Young man keeping traditional craft of bookbinding alive

A number of traditional handicrafts in Vietnam have fallen into oblivion as new technologies emerge during the Industry 4.0 era. Bookbinding first appeared in the country more than 1,500 years ago, but is not widely known or maintained as a traditional craft. One young man, though, learned the craft on his own, and his efforts have caught widespread attention.

Trung Hieu said a normal book can take about a week to rebind, whereas more complex books may take several weeks or even months. Rebinding a book involves five main stages, including assessing the task, unbinding the book, creating a new structure, adding new binding, and then decorating it.

Despite having to overcome many challenges in learning the rare art form, Hieu still loves the work.

As an enthusiast for vintage things and having started out in bookbinding when he was a freshman at the Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts, Hieu values what he makes with his own hands and devotes all of his energy and enthusiasm to the task.

Through his skilled hands, old books take on a new appearance./.

VNA