Preserving Culture Through Silk in a 1,100-year-old Craft Village

Van Phuc Ha Dong silk village in Hanoi - one of the most famous silk weaving villages in Vietnam, has an ancient beauty, is famous for its quality silk weaving products, and owns many virtual check-in points that attract young people and tourists. This is a traditional silk-weaving village that has been recognized as the record "Oldest silk weaving village still operating today" by the Vietnam Record Book Center.

 Van Phuc Ha Dong silk village attract young people and tourists

Van Phuc silk weaving village, formerly an ancient Vietnamese village (first village, first commune) has a long-standing famous silk weaving profession. Located right next to Van Phuc silk village is the Y La flower-printing weaving village, La Duong fabric weaving village, and La Noi flower-printing weaving village in Duong Noi commune. From here, follow National Highway 6 to Da Sy Blacksmith Village - a studious and skilled village. The craft villages in Ha Dong are all traditional craft villages with a long history. After many ups and downs, today, the craft villages have been restored and developed more strongly, contributing significantly to the economic and social development of Ha Dong District. The value of industrial and handicraft production in the craft villages accounts for 55% of the total output value. The industry has created jobs for many local workers and neighboring areas, improving the lives of the people.

The origin of Ha Dong Silk Village

Van Phuc Craft Village has been around for over 1,000 years. For a long time, the sound of the looms, and the bustling, leisurely, and gentle sound of the shuttles has become the rhythm of life here. With the sound of the shuttles, artisans have created up to 70 types of silk and silk, famous for their patterns, five-color brocade, etc. Through many ups and downs, Van Phuc village still retains its traditional values ​​on each silk grain and fabric. The patterns are always decorated symmetrically, the decorative lines are not cumbersome or complicated, but always soft, liberal, and decisive. Therefore, Van Phuc silk is not only popular domestically but has also reached beyond Vietnam to the hands of connoisseurs from all over the world. From silk products, people have sewn lightweight outfits, embroidered bags, wallets, silk scarves, etc. suitable for all types of customers. The prices of products sold in Van Phuc Silk Village are affordable and easy to choose. The items sold in the shops are diverse and rich in variety.

Van Phuc village was originally named Van Bao, but due to the taboo of the Nguyen Dynasty, it was changed to Van Phuc. According to legend, more than 1,100 years ago, Mrs. A La Thi Nuong, the wife of Cao Bien, the governor of Giao Chi, lived in Van Bao village. During her time here, she taught people how to make a living and passed on the silk weaving profession. After her death, she was respected by the villagers and appointed as the village's Thanh Hoang. In her temple today, there is still a historical page written on stone, along with an ancient loom - a historical relic of a silk-weaving village.

Through many ups and downs of history, Van Phuc silk has been constantly improved and developed. Van Phuc silk was once chosen to make costumes in the royal court and especially the village's silk products were very popular during the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945). In the modern and contemporary periods, Van Phuc silk was first introduced internationally at the Marseille Fair (1931), and was considered by the French to be a sophisticated product in Indochina. In 1990, Van Phuc silk was exported to many countries around the world.

Patterns and motifs on brocade and Van Phuc silk are divided into the following groups: animal patterns including the four sacred animals, two dragons facing the moon, two dragons and two phoenixes, dragons and clouds, golden dragons curling up in water, phoenixes in the clouds, phoenixes holding scrolls, phoenixes spreading the word longevity, turtles holding scrolls, turtles spitting out golden jade, two cranes, five blessings, and fish gazing at the moon. Insect and bird motifs such as dragonflies, storks, butterflies, bats, etc.; plant motifs including chrysanthemums, bamboo, apricots, orchids, lemon flowers, roses, strawberry flowers, etc.; Object patterns, simulated geometry: scrolls, coins, flower baskets, ancient vases, lanterns, longevity characters (round and square), seal characters, swastikas, S characters, diamond shapes, squares, diamonds, checkered, three stripes. All the patterns on Van Phuc silk were woven into unique products by the rich imagination and talented hands of artisans, demonstrating the delicate creativity and aesthetic of the Hanoi urban community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At that time, Van Phuc village had up to 1,500 silk-weaving looms. Boys and girls in the village from 15, to 16 years old knew how to operate the looms to make products. During this period, Van Phuc weavers were successful in improving the conversion from low-productivity foot-pedaling looms with narrow fabric widths to hand-pulling looms, with productivity from 3 meters of medium width to 8 meters of wide widths. At that time, in Hanoi, there were many large silk shops in Hang Ngang and Hang Dao.

Lụa vân – Exquisite Craftsmanship

A unique feature of Van Phuc silk, unmatched anywhere else, is the lụa vân (patterned silk). After studying and reviving several ancient patterns from previous generations, silk artisan Trieu Van Mao has, while honoring the traditional spirit, creatively adapted and developed more ancient patterns to suit modern tastes. To date, he has created 30 types of ancient patterns.

Across Vietnam, there are many traditional silk weaving villages, but it seems only Van Phuc Village can weave lụa vân. Currently, all Van Phuc silk products are still made in the traditional way. If there have been changes, they involve improvements to equipment to enhance the beauty of the products and align with the evolving society. This is also a hallmark of the village.

To weave standard silk, a worker only needs about half a month of training, but weaving lụa vân requires handling two complex techniques, vo day and vo vong. Weaving lụa vân demands a high level of precision. The patterns on lụa vân are graceful, free-flowing yet well-defined, with colors that shimmer and change depending on the angle of view. Consequently, not every household in the village can weave ancient lụa vân; it requires skill, as the fabric appears delicate but does not tear or wrinkle easily. When worn, it feels cool and soft. The silk-weaving technique is also special—although the outer color is visible, one can still sense the inner layer’s color. This distinctiveness is unique to Van Phuc Silk Village, making its ancient lụa vân impossible to replicate elsewhere. Ancient lụa vân embodies the shared qualities of Vietnamese silk while carrying the unique soul of Van Phuc Silk Village.

There was a time when not only the residents of Van Phuc Silk Village but also enthusiasts of traditional silk sadly believed that lụa vân — a type of silk that had become the “soul” of Van Phuc’s traditional craft village — would remain only a memory. However, through her diligent work and deep love, artisan Nguyen Thi Tam, a native of Van Phuc, revived this precious silk, enhancing the beauty and spirit of the Vietnamese people. Her efforts have contributed to preserving this treasured product under the brand of Van Phuc Silk Village. Experts agree that lụa vân from Van Phuc is truly a unique work of art, as it requires numerous steps, mostly handcrafted. The distinguishing feature of lụa vân is its translucent appearance; it doesn’t age, doesn’t wrinkle, and appears sparse yet isn’t thin. Held up to the light, it resembles a paper fan with thousands of tiny holes, but it never tears. Many silk artisans from other places have come to Van Phuc to learn the technique of making lụa vân, yet none have been able to replicate it.

Preserving and promoting creativity

Currently, the scale of local silk production is facing many difficulties and is on the decline. Counting all the weaving workshops in the village, there are only about 200 weaving machines, a modest number compared to the scale of 1,000 weaving machines in the golden age. According to our research, one of the biggest difficulties in maintaining and developing the craft village is the labor force. The scale of weaving workshops is shrinking significantly because the artisans in the weaving profession are mainly middle-aged people, while the young labor force is decreasing day by day. Van Phuc's traditional craft village is facing the risk of fading away because the next generations are no longer interested in the profession. "Silk weaving requires meticulousness and dexterity in each step as well as maintaining high concentration, just one wrong step can ruin the whole process. Along with that, the working environment also has a great impact on health, while the labor cost is low, so local youth are not enthusiastic about this profession," said artisan Nghiem Thi Thu Huong.

As someone passionate about preserving and developing the traditional culture of the craft village, Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc Lan, Vice President of the Van Phuc Silk Weaving Village Association, commented that thanks to the application of more technology, techniques, and supporting machines, the productivity and quality of silk products are now better than before, and the designs are also more diverse. However, the key to success is to conquer and retain the support of customers. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, people tend to spend more economically. Therefore, silk products not only need to be diverse in design but also price. To do that, instead of only producing 100% silk products, in the silk weaving process, it is necessary to add synthetic fibers, linen fibers, cotton fibers... to create more products with more suitable prices. In addition to finding solutions to overcome limitations in raw material supply and labor force, for production and business expansion activities, according to Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc Lan, the banking system needs to have preferential policies and simplify legal procedures so that businesses can access loans more easily. To adapt, businesses need to proactively apply digital transformation to increase product promotion and introduction activities. Advertising and selling via livestream for Van Phuc silk is available but is facing difficulties, because silk is a high-end product, often self-designed or produced according to customer orders, so there is little diversity for advertising. On the other hand, silk products also require careful preservation, so they are easily damaged during transportation. However, in the era of technological development, adapting and keeping up with social trends is necessary, even though it is difficult, it must still be done to maintain and develop the products of the craft village.

Source: Vietnam Business Forum

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