Thanh Tien Flower Village - The Quintessence of Hue
By the Perfume River, Thanh Tien's farmers deftly craft brilliant paper flowers bound to the worship customs of Hue - honoured at the city's craft-village Festival.
Thanh Tien flower village, in Phu Mau commune, Phu Vang district, Thua Thien Hue province, lies about 7 km from Hue city on the south bank of the lower Perfume River. Here the flowers do not bloom in the fields but from the skilful, talented hands of gentle farmers. Anyone can become an artisan, but each year they are artisans only in the twelfth lunar month. The flowers they make stay fresh all year, through all four seasons - spring, summer, autumn and winter.
According to the records, Thanh Tien paper flower village came into being nearly 400 years ago, in the time of the Nguyen lords. After King Gia Long unified the realm, on the occasion of the Thuong tuan rite, the king issued an edict asking each region to bring a precious flower to the capital. At court there was a mandarin from Thanh Tien village serving in the Ministry of Rites in the post of Ta Huu Dong Nghi, who presented the king with a five-colour flower full of the meaning of the Three Bonds and the Five Constants.
To make a spray, the craftsperson must prepare the stages months before Hue enters its rainy season. They choose the best bamboo in the village, split it fine, whittle it thin and dry it to make the flower stems. Besides flowers such as orchid, lily, rose, chrysanthemum, wild sunflower and tuong vi rose - which served only worship and ritual and were made only at Tet - Thanh Tien village also makes paper lotuses.
Each year, for the Nam Giao sacrificial rite, the court would order the people of Thanh Tien to make thousands of white and pink lotuses to adorn the altar during the grand ceremonies. But then, for reasons unknown, the village's paper-lotus technique was lost for 50 years. Happily, several sons of the village - the artisan Nguyen Hoa and the painter Than Van Huy - strove to study and restore the secret of making paper lotuses.
At every worship occasion, even after buying many fresh flowers, the people of Hue never forget to buy a few sprays of Thanh Tien paper flowers to offer to the deities, ancestors and shrines. Those brilliant yet simple colours not only enhance the spiritual flavour but also add to the distinctive character of Hue culture. Today, visitors come to Hue during the traditional craft-village Festivals the city holds every two years.
The Hue Traditional Craft Village Festival is held under the theme 'The Quintessence of Vietnamese Crafts', honouring the locality's traditional crafts such as pottery, silk weaving, embroidery and tailoring. Alongside, the Festival stages many appealing events and activities for visitors.
