Van Phuc craft village, once called Van Bao hamlet, used to be Van Bao manor, Thuong Thanh Oai commune, Thuong Thanh Oai canton, Son Nam town. First people settling here and developing the silk weaving trade, are Nguyen family, and then the Do, the Dang, the Trieu. After its founding, the village had three village gates, of which there were two main gates at both village fronts and one auxiliary gate, called back gate.
Unit 2: Van Phuc Silk village I Pre-reading task Can you name some silk weaving villages in Vietnam? When was craft of the village founded? By whom was the craft of the village found? Can you name some popular kinds of Van Phuc silk? What you know about the origin/history of silk in Vietnam? II Reading Van Phuc silk weaving village Van Phuc silk weaving village, 10km away from Hanoi capital, belongs to Van Phuc Ward, Ha Dong District Locating in Nhue River bank, it has been very famous for traditional silk weaving trade History-culture of the craft village Van Phuc craft village, once called Van Bao hamlet, used to be Van Bao manor, Thuong Thanh Oai commune, Thuong Thanh Oai canton, Son Nam town First people settling here and developing the silk weaving trade, are Nguyen family, and then the Do, the Dang, the Trieu After its founding, the village had three village gates, of which there were two main gates at both village fronts and one auxiliary gate, called back gate Its history is embedded in the legend of its tutelary god named La Thi Nga who was married by Cao Bien – an envoy of Tang dynasty She was chosen as a concubine When she was on mission with her husband to Ha Dong district, they found that here was enriched and developing with friendly, industrious, hardworking people doing the farm work Cao Bien returned back to China in 874, she asked to stay back and lived with Van Bao village She encouraged the local people to take advantage of the River bank to plant mulberry, cultivate silkworm, and to learn fabric weaving She brought the gifted craftsmen teach local people how to develop their skills Van Phuc local people paid the worship to her and considered her as a sacred god of village and established the commune house to pay tribute to her, and chose January 25th lunar year as the funeral ceremony Traditional products Silk weaving trade required the clever, skillful, industrious and highly persistent character In old times, in order to weave a silk piece, the operator had to go through many hard stages from the preparation for silkworms to the selection of the each silk (because of many types of silks, various sections, so, the operation had to choose separately) to the weaving section As an addition to the plain fabric weaving, the skill for flower weaving has been improved by Van Phuc people The operator had to put up a high frame to the house roof and then knit the flower patterns by the thread called “flower knitting” There should be two operators assigned for this task, either of them had to sit under the weaving frame and used his hand to launch the spindles to make sure those threads could put in the position through the fabric opening However, this style of weaving was proven to be very hard In fact, the operator can make only two to three meters of fabric by this method a day The improvement for new wood weaving machine had not been carried out until 1940 The manual shuttering method was also improved from the string pulling to the gradual change by the motor driven method and it has been developing to date Nowadays, having a talk about silk, one has to think immediately of the fine Ha Dong silk with different colors, green, rose, green yellow etc… The bright or elegant, not shining, simple color together with patterns are always arranged in the symmetrical manner with delicate, profound, straightforward traits rather than the complicated decorative shapes to create the charm and attractiveness of Van Phuc silk The traits of Van Phuc silk is warm in spring and cool in summer The decorative flowers and patterns on silk are very diversified like Song Hac, Tho Dinh, Tu Quy patterns etc… that makes the costume lively, charming One of the most typical craftsmen of Van Phuc trade village is the late craftsman named Trieu Van Mao He is the person, who produced and restored 21 precious silk patterns by 100% silkworm material such as Van Que Hong Diep, Van Trien Tho, Van Bang Hoa, Van Long Van Song Hac , Van Mai Tho silk etc… In addition, he was successful in creating the kind of fabric woven from Lanh bark, thorny plants popular in the world with properties such as cool, sweat absorbing, ultraviolet protection Some fabric patterns from barks such as raw thorny pattern, flower woven pattern, piece by piece pattern etc are very populous among the designers The old silk patterns with two dragons attending Khue Van Cac emblem inscribed with Trien and Tho Letters “Thang Long thousand year dated back silks” won the second prized in the “composition for the thousand year civilized gift samples” This is the gift sent to the 1,000-year Thang Long-Ha Noi great anniversary by the late craftsman named Trieu Van Mao representing for Van Phuc trade village III Vocabulary Words and phrases to remember Canton industrious pay tribute to sb Manor encourage pay worship to sb Be imbedded in take advantage of sacred Tutelary god plant mulberry commune house Envoy cultivate silkworm funeral ceremony Concubine fabric weaving skillful Be on mission craftsman Persistent plain fabric flower weaving great anniversary Weaving frame thread flower knitting auxiliary spindles weaving machine shutter symmetrical profound delicate straightforward complicated diversified costume charming be successful in bark thorny inscribe Exercises I Match each word or phrase in the column on the left with its meaning in the column on the right A industrious costume Tutelary god B a someone sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else b characterized by hard work and perseverance c of the greatest intensity; complete symmetrical d continually recurring to the mind sacred e made or declared or believed to be holy auxiliary f show devotion to (a deity) profound g the attire characteristic of a country or a time or a social class envoy worship h functioning in a supporting capacity i a guardian angel 10 persistent j having similarity in size, shape, and relative position of corresponding parts II Fill in the blanks with one of the following words or phrases improvement patterns belongs cultivate silkworm settling mission operator funeral ceremony immediately typical Van Phuc silk weaving village, 10km away from Hanoi capital, ……….to Van Phuc Ward, Ha Dong District First people ……….here and developing the silk weaving trade, are Nguyen family, and then the Do, the Dang, the Trieu When she was on …………….with her husband to Ha Dong district, they found that here was enriched and developing with friendly, industrious, hardworking people doing the farm work She encouraged the local people to take advantage of the River bank to plant mulberry, ……………, and to learn fabric weaving Van Phuc local people paid the worship to her and considered her as a sacred god of village and established the commune house to pay tribute to her, and chose January 25th lunar year as the …………………… In old times, in order to weave a silk piece, the………… had to go through many hard stages from the preparation for silkworms to the selection of the each silk (because of many types of silks, various sections, so, the operation had to choose separately) to the weaving section The………… for new wood weaving machine had not been carried out until 1940 Nowadays, having a talk about silk, one has to think ……………of the fine Ha Dong silk with different colors, green, rose, green yellow etc… One of the most ………… craftsmen of Van Phuc trade village is the late craftsman named Trieu Van Mao 10 The old silk …………with two dragons attending Khue Van Cac emblem inscribed with Trien and Tho Letters “Thang Long thousand year dated back silks” won the second prized in the “composition for the thousand year civilized gift samples” IV Questions for discussion What you know about the history of silk weaving in Van Phuc? Make an introduction to Vân silk What you know about “gấm” or brocade? What you know about the main steps or stages of weaving silk are? Why was Van Phuc ever considered the cradle of silk weaving of Vietnam? V Using English -ing and –ed clauses Study these examples from the reading First people settling here and developing the silk weaving trade, are Nguyen family, and then the Do, the Dang, the Trieu (_ing clause) Van Phuc craft village, once called Van Bao hamlet, used to be Van Bao manor, Thuong Thanh Oai commune, Thuong Thanh Oai canton, Son Nam town (_ed clause) We use _ing clause to say what somebody (or something) is doing (or was doing) at a particular time E.g: Do you know the woman talking to Tom? (the woman is talking to Tom) When you are talking about things (and sometimes people), you can use _ing clause to say what something does all the time, not just at a particular time E.g: The road joining the two villages is very narrow (the road joins the two villages) _ed clauses have a passive meaning E.g: The boy injured in the accident was taken to hospital We ofte use _ing or _ed clauses after there is/there were E.g: There was a big red car park outside the house Is there anybody waiting? Exercises I Change the relative clauses in these sentences into the participle clause Van Phuc is 11 km away from Hanoi, which is located in Ha Dong town, Ha Tay province ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… …… It has had the reputation of weaving fine silk which supplies the domestic and oversea markets ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… …… The madam La Thi Nga who had taught the villagers the craft was considered the founder of the silk weaving ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… …… Many kinds of the unique silks which get the favour of many customers have been created by the artisans such as brocade, crepe, vein, silk… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… …… Van silk incorporates ancient designs that represent the history and culture of Vietnam ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… … Mao was dismayed to find that there were no longer any workshops that make the luxury silk or the traditional patterns, and so dedicated himself to reproducing the ancient designs and techniques ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ……… Both traditional and modern designs, such as leaves or rose, are much more vivid when they are woven by hand rather than computer-generated ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… …… He developed a comprehensive production line that includes spinning, weaving, bleaching, dyeing and drying ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… …… The founder of silk weaving in many northern Vietnamese villages are worshipped to this day, such as the man who introduced it to Van Phuc village during the Tong domination of Vietnam (618- 907 AD) ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ……… 10 The exquisite black silk fabric which is produced by the nearby Việt village of Tân Châu displays characteristics indicative of its close contact with the Khmer silk-weaving industry …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… ……… VI Practical exercises Translation Translate into Vietnamese The silk road Named in the middle of the 19th century by the German scholar, Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen, the Silk Road, which is regarded as the greatest East-West trade route, was first traveled by Zhang Qian when he was sent on a diplomatic mission to the Western Regions in the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) The Silk Road was the information super highway of its age, serving as the conduit not only for goods but also for the transmission of knowledge and ideas between East and West The Silk Road originated in the 2nd century BC from a desire for military and political purpose instead of for trade Although the mission failed in its original purpose, the information Zhang Qian conveyed to China about Central Asia, and vice versa, made people in each area desire goods produced in the other Silk that was favored by Persians and Romans, inaugurated the trade along the Silk Road Silk Road linked China to Central Asia The fall of the Han dynasty in the early 3rd century once caused Silk Road trade to decline However, the rise of the Tang dynasty in the 7th century revived this commerce and by the mid 8th century, the route reached its height The Tang dynasty fortunately experienced the best flourishing period of the Silk Road The fall of the Tang in the early 10th century gave a deathblow to the trade on the Silk Road The trade on the road declined sharply till in the 13th century, when the conquests of the Mongols ushered in an era of frequent and extended contacts between East and West This increased contact created a demand for Asian goods in Europe, a demand that eventually inspired the search for a sea route to Asia The discovery of a sea route from Europe to Asia in the late 15th century dealt a damaging blow to the Silk Road trade again With less cost, harassment and danger, many goods and materials that the Silk Road could not transfer were conveyed through the sea route Besides, the Persians had mastered the art of sericulture and the import of the silk from the East was reduced Since then, the prosperous Silk Road was on its downhill The bustling streets, wealthy cities and solid ramparts now were submerged in the vast desert, and today, people can only trace their splendid history in the endless ruined and dilapidated remains Speaking - Your teacher will give you some pictures of traditional Van Phuc silk village in Vietnam Comment on those pictures - Put the pictures in an order of your choice then give a commentary on them Writing I Complete the following sentences e.g The artistic handicraft, as a valuable traditional profession of Vietnam, has a ……………… The artistic handicraft, as a valuable traditional profession of Vietnam, has a long-standing history Van Phuc silk village has been much well-known for ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………… Tourists coming here are lured by ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………… Van Phuc silk village is proud to be ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… … Legend has it that, madam La Thi Nga ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………… Today, Van Phuc silk through generations, the artisans and textile workers ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………… Though passing by lots of ups and downs, during the recent years, the village’s craft Visitors to Van Phuc village will be impressed by typical manner of an ancient village in the north of Vietnam with The special beauty of Van Phuc or Ha Dong silk was inspiration for In Nguyen dynasty time, Van Phuc silk was brought 10 Van Phuc silk has been known for its smooth, light weight, and elegant appearance Especially, a traditional kind of silk called Van silk II Topic: Give a general introduction to Van Phuc silk village Student can choose some of these following aspects: - location, name of the village - history of formation and development of the village’s craft - kinds of product - materials, stages of making product - Uncle Ho’s immemorial house - village’s shrine and temple - famous artisans ... beauty of Van Phuc or Ha Dong silk was inspiration for In Nguyen dynasty time, Van Phuc silk was brought 10 Van Phuc silk has... of Van Phuc trade village is the late craftsman named Trieu Van Mao He is the person, who produced and restored 21 precious silk patterns by 100% silkworm material such as Van Que Hong Diep, Van. .. patterns belongs cultivate silkworm settling mission operator funeral ceremony immediately typical Van Phuc silk weaving village, 10km away from Hanoi capital, ……….to Van Phuc Ward, Ha Dong District