Woodblock with Daoist text

The woodblock is carved on both sides with Chữ Nôm script, an indigenous script based on Chinese characters, where special characters were created to represent Vietnamese speech. The block also consists of floral and dragon motifs. One side has large characters arranged within columns surrounded by motifs. The other side has two pages each with eight lines of text. The remains of black printing ink can be found across both sides which are completely blackened through use.The block is one of several hundreds housed at the Sino-Nom Institute in Hanoi. It reportedly comes from the collection of blocks that was held at the Ngoc Son temple at Hoan Kiem lake, Hanoi. It is thought to refer to Daoist teachings.

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