Fear of losing the world-famous 300-year-old pottery village

Bien Hoa pottery is beautiful and unique from carving to glaze because it is a product of the intersection of three pottery lines of the Vietnamese, Chinese and Cham people. That is why Bien Hoa pottery has been famous in the world pottery village from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.

One of the famous addresses in Bien Hoa pottery village for a long time is Tan Van pottery village (Tan Van ward, Bien Hoa city, Dong Nai province). It is very difficult to find the remaining pottery kiln of the famous pottery village because now almost all pottery production facilities have closed.

In the area of about 500 square meters, there are only 5 to 10 workers working on the fingers. The workers are divided into many stages but everyone is covered in mud.

Meeting Mr. Bui Thanh Tan (born in 1965, a ceramic artisan with nearly 20 years of experience), he said: "In the past, my family did fine arts and then I kept doing this traditional job until now. At first, it was very difficult, but later, I learned from that experience and was able to do it. The raw materials to make pottery are taken from mountain soil and rice field soil mixed together to have such flexibility. You have to choose old soil, young soil cannot do it. In Tan Van, it was the first place when talking about ceramic jars. At first, it was mainly made for our people to use. Now, about 8-9 years ago, we have been exporting to other countries in the world , people prefer it more than our people here. Now there are only about 5-6 establishments left, but I heard that they will be closed next year, I don't know why. In the past, in Tan Van, there were many ceramic establishments. Surely, our job is no longer a traditional job. We only do it because of passion, because young people don't do it anymore, my dear...

Currently, the pottery making profession in Bien Hoa is only concentrated in Buu Long, Tan Van wards, Tan Hanh and Hoa An communes of Bien Hoa city with more than 40 large and small establishments with unique designs exported domestically and internationally, bringing economic value.

However, nowadays, few young workers are interested in this profession that has been passed down from their ancestors.

That is why many people are concerned that this world-famous 300-year-old pottery village will disappear...

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thoi-su/noi-lo-that-truyen-lang-gom-hon-300-tuoi-noi-tieng-the-gioi-20180822111813183.htm