Duong Van Hong, born in 1956 in Long Thuong hamlet, Dai Dong commune in Van Lam district in Hung Yen, said his childhood was closely associated with rice fields and the land. He remembers the image of his father wrapped up in his work.

Seeing his 12-year-old son working hard to knead clay, his father was sure that his son would be a talented descendant in the bronze casting profession. Hong was trained by his father, from kneading to drawing models to making molds.

Hong often made mistakes and failed to make products, but he did not give up. At the age of 20, he became a professional.

In 1995, Hong officially opened his private workshop. He hired workers and took on a lot of works to create finished products.

The years from 1998 to 2005 were the most difficult time. Most products he created did not sell. He then asked for the commune authorities’ help by displaying his products at exhibitions in Hanoi.

Because of difficulties, Hong thought of doing another business. However, after several years, he rethought his decision and decided to revive the bronze casting career, because he remembered his father who had worked hard for many years.

Hong told VietNamNet that a call from a friend of his from Chuong My district in Hanoi changed his fate.

“At that moment, a friend called me and said he wanted to buy a bronze incense burner. After he received the product and displayed at his home, some of his friends came to visit him and saw the product, praised its quality and asked the friend to buy it for them. So, my products became well known to my friend’s local residents,” he recalled.

“The friend called me and placed a big order. I needed to make a lot of products for many people in the same village. It was the big order which made me realize that my products were useful. The only problem was that I needed to make my products better known in the community,” he said.

Hong then decided to introduce his products on Hang Dong street in Hanoi. It was the special marketing method which brought good luck to him and his family.

All his products sold out, which made him very happy. He asked other family members to work together with him and create other products. Day by day, products sold rapidly and became better known to people.

In 2008-2010, the bronze casting was revived. Not only Hong and his family, but nearly all families in the same village took this profession. More and more bronze casting workshops were established. A new chapter in history of Long Thuong began.

According to Hong, designing, creating mold, casting and trimming are the stages of the bronze casting process. 

“All the stages are important. However, designing is the elite area,” he explained.

In the past, all the stages were made manually, so the work was very hard. Nowadays, craftsmen use machines, which makes the work easier. Hong was one of the first craftsmen using a molding machine instead of clay molds in 2015.

For his great efforts to revive the traditional craft and his high-quality products, Hong was granted the title of bronze casting artisan six years ago. He feels proud of the award and continues to promote the profession handed down by his father and ancestors.

Developing tourism

Hong said he was worried that the traditional career of bronze casting would sink into oblivion as young people don’t want to preserve the career. However, he can sigh with relief now as his youngest son, born in 2023, loves the profession and plans to continue to develop it.

The grandfather handed down the profession to his father, the father then handed down the profession to son, and then son to grandson. Four many years, four generations of Hong family have been preserving the bronze casting craft with enthusiasm and love.

“Sometimes my son complains that the work is hard. But I persuade him to preserve the career of the village and the family. The career not only helps shape a life of comfort, but also is a traditional value that needs to be protected,” he said.

Tu Linh - Thanh Minh