

The folk-song Quan Ho, a very rich and beautiful musical storehouse of our people, has a very long lasting history. During all its existence, successive creations have unceasingly changed the type of the folk-song Quan Ho.

Cai Luong (Renovated Opera) appeared in the southern part of Vietnam in the 1920s. This relatively modern form combines drama, modeled after French comedy, and singing.

Tuong, also called Hat Boi in the south, is a kind of drama of the national theater. Tuong came into being over five hundred years ago, reflecting the rich and special culture of Vietnam.

Cheo is a form of popular theater in Vietnam that has its roots in ancient village festivals.

Ca Tru music sounds strange to the uninitiated. Clicks and clacks accompany the centuries old ballads. It is not the kind of music that inspires toe tapping or humming.

The Shaman A shaman is an intermediary between humankind and the spirit world, occupying a role similar to that of a priest: a religious specialist, possessing the ability to communicate with spirits, to appeal to them to dispel evil, to explain turns of fate, and to transmit the instructions of spirits. He or she usually has healing and magical powers, …

The glue that binds the elements of the 'tam giao' - the triple religion

Confucianism’s originator, K’ung Fu Tzu (Latinised to Confucius), was an official in the Chinese court. During his lifetime (around 500 BC), China had broken into rival states fighting for supremacy.

Christianity was introduced to Vietnam in the 16th century by missionaries from Europe’s main Catholic evangelist countries, France, Spain and Portugal

Historically, most Vietnamese have identified themselves with Buddhism, which originated in what is now southern Nepal around 530 B.C. as an offshoot of Hinduism.

Vietnamese myths do not just recount what may be called the universal condition. They also have myths to explain their own situation in a tropical and monsoon land, and one such myth is the story of Son Tinh and Thuy Tinh.

In this legend of the Kinh people, we discover why Bac Ninh province is home to so many responsible girls and wives.

There is a popular belief in Viet Nam that Tao Quan, the Three Kitchen Gods, are present in the kitchen of every home.

It was said that, under 6th King Hung dynasty, there was an old couple in Giong village. They were kind and worked very hard but having a child was still their wish. Once day the wife came to the field and happened to see a large footprint, she then tried...

Long, long ago there was a man who lost his wife and lived with his little girl named Tam. Then he married again a wicked woman.

Many people must have wondered why ducks are accustomed to sleep in the funny way that they do - with one leg lifted. The Vietnamese have an interesting explanation for this.

In this ethnic Thai legend a woman is torn between gambling on a glittering future with a rich merchant and staying with her penniless husband.

Once upon a time, there was no rain for long, long time. The ground cracked all over, all plants withered, animals had to suffer from thirsty.