The Singular Craft Village of Thanh Tien Paper Flowers
With 300 years of history, Thanh Tien's artisans keep reviving the paper lotus and creating new designs, drawing visitors to the village.
Each time Tet and spring arrive, Thanh Tien paper flower village (Phu Mau commune, Hue City, Thua Thien-Hue province) grows lively with people coming and going. In the past, paper flowers were used mainly for worship. Over time, through the artisans' skilful hands, Thanh Tien paper flowers today are also used for decoration at every Tet.
Mr Nguyen Van Hien (58) says that this year his family made about 1,000 pairs of worship paper flowers for Tet, along with many other decorative flowers. 'Making paper flowers is quite hard because it goes through many complex stages. To get a spray with the five colours of yellow, red, green, pink and blue, the craftsperson begins from the tenth month, preparing and drying the bamboo and dyeing the paper.' Each spray that comes into being demands meticulous, careful attention.
Mr Nguyen Hoa (61), who has over 40 years in the paper-flower trade, says that before the year 2000 the craft risked stalling owing to the strong rise of plastic flowers. However, from 2000 onward, Thua Thien-Hue province held the Hue Festival and the Traditional Craft Village Festival, so paper flowers became known to many. Thanks to this, paper flowers are consumed widely - not only in Hue but in many other places where people seek to order them.
Besides making familiar paper flowers such as orchid, rose and chrysanthemum, from 2008 the artisan Than Van Huy set about restoring the paper lotus, which had been lost for over 60 years. With the paper lotus, a skilled craftsperson can make about 15 to 20 blooms a day. Whereas ordinary paper flowers are seasonal, selling well only at festivals and Tet, the paper lotus is made all year round.
According to the people of Thanh Tien, this traditional craft dates back more than 300 years. In the old custom, paper flowers were placed in solemn spots such as the altars of the Grandmother, the Grandfather, the local shrine and the Kitchen God. In this way, Thanh Tien paper flowers have for generations become a cultural feature of the folk beliefs of Hue's people.
To preserve this traditional craft, in 2010 the artisan Than Van Huy opened a training class for about 25 learners. Of these, 10 now have steady work. With the creativity of the young, many new paper-flower designs have come into being. Each day, many domestic and foreign visitors come to Thanh Tien village to experience first-hand the feeling of making paper flowers with their own hands.
