Dó paper ( vi, giấy dó,

chữ Nôm Chữ Nôm (, ; ) is a logographic writing system formerly used to write the Vietnamese language. It uses Chinese characters ('' Chữ Hán'') to represent Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary and some native Vietnamese words, with other words represent ...

: 𫷏𦾤 "mulberry paper") is a paper made from the inner bark of the dó tree and traditionally produced in many villages in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. It plays an important role in folk art,

Đông Hồ painting Ðông Hồ painting (Vietnamese: Tranh Đông Hồ or Tranh làng Hồ), full name Đông Hồ folk woodcut painting (''Tranh khắc gỗ dân gian Đông Hồ'') is a line of Vietnamese folk painting originating in Đông Hồ village (Song Hồ ...

in particular, because of its durability.

Production process

The production process includes some stages. First, the bark is soaked in limewater for three months. Second, the black outer bark is husked off and ground by mortar and pestle before being blended with a viscous substance made from a plant belonging to the family

Verbenaceae The Verbenaceae ( ), the verbena family or vervain family, is a family of mainly tropical flowering plants. It contains trees, shrubs, and herbs notable for heads, spikes, or clusters of small flowers, many of which have an aromatic smell. The ...

. This mixture is diluted to form a slurry. A bamboo mold (

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

: liềm xeo) is dipped into the vat of slurry and removed. Paper fibers adhere to the mold in a thin sheet that is then pressed, dried, rolled, and dried again. The final product must be soft, light, and durable.

Applications

Due to its durability, this paper found many uses in traditional Vietnam, including the making of books, paintings, and documents. {{DEFAULTSORT:Do Paper Paper Vietnamese painting