Fuzzy silk flowers, also known as palace flowers or auspicious flowers, have been accompanied by many beautiful legends throughout their creation and development. Crafted from silk embroidery, these flowers are exquisitely made, not only appearing regal and splendid but also phonetically symbolizing ‘glory and wealth’, implying good fortune and prosperity.
Traditional handicrafts made from natural silk, fuzzy silk flowers come in the form of hair ornaments, chest flowers, hat decorations, and ornaments, used for ceremonial events, folk festivals, and daily life. It is said that fuzzy silk flowers originated as tributes in the Tang Dynasty’s court, with a history of over 1000 years. In 2006, Nanjing fuzzy silk flowers were recognized as an intangible cultural heritage of Jiangsu Province. In 2009, Beijing fuzzy birds (fuzzy silk flowers) were included in the municipal intangible cultural heritage list. Since then, this millennia-old craft has regained its glory and attracted more attention.
Velvet flowers are closely related to folk festival customs. For every major event and the three major festivals, velvet flowers are essential festival ornaments, adding a festive and auspicious atmosphere and expressing people’s longing for a better life. In Nanjing, there is a custom of wearing velvet flowers. For weddings and other happy events, relatives and friends will give the newlyweds big red headdress flowers and corsages with patterns like ‘dragon and phoenix bringing prosperity’ and ‘pomegranate with many seeds’.
During the Spring Festival, the style of ‘surplus every year’ is common. During the Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, there are also unique velvet flower styles such as ‘five poisonous creatures’ and ‘rabbit worshiping the moon’, aiming to drive away evil and seek blessings. In addition, in places like Beijing and Tianjin, there is also the custom of wearing velvet flowers to seek beauty and auspiciousness. For example, in Beijing, Manchu women like velvet phoenix coronets. At temple fairs, velvet flower characters of ‘blessing’ can be seen everywhere. Buying one means ‘taking blessings home’. In Tianjin, women’s tradition of wearing velvet flowers such as ‘dragon and phoenix flower’ and ‘treasure bowl’ during the Spring Festival has continued until now. There are many and rich documents recording the traditional styles, wearing habits and culture of velvet flowers, which contain the blood of traditional Chinese culture. The production process and plastic arts of velvet flowers are one of the core values of velvet flowers as intangible cultural heritage and also the main content that needs urgent protection and inheritance. The main material of velvet flowers is silk. The silk used in making velvet flowers is closely related to a kind of silk product, which is Yunjin. Yunjin is the culmination of Chinese silk fabric craftsmanship. It was a tribute exclusively for the royal family in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. The production process is complex and is known as ‘an inch of brocade is worth an inch of gold’. Due to its very strict material selection, a large amount of silk scraps are left during the weaving process. The ancients cherished things and made velvet flowers from these scraps. The production process of velvet flowers is very complicated. A velvet product needs to go through more than a dozen processes such as refining velvet, bleaching, dyeing, pounding silk, beating the frame, tying the frame, cutting the frame, matching the frame, shaping, ironing and assembling before it is completed. Cooked velvet: After silk is purchased, it must be cooked in alkaline water. It should not be overcooked. The cooked silk is called cooked velvet. Cooked velvet is the material used to make velvet flower petals and stamens. Dyeing: According to the different colors of velvet flowers to be made, the cooked velvet needs to be dyed into different colors. The dyed cooked velvet should be hung on a bamboo pole for drying. It should be turned frequently and stretched straight. Making brass wire: Use charcoal fire to anneal and soften brass wire. According to the different velvet flowers to be made, the specifications of brass wire vary.
