Giấy dó ở làng Đống Cao, Bắc Ninh

Do paper in Dong Cao village, Bac Ninh

Connected Heritage – A Cultural Heritage project aimed at
Equal development

Do paper in Dong Cao village, Bac Ninh

18/06/2024
Nguyen Cam Anh

Ms. Ngo Thu Huyen (born in 1991) is a Do paper maker in Dong Cao village, Bac Ninh. Do paper - a delicate item, associated with the memories of many Vietnamese people and conveying the hearts of those who make it. To make Do paper, it is not only the effort of a Do carpenter (the person who coats the paper), but also the result of a "teamwork" process. Each different stage has the support of a family member, and other people in the village are hired to help with specialized tasks that require a lot of experience.

After graduating from university, Ms. Ngo Thu Huyen stayed in the city and started her office life. But the 8-hour rotation job did not bring her joy. She missed her grandfather's paper factory (Ngo Duc Do Paper) in the village, missed the drying yard with its fragrant scent on sunny days. When witnessing the entire Dong Cao village switching to industrial paper production following market trends, Ms. Huyen decided to leave the city and return to her hometown to learn how to make Do paper because she did not want to see the disappearance of the profession that her grandparents had devoted their whole lives to.

Ms. Huyen's sharing on Dep magazine, article "Ngo Duc Do Paper - Human life on a square of Do paper":

“I grew up making paper. My grandparents were both Do paper makers and introduced me to the craft very early. Every afternoon after school, I would sit in the corner of the yard, playing with the paper-making tools that my grandfather had prepared for me: a small mold that fit in my little hand, a basin of water, and some paper pulp. That was all it took for me to play all afternoon. When I was a little older, I would help my grandparents dry, strip, and fold the paper… From these tasks, I gradually developed a natural affection and connection with Do paper.

In 2015, while cleaning out a cupboard for my grandfather, I saw many ancient paper samples that were preserved. I suddenly became worried. My parents did not make Do paper, and there were not many households in the village that made it anymore, so my grandfather might be the last person to make these paper samples. I wanted to return to the village to continue that work. At first, my grandparents and parents objected because they understood very well the hardships of this profession. Do paper is not widely used now, so it is difficult to bring in a stable income. I also worried a lot, but the fear of Do paper disappearing kept coming back, making me determined to return in 2017."

“Ngo is the family name, and Duc is the middle name in my family branch. Our ancestors built a foundation of craftsmanship, including knowledge and experience from the working process. The younger generation like me is fortunate to inherit that foundation and have the opportunity to continue and develop it. So I chose the name Ngo Duc, with the previous generation, with myself, and with the expectation of a long-term continuation.”

“My grandfather taught me the knowledge and practice of paper making, from the first steps to the final product. The ancients made paper for painting and calligraphy, and I first made Do paper for Calligraphy and watercolor painting. If when I was young I stood watching him work, running around helping with chores, now I do it myself, he will be there to give advice and help. That image reminds me of the peaceful and beautiful childhood I spent with my grandparents. The first piece of paper was made, I held it in my hand, smelled the scent, looked closely at the paper grain and realized: The fragile paper was formed after many months thanks to the skillful hands of the craftsman, it is tough, durable, thin but does not smudge ink when writing and drawing. If preserved properly, the paper will remain intact after hundreds of years as new.”

“When the paper leaves the workshop, it begins a new life. I don’t know how customers will use it. The paper will be drawn, written, printed, made into notebooks, decorated, used as a backdrop for photography… depending on each person’s creativity, I really look forward to seeing those works. Dó paper has a simple appearance, it is not eye-catching at first sight, but if you pay attention and learn, you will realize its precious things: the golden brown color sparkling under the light, the thin silk fibers that last over time… Looking at Dó paper, I can also see the lives of the people in my hometown. When they were young, they practiced writing and drawing on Dó paper. When they grew up, they used Dó paper to write letters and record their family tree. At the end of their lives, they brought Dó paper with them on their new journey. The old people in the village sometimes asked me for a few pieces of Dó paper to put in their coffins when they left this world.”

Introductory information and notes were contributed by the Do paper maker: Ngo Thu Huyen. Watercolor illustrations on Ngo Duc Do paper were made by artist: Nguyen Cam Anh.

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Do paper makers in Dong Cao village

Do paper has a simple appearance, it is not eye-catching at first sight, but if you pay attention to look and learn, you will realize the precious things in it: the golden brown color sparkling under the light, the thin silk fibers that last over time.

Paper Tree

The scientific name of the Aquilaria tree is Rhamnoneuron balansae, belonging to the Thymelaeaceae family. The bark is mainly exploited in the northern mountainous regions: Yen Bai, Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen,... You must choose young trees, about 3-4 years old, to peel. Trees that are too young will produce less silk fibers, trees that are too old will make the paper stiff and not shiny.

Soak the bark

Before cooking, the dried bark is soaked in water to soften it for easier handling. Like other crafts, the craft of making Do paper is greatly affected by the weather. When it is hot, the bark absorbs and softens faster.

Do cooking pot

The bark is tied into small bundles, trampled through lime water and then placed in a cooking barrel. All layers of bark need lime to cook evenly. The bark barrel is boiled continuously for over 10 hours and incubated for 1 day and 1 night.

Pick up the bark

The soft ripe bark will be scooped out and completely washed to remove the lime, to avoid the remaining lime when it dries and will make the bark hard. Lime also causes hand irritation when picking up the bark.

Pick up broken

The Do shell will be picked up twice.
The first time is called "picking up broken things":
- The innermost core is the smoothest and most beautiful to make the highest quality Do paper.
- The second shell is called "eel intestine".
- The worst part of the shell is called "push".
These parts are still used to make lower grade papers.

Pick up seo

After being picked, the bark is soaked for about 2 days, preparing for the second picking. Picking the bark is a meticulous and time-consuming task. After soaking and washing, the bark is picked a second time (picking the bark): removing the remaining eyes and black bark. Now the bark is very soft, so it only needs to be plucked lightly, no need to use a knife anymore.

Do Powder

After being soaked, the bark is put into the Dutch mill to be crushed. When there was no machine support, the papermaker had to pound the bark with a mortar. After being washed, the bark powder is thoroughly mixed with clean water and wood water in the paper coating tank (paper mill).

Prepare the train

The craftsman uses a wooden board to mix Dó powder with the Clerodendrum tree’s sap and water in a tank. Clerodendrum wood (genus Clerodendrum) is an indispensable raw material in the papermaking process. The sap in Clerodendrum wood has the following effects:
- Helps the pulp not settle to the bottom of the coating tank and disperse evenly in the water.
- Bonds the fibers; makes the paper surface more solid and smooth.
- Easy to separate paper layers after coating.

A set of Do sickle molds

The sickle mold is a traditional Vietnamese paper mold (coated paper). A mold set includes:
- Top cutting board
- Lower cutting board
- Sickle

Xeo Do

The paper making process will determine the thickness - thinness - smoothness of the paper. The deeper the mold is dipped, the thicker the paper will be. Then, gently shake the mold so that the fibers intertwine, then quickly pour water to make the paper surface smooth. The paper will have vertical and horizontal grains thanks to this shaking of the mold and pouring of water.

Bending pile

After the paper is coated into piles (curled piles), it will be pressed to remove excess water so that each layer can be peeled off.

Cutting, pressing and bending

The pressing of water must be done carefully and slowly so that the water can drain out gradually. If pressed too quickly, the pile of paper can break. This work also requires a lot of effort, so at Ms. Ngo Thu Huyen's Do paper workshop, her younger brother will take on this step in the evening after school.

Peel and curl 1

Separate each layer of wet paper (peeling): in this step, the paper will be peeled off in a separate layer.
or clamp 2 layers, 3 layers,... depending on thickness requirements.

Peel and curl 2

So, when we say "paper peeled 1", "paper peeled 2",... we are talking about the weight of the paper.

Drying Do paper

The paper is dried or hung in a well-ventilated place, avoiding too much sunlight because it will cause the Do paper to shrink. Many types of Do paper are dried in the yard by the uncles and aunts with different weights, sizes and colors. Some types of paper are coated with leaves for decoration.

Hanging Do paper

Do paper, especially the thin and light Do paper like silk Do paper, can also be dried by hanging it on bamboo sticks and placed in a shady porch.

Do paper folding

Selecting quality papers, stacking and counting the papers are the final steps to complete the product.

Baby learns to fold Do paper

Depending on weather conditions, it takes about 1 to 1.5 months to make Do paper from tree bark.

A day in the life of Do paper makers

The finished product of Do paper is not only the work of one Do carpenter (the person who coats the paper), but is the result of a "teamwork" process. Each different stage has the support of a family member, and other people in the village are hired to help with specialized jobs that require a lot of experience.