Young artist dedicated to passing down the craft of tongcao flowers making

Wang Yunyu, a young craftswoman from Yangzhou, east China’s Jiangsu Province, has committed herself to passing down the craft of tongcao flowers making.

Born in 1997, Wang has already been making tongcao flowers, or hand-made flowers woven from the leaves of rice paper plants, for 15 years and has created over 10,000 artworks.

“Currently, most of my works are headwear. When properly conserved, they can be kept for over 100 years,” said Wang.

The Chinese classic Dream of the Red Chamber inspired her to take up the craft when she was 11, as the protagonists’ home were decorated with tongcao flowers. After knowing her passion, her father brought her to Dai Chunfeng, a local tongcao flowers inheritor, to learn the craft.

To make tongcao flowers, Wang needs to go through a dozen procedures. Aside from learning the techniques from her master, she often observes the petals and branches of different flowers repeatedly in her spare time after school.

“The continuation and development of traditional crafts need the support and inheritance of young people. I will make more works in the future so that people will know more about tongcao flowers and love them,” said Wang.

Wang Yunyu, wearing hanfu (traditional Chinese costume), makes a tongcao flower.

Photo shows a tongcao flower made by Wang Yunyu.