Vietnamese Calligraphy: The Ong Do Tradition and Where to Commission a Piece

Every year in the weeks before Tet, clusters of men in traditional robes appear on certain streets in Hanoi and Saigon, kneeling over red paper with brushes loaded in black or gold ink. If you've walked past and wondered what's happening — or thought about stopping — this guide is for you.

A Short History of Three Scripts

Vietnamese calligraphy, or "thu phap," draws on three writing systems that layered on top of each other over roughly two millennia.

Chinese characters (Han tu) arrived with Chinese administrative rule and remained the language of scholarship and official documents for over a thousand years. Alongside them, Vietnamese scholars developed "chu Nom" — a system of adapted and invented characters used to write the Vietnamese language itself. Classical literature, poetry, and folk songs were written in Nom, including Nguyen Du's foundational epic Truyen Kieu in the early 19th century.

The third layer is "quoc ngu," the romanized script developed by Jesuit missionaries in the 17th century and formalized under French colonial administration. By the mid-20th century, quoc ngu had become the national writing system. Han tu and Nom receded from everyday use — but never disappeared from ceremony, art, or ritual.

Modern thu phap calligraphers work across all three systems. A piece might be a single Han character meaning fortune or longevity, a line of Nom verse, or a quoc ngu poem rendered in flowing brushwork. The script depends on the calligrapher's training and, often, what you ask for.

The Ong Do Tradition

The "ong do" — literally "Confucian scholar" — was historically the village intellectual: the man who could read and write, who drafted petitions, wrote letters, and composed the red-paper couplets ("cau doi") hung at doorways during Tet (뗏 (베트남 설날) / 越南春节 / テト (ベトナム旧正月)). Families would visit him before the new year to receive a character or phrase believed to bring luck for the coming months.

By the 20th century, mass literacy and printed materials had made the ong do largely obsolete. The poet Vu Dinh Lien wrote a famous elegy for them in 1936 — a poem still taught in Vietnamese schools — describing old men sitting alone, their brushes ignored by passersby who no longer needed their craft.

The tradition never fully died, though. Since the late 1980s it has seen a genuine revival, particularly around Tet. Today the ong do street scene is one of the more visually striking things you can watch in either Hanoi or Saigon (사이공 / 西贡 / サイゴン) in January or February.

Where to Find Calligraphers in Hanoi

The main concentration is on and around Dinh Le Street and Dinh Tien Hoang Street, near Hoan Kiem Lake. In the two to three weeks before Tet, the Van Ho Calligraphy Festival sets up along this strip with dozens of calligraphers working side by side. It's organized, photogenic, and genuinely skilled — most practitioners here have studied for years.

For year-round access, the Temple of Literature (Van Mieu) hosts resident calligraphers most weekends, particularly on Sunday mornings. Several practitioners maintain semi-permanent spots in the courtyard near the second gate. It's a natural setting — the temple was Vietnam (베트남 / 越南 / ベトナム)'s first national university, founded in 1070 — and the calligraphers here tend to be serious about their craft rather than performing for tourists.

The Dong Xuan Market area in the Old Quarter has a few calligraphy supply shops on Hang Quat Street that can point you toward practitioners who work from studios rather than street stalls.

Photo by Hồng Quang Official on Pexels

Where to Find Calligraphers in Saigon

In Ho Chi Minh City (호치민시 / 胡志明市 / ホーチミン市), the Tet calligraphy scene gathers along Nguyen Hue Walking Street and in the plaza in front of the central post office in District 1. The setup here is more festival-style than Hanoi's, with lighting rigs and crowds, but the quality varies considerably — some calligraphers are trained artists, others are producing fast commercial work.

Year-round, Xa Loi Pagoda in District 3 and the surrounding streets host calligraphers on weekends. The Binh Tay Market area in Cholon has several shops selling calligraphy supplies and scroll-mounting materials, and the owners can usually connect you with a working calligrapher nearby.

For something more curated, a handful of contemporary art galleries in District 1 — particularly around Le Loi and Nam Ky Khoi Nghia streets — represent calligraphers who work in larger formats and can produce commission pieces with lead times of one to two weeks.

How to Commission a Piece

Most Tet-season calligraphers charge between 50,000 and 200,000 VND for a single character or short phrase on standard red paper (roughly A4 size). Larger pieces on silk or premium paper run 300,000–800,000 VND and up. Studio commissions with framing can reach several million VND depending on complexity and the artist's reputation.

A few phrases that are useful:

• "Viet chu gi cho toi?" — "What characters can you write for me?"
• "Toi muon chu [Phuc/Loc/Tho]" — "I want the character for Fortune/Prosperity/Longevity"
• "Co the viet ten toi bang chu Han khong?" — "Can you write my name in Chinese characters?"
• "Bao nhieu tien?" — "How much?"

For a meaningful commission, tell the calligrapher something about your intention: a gift for a parent, a wedding present, a personal motto. Most will suggest the appropriate character or phrase if you explain the context. Don't be shy about this — it's how the tradition works.

Photo by Sang Tran on Pexels

Mounting and Framing

A freshly brushed piece on red paper is fragile. If you're buying at a street stall, ask for a cardboard tube rather than folding it flat. Back in your accommodation, let it dry flat under a book if it's been rolled.

For professional mounting, the Hang Trong Street area in Hanoi's Old Quarter has several traditional framing shops that mount calligraphy onto backing boards with silk borders — the format called "tranh cuon" (scroll) or flat-mounted "tranh treo tuong" (wall hanging). A basic scroll mount runs 150,000–400,000 VND. In Saigon, similar services are available in the Cholon district.

If you're shipping the piece home, flat-mounted works travel better than scrolls. Ask the framer specifically about shipping-safe options — most have experience with this.

Practical Notes

Tet-season calligraphy streets are crowded and genuinely worth the inconvenience; go early morning (before 9am) to watch calligraphers set up and work without the afternoon crush. Year-round access is easier than most visitors realize — the Temple of Literature in Hanoi and weekend spots near Saigon's pagodas offer the craft without the holiday chaos. If you're visiting around Tet, the calligraphy piece makes a far better souvenir than anything sold in a gift shop.