400 year old paper flower village in Hue prepares for Tet holiday

400 year old paper flower village in Hue prepares for Tet holiday

Paper flower makers in Thanh Tien village, Phu Vang, Thua Thien Hue, started to dry bamboo and rattan from the end of the third quarter, in January they begin to shape and graft into trees for Tet holiday.




Located in Phu Mau commune, Phu Vang district, Thua Thien - Hue province, paper craft villages are located along the south bank, downstream Huong river, near the confluence, 7 km from Hue city. The place is surrounded by long straight rice fields, the roof tiles with green trees along the road.




History, formerly Thanh Tien people throughout the year "selling face to the ground, selling back to heaven." The climate in Hue is harsh, the sun is sharply hot, the rain is steep, lasting for several months. Consequently, people here are always worried about their future in cold winter months. Since then, the craft of making paper flowers came into being.




Nguyen Thi Thanh Tam is one of many artists who have been doing this for many years. At this point, she and her staff work hard to serve customers orders.




Pham Loan (62), one of the craftsmen who have had nearly one life in this industry, shared that he wanted to preserve his father's tradition, want his descendants to know the beautiful culture of the Vietnamese. The economic benefit is not worth much.




Each time he was about to warm his heart again. Every year this artisan family reunites in simple style with colorful paper flowers.




Paper flowers here are made in various types such as roses, lotus, chrysanthemum, coin ...




Mr. Loan revealed the secret of making paper flowers concentrated in staining, so that the paper retained its durable color. Florists do not use industrial chemicals, but use resins and leaves to make dyes in the traditional way.




The color of Thanh Tien paper flowers is not monotonous. The white paper is dyed into eye-catching paper with five main colors: pink, purple, blue, yellow, white.




The real lotus flowers by the artist living in the village is Mr. Than Van Huy created from traditional paper flowers. Lotus paper here has a later life, appeared from 2008 to present.




The colorful paper lot he was careful, detailed each detail with the unique stamping technique of this village combined with silk painting techniques, watercolor dyed paper from bold to light, with evenness.




Painter Than Van Huy said that people asked the lotus only pink and white, but why his paper lotus has many colors he said: "In the Lotus Sutra of Buddhism each lotus is represents a Buddha. I also get ideas from that make the lotus paper colorful because the lotus flower of Buddhism.




Lotus paper is solemnly placed on the altar of the Buddha. Hue people attach great importance to spirituality, worship. In their view, paper flowers are pure flowers, without the impure effect of using fertilizers such as fresh flowers, or steel, plastic. Therefore, the craft of making paper flowers here is not lost as a traditional craft.




In addition to worship, paper lotuses are made into earthen vessels, with electric lights to decorate the living room or make accents for the interior of the room. Every year, Thanh Tien paper flowers are displayed at festivals such as Hue Festival, Hue Traditional Festival, Tam Giang Wave Festival.






In order to timely supply the needs of all homes on the occasion of Tet, at this time people who love paper flowers have been able to find this village to order. The sale price of paper flower Thanh Tien on the altar to worship Goddy 70 cents / pair, while the lotus paper more expensive, the price range from 2 to 2.5 USD / cotton.

Thanh Tien paper flower village came out nearly 400 years ago, from the Nguyen Dynasty. After King Gia Long collected a painting, on the occasion of the week, the king proposed that each town bring back the city into a precious flower. In the court, there was an official from Thanh Tien village, who was in the Ministry of Equanimity, offering to the king a five-color flower with meaning Kindness - Decorum - Uprightness - Wisdom - Faithfulness (Nhan - Le - Nghia - Tri - Tin).