The phrase Vietnam is becoming a hot key word, being searched the most by importers and retailers during this time. Textile products using natural materials such as cotton, linen and especially Vietnamese silk are gradually gaining a place in the world textile industry. Vietnamese silk is like Hangzhou silk, but very rustic, dainty, a bit slender like a city girl, but no less supple. Vietnamese silk is not solid, rough, slightly rough like Thai silk or Cambodian silk, Laos, soft like baby skin, cool ets

In the history of the world silk industry, Vietnam, although not considered the great Silk Cradle of mankind, has always been recognized by the world as a country with a long history of silk craft over thousands of years. We are still proud, Vietnam has become a source of natural silk fibers for the markets of India, Korea, Japan, China, Laos, Cambodia …

In the homeland of Vietnam today, there are still many famous mulberry growing areas for silkworm and silk weaving such as: Nha Xa (Ha Nam), Nha Nam (Thai Binh), Co Chat (Nam Dinh), Duy Duyen, Ma Chau (Quang Nam), Tan Chau (An Giang), Bao Loc (Lam Dong) …

A story about a fabric weaver in Thai Phuong village, Thai Binh

Hidden at the end of the village road, where there are many factories weaving towels for export, is a production team, Binh Minh cooperative, a remnant hand-weaving workshop, which provides jobs for more than 50 weavers, by Mr. Do Van Tha, the only remaining weaver of Thai Phuong. Each time I go back to the village, it is one more time I admire, amazed at the love of his hand-weaving that his father passed down.

His simple house is also a place to welcome many foreign import groups from different countries such as Germany, USA, Netherlands, UK, Canada, France, Italy, Japan … He spends a lot of time to talking about the profession of silk weaving with a proud voice dating back to the life of his grandfather, grandfather and biological father. The stories are fascinating and seem to have something new to foreign visitors, so they listen attentively with great interest and admiration as if they are being discovered. After having a chance to talk to Mr. Tha, I knew about the world silk business before asking about their business, they often learn very carefully about their partners, because silk is not just a commodity, but it is. It is also a special cultural product bearing the national imprint. The lustrous, smooth and noble beauty of this premium garment has long been honored, even revered by people. For thousands of years, silk has been considered a luxury item, a symbol of power and status of the elite. There was even a time when it was more valuable than gold, used as a currency in the trade, purchase, and exchange of goods between countries on the legendary Silk Road.

According to the legend of Co Do village, Ba Vi district (Hanoi) as well as many other ancient documents, Vietnamese people knew about mulberry farming and raising silkworms from the Hung Vuong dynasty, ie more than 4,000 years ago. From silk, the Vietnamese people in the past knew how to weave many different fine silk things such as: Abstraction is coarse and big silk; the turn is thin and smooth silk; sa is thin and smooth silk; the light silk is light; torus is thicker, light silk; noise is smooth, thick and durable silk; Silk woven silk with evenly small stripes and black dye; The result is smooth, thick and black-dyed silk; paragraph is also a kind of guarantee but of better quality; The body is smooth and shiny silk woven flowers; Van is a type of silk with large, thicker, higher quality silk and brocade is the highest quality silk.

Vietnamese silk from the past has been famous for its smooth, smooth and durable silk that is not inferior to silk from China, Japan and other countries. For example, in the North, ancient Co Do silk was dubbed “tribute silk”, that is, the premium silk used to pay tribute to the court. Van Phuc silk was previously considered by the French to be the most sophisticated product in Indochina, so in 1931 and 1932 it was once chosen to take part in great tricks (fairs) in Marseille and Paris. (France).

In the Central region, in the past, the silk trade also developed very strongly, especially in Quang Nam, because there was Hoi An trading port, an important stop in the trade journey of the silk road on the sea. During its flourishing period, from the 16th to 19th centuries, Hoi An was home to many merchant boats from China, Japan, India, Siam (Thailand), Portugal, the Netherlands, and England. France … came to trade, mainly ceramics and silk. Over the years, the Vietnamese silk weaving craft also underwent many ups and downs. However, the good news is that the once-honored profession is still preserved and developed in a few villages in Vietnam.

Today, if you have the opportunity to visit the famous traditional silk craft villages of Vietnam, visitors will have the opportunity to explore the history of mulberry farming, silkworming, silk weaving that has existed for thousands of years. . And there, in the beautiful scenery of the village, visitors can see again imprinted images of the golden silkworm profession with rice fields, mulberry banks, along with the clinking sound and the picture. Photos of women who work as mulberry picking, silkworming, silk-weaving.

Nha Xa, Ha Nam – the famous silk weaving and dyeing village in the North

If Van Phuc and Ha Dong existed during the French colonial period until the 1980s, Nha Xa would be known in many places when the country opened. The market economy has created a factory that produces silk fabrics and silk-related products such as scarves, fashion accessories, and dresses for international tourists to Vietnam, and then export.

Bao Loc – the new capital of the Vietnamese silk industry

Compared with the traditional craft villages, the mulberry and silkworm farming profession in Bao Loc was born much later, around the 70s of the last century, but thrived, being considered the “capital” of new silk. of Vietnam, accounting for about 70% of the value of the country’s silk production. Here, the silk industry develops on a large scale and is almost closed with all stages from mulberry cultivation, silkworm raising, silk weaving, silk weaving, dyeing to making all kinds of finished products.

Thanks to favorable natural climatic and land conditions, Lam Dong is the locality with the largest mulberry growing area and number of households raising silkworms as well as the largest silk-weaving and silk-weaving factory in the country. Bao Loc silk products are very diversified with more than 20 different types. In addition to raw silk, raw silk, there are high-class and premium silk fabrics such as satin silk used for traditional Japanese kimono. Copy; yozu silk used to sew headscarves in Arab countries, India; habuta, crepe de chine (CDC) silk fabrics are used for high-class tailoring … Thanks to that, Bao Loc silk is trusted by many leading fashion brands in the world and exported to powerhouses of silk.

Although considered as the top source of silk production in the world, Vietnamese silk has not become a strong brand globally. Mr. Fei Jianming – General Secretary of the World Silk Association – said that Vietnam must change its production structure, instead of focusing on silk export, it is necessary to promote silk production. Because, according to him, only high-quality finished silk products can identify a country’s brand, but if only with raw fibers, Vietnam will forever stop at processing with profit value. low profit compared to real profit of the silk industry. Evidence for this story is a typical example of Thailand, a country whose silk yarn exports cannot match Vietnam, but only needs to build a world famous Jim Thompson silk brand. , the Thai silk industry can confidently stand next to the giants in the global silk world.

Therefore, according to Mr. Fei Jianming: “Vietnam is a country with a long tradition of silk weaving, a vast area of ​​raw materials, and a rare amount of high quality silk. So we should preserve to produce silk. And that is the direction to come to the world silk road “.

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Vietnam is currently among the six largest silk producing countries in the world. In which, Vietnam ranked 3rd in Asia and 6th in the world in terms of silk export. Bao Loc city alone produces about 1,000 tons of silk, 3.5 million m2 of silk each year; export turnover is about 16-18 million USD / year, accounting for 80% of the total silk export output of the country. Silk and Bao Loc silk is present in the most demanding markets in the world.

“Among Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam’s silk industry has the best background with thousands of years old craft villages. Vietnam exports more yarns than Japan and China, and exports more raw silk than Cambodia and Thailand… ”.

(Mr. Fei Jianming – General Secretary of World Silk Association)

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