Beijing Juan Hua，known as the silk flower in ancient China, originated in the Tang Dynasty with a long history of over 1000 years. It was said that Yang Guifei, concubine of the great Tang emperor Xuanzong, wear flowers on her headdresses every day. But since fresh flowers had a short lifespan, her skilled maid invented artificial flowers made of silk and satin so that the flowers could be everlasting. Since then, this once palace silk flower became popular in the folk and was used as hair ornaments.

The silk flower in Beijing is finely crafted, vividly designed and brightly colored with its elegance, exquisiteness and ethereal beauty. In the Qing Dynasty, it won international fame when a Beijing artist was awarded in the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition. There were dozens of types of silk flower in ancient times but now over 2,000 types have been invented including head flowers for opera, silk flower basket and silk bonsai.

Beijing silk flower, a millennium folk traditional art called Beijing Flower, was said to come from Flower Market outside Chongwenmen Gate. During the Emperor Kangxi and Qianlong’s reign, the fad of wearing silk flower peaked, resulting in flourishing related industry and services including making and selling silk flower. A number of workshops of silk flower emerged at that time. The flower market was therefore named Huashi in Beijing.

The process of making a silk flower includes dying, molding, gluing and wrapping. Thanks to the relentless pursuit of perfection of artists, the finished silk flowers are of great value on appreciation and artistic collection. According to historical records there was a craftsman surnamed Kin who was an expert in making silk flower and other silk-make ornaments. There was two family, Hua’er Jin and Hua’er Gao who carried forward the art of making silk flower generations after generations. Now the silk flower industry has declined and few artists still work on it.

Translator: ZHANG Ruochen