The story of Lady Tam Tang has fascinated later generations because of the love story between her and Lord Thuong Nguyen Phuc Lan. When she became the mother of the country, she encouraged the development of the silkworm industry. The people here combined knowledge from Dang Ngoai with the experience of growing mulberry and raising silkworms of the Cham Pa people, and the silk weaving secrets of the Minh Huong people to create many quality silk products.
In the book Phu Bien Tap Luc, Le Quy Don praised the quality of Quang silk: "The silk, gauze, silk, brocade, and floral tulle are very skillful" and "People from Thang and Dien prefectures can weave the silk, gauze, silk, and floral tulle as sophisticatedly as those from Guangdong". Under the Nguyen Lords, raw silk and silk from Quang and Dang Trong were annually exported to Southeast Asian countries and the West through Hoi An port. This place became the transit center of the international silk road, connecting the East with the West during the Middle Ages of history.
With a thousand-year history, but for Vietnam to be named on the modern world silk map, traditional craft villages are not enough, there needs to be a great transformation and Bao Loc is the answer. Now, when talking about the Vietnamese silk industry, we cannot help but mention Bao Loc (Lam Dong), which is considered the "Silk Capital" of Vietnam. Bao Loc has only emerged since the 70s of the 20th century, but thanks to favorable natural conditions and centralized planning of the State, it has developed very strongly, currently accounting for about 70% of the value of the country's silk output. Bao Loc silk has reached a level of sophistication and has unique values with its own identity.
Currently, Bao Loc has more than 30 enterprises producing and trading silk. The annual output reaches 1,200 tons of silk, 5 million meters of silk. Bao Loc silk is consumed domestically and exported, contributing significantly to the socio-economic development of the locality. In 2023 alone, the export value of raw silk reached nearly 72 million USD, the highest ever.
It can be seen that with precious traditional capital, vast raw material areas, high quality silk, and the talent of diligent and skillful workers, beautiful silk fabrics have been created, bearing the unique cultural nuances of the Vietnamese people.
Heritage Magazine
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