Since 2007, cultural scholar Trinh Bach has been studying in the Phu Binh region (Tan Phu district, HCM City), where he was frequently led by his father to buy high-class Mid-Autumn Festival lights more than half a century ago. His goal was to recruit eager artists to help him resurrect the traditional Mid-Autumn lantern-making art.

"I adored the rabbit lamp so much that I memorized every feature of it. And the rabbit lantern will be the key to rebuilding the original Bao Dap - Phu Binh artisan village's high-class Mid-Autumn lights," Trinh Bach said about the must-have rabbit lantern when he was a child.

However, finding a motivated artist to join him in accomplishing his ambition was difficult. He once tried to demonstrate to a lantern manufacturer how to attach faux rabbit fur as a proposal for how to embellish the ancient Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns many years ago. However, because the craftsman was uninterested, his intention failed.

"At the moment, the lanterns offered at the Mid-Autumn Lantern Market in District 5 are still bonded with bright faux fur and lack core creativity."

In 2017, Trinh Bach had the opportunity to meet Nguyen Trong Van's family in Phu Binh. Mr. Van's family has been creating Mid-Autumn lanterns for many generations in Bao Dap hamlet (Nam Dinh).

There once were several areas in the North where Mid-Autumn lights were produced. However, the most notable is Bao Dap village in Nam Truc, Nam Dinh. The inhabitants of Bao Dap create Mid-Autumn lanterns more carefully and on a greater scale than elsewhere. If Bat Trang is known for its ceramics and Van Phuc for its silk textiles, then Bao Dap is recognized as the Mid-Autumn lantern village.

Many Bao Dap inhabitants came to Saigon in the mid-1950s, forming the Phu Binh hamlet and continuing to create lanterns. For more than a half-century, all Mid-Autumn Festival lights in Saigon and the southern provinces have been created in Phu Binh. However, sophisticated lanterns such as those used in the past have not been adequately maintained in Saigon for several decades.

Mr. Van's family has kept the work since moving to Saigon, but the shape of the lamps has changed slightly.

"The individual who works directly with me is Mr. Van's son, Nguyen Trong Binh. Binh is gifted, patient, and brilliant. Most significantly, he has a can-do attitude and enjoys his job. He solves technical faults calmly or accepts challenging demands without ever whining."

Mr. Binh knows how to bend bamboo frames into intricate designs in a simple and natural way. "Perhaps this is all that remains of the original homeland. My lovely bunny light reappeared in front of me only 1-2 days as if it had never been gone." 

Mr. Van grasped the lamp and said, "This is the actual rabbit lantern."

Mr. Binh handled the sketches of the lantern frame since he was familiar with them.

Lantern makers in Phu Binh have recently begun to replicate Mr. Van's family's designs to recreate traditional Mid-Autumn lanterns, and at first they only manufactured simple shapes. However, compared to past years, the number of clients buying traditional Mid-Autumn Festival lights from all over the country, from Hanoi to Can Tho... has more than doubled. 

Many schools have started to introduce pupils to the traditional Mid-Autumn light parade.

Nonetheless, according to Mr. Trinh Bach, that was not the end of the road in resurrecting this rare traditional craft. He still did not know what substance the Bao Dap folks used to glue the lights after fixing some high-end Mid-Autumn Festival lights from ancient Saigon. 

Mr. Van proposed at the time a form of paper with silk or fabric blended within to repel water. After painting, the lamp was treated with special oil to keep water out and eucalyptus oil to make the paper transparent.

The first crab lamp with that special paper was completed in 2018, exclusively for the Hanoi Museum.

The lanterns of crabs and dragon fish of the ancient Bao Dap people, which the two had been cherishing for three years, had resurfaced by the Mid-Autumn Festival 2020.

Mr. Bach claims that whereas a dozen market lamps made of cellophane, which is still a typical lamp, may be made each day, the high-end ones take nearly 10 days to finish since they require expert hands.

"Previously, the entire town collaborated; each group completed one step, and lights were always available. Since there is now only one person building the frame and one person sketching, it takes a long time."

Trong Binh craftsmen can now sketch cellophane lights. He brings high-end lights that must be painted using specialized methods, like crabs and dragon fish fastened with specialized paper, to Hanoi for researcher Trinh Bach to sketch.

Because of such a feat, these high-end items have yet to hit the market, but the fundamental goal is to revive the ancient culture.

Nguyen Thao