The keeper of the "fire" of Tuong Binh Hiep traditional lacquer painting

73 years old, artisan Truong Quan Tịnh (Năm Tịnh) - owner of Dinh Hoa Lacquer Factory (Tuong Binh Hiep Ward, Thu Dau Mot City) - has devoted himself to traditional Tuong Binh Hiep lacquer for over 45 years. The way how he knew and loves this traditional craft is also somewhat different from everyone else's.

Artisan Năm Tịnh introduces some artworks that he collected and displays in his traditional room.

To stay and develop with the traditional craft

Before falling in love with lacquer, Năm Tịnh was a teacher. Around 1977, he returned to Binh Duong from Vung Tau. Although he did not know anything about lacquer, he chose lacquer to start his business at the age of 32. “Lacquer came to me like the fate because before 1975 I was a teacher. Then I stopped teaching and returned to my hometown Binh Duong and has been staying with lacquer until now," he said.

He found that lacquer makers had not yet established a production complex, hence the products cannot be sold. He started to go to Saigon to learn more experience then returned to his hometown and established Dong Tam Lacquerware Complex, in order to find jobs and help local people consume lacquer products. From this complex, in 1979, he established Tan An Lacquer Cooperative Group. In 1982, Tan An Cooperative Group transformed into a lacquer cooperative, gathered many famous craftsmen of the region. On that basis, he continued to establish Dinh Hoa Lacquer Factory and this is also Dinh Hoa Lacquer One Member Company Limited today.

From these establishments, he approached lacquerware, watched, learned more from senior artisans and craftsmen, researched, created more and developed more with this traditional craft. “For the past 45 years, I have met most of Binh Duong's lacquer artists. These are valuable opportunities for him to learn about these artisans and their creation style. Every time he meets a craftsman, he talks, learns, takes notes, and collects images and works created by the artisan. Until now, I can confirm that I am the one who has kept all documents of Binh Duong lacquerware from 1940 to the present", Năm Tịnh said.

With the collected materials and knowledge he has acquired, in the current Tuong Binh Hiep lacquer village, artisan Năm Tịnh is considered as a "living museum". Just by looking at a work and materials used, he knows its creator. 

Not only keeping valuable documents about lacquer, from the knowledge he has learned, plus the working process, he also created many special things to help make lacquer more and more perfect, for example, the way to prepare paint, new designs, the use of materials, color schemes... Learning to mix paints from previous artisans, he studied and devise new paints, coatings that are very popular with customers.

It can be said that for him, learning and creativity are two things he practices regularly in his career. Since then, he has researched and created many new things, applied into production to create products with his own characteristics. Although product design always has innovations, he always strictly adheres to production stages and the source of raw materials. Therefore, Dinh Hoa lacquer products are considered as unique and high-value products of Binh Duong lacquerware.

The person who keeps the fire of the craft village

With the passage of time, the traditional lacquer technique has also faded away. Artisan Nam Tinh said that a traditional lacquer work needs about 30 materials and takes a long time to make it, hence the product price is also much higher. Meanwhile, contemporary lacquer uses industrial paint, thus the production time is fast, product price is therefore also much cheaper than price of traditional lacquer.

Artisan Năm Tịnh show painters how to make the work more complete.

Nowadays, highly skilled elderly artisans like Năm Tịnh in Tuong Binh Hiep lacquer village are few. Although he is 73 years old and the lacquer business he created is not small, artisan Năm Tịnh refuses to rest. Perhaps the passion for lacquer has deeply ingrained in himself. Every day, he still goes to his family business facility to teach young ones more things.

He said that lacquer brought him a lot of joy and helped his family's economy get better and better. Therefore, he orients his sons towards this profession. Currently, out of his three sons, two are working in lacquer profession. Of the two children, the first son is more passionate about traditional lacquer, while the second son is interested in contemporary lacquer production.

In order to preserve and develop lacquer craft for future generations, artisan Năm Tịnh has made much effort to learn and study about the formation and development of Binh Duong lacquer. He has collected and preserved many pictures, catalogs of most companies, factories, lacquer production facilities, and hundreds of typical lacquer artifacts, works of artisans, lacquer painters of Thu Dau Mot from before 1975 to present.

In the campus of his family's lacquer factory on Ho Van Cong street, Tuong Binh Hiep ward, he built a gallery of Dinh Hoa lacquer products and a traditional room to store and display documents, typical products of lacquer from past to present. This is also a place where lacquer artisans and craftsmen often come to learn and exchange about their craft. This place is also visited by many domestic and foreign tour groups. Every time a visitor comes to this place, artisan Năm Tịnh usually arranges his schedule to receive guests thoughtfully.   Those are also the times that give him an interesting feeling, because he can talk about his profession, the history of traditional lacquerware, and inspire those who want to learn and follow this path.

Năm Tịnh said: “I am compiling three documents on Binh Duong lacquer craft from the past to the present. Every day, he spends a time on taking notes and completing the materials he has collected. This work has been carried out for many years and is being done with the desire to keep valuable documents on lacquer for the craft village and the next generations.

Over the past 45 years, artisan Truong Quan Tịnh has made many contributions to the development of Binh Duong lacquerware. His contributions are reflected in many aspects, from artistic creation, brand promotion, dedication to preserving and passing on traditional lacquer craft to the next generations. He received the title of Meritorious Artist in 2016.

Reported by Hong Thuan - Translated by Ngoc Huynh