Evaluating the Cultural Transformation of Traditional Craft Villages in Bac Ninh

In the case of bronze products in Dai Bai as an example, the craftsmen of the craft village will ensure prestige, quality and competitiveness in terms of raw material and product prices. But now, in addition to the three factors mentioned above, the issue of trade is of concern. In addition to dealing with customers in the domestic market, it is necessary to pay attention to the market share of foreign markets, so there is an additional issue of dealing with trade transactions between buyers and sellers of products... In addition, craft villages also need to approach partners, especially foreign partners, to be able to understand their culture, tastes, and traditions in order to produce the products they are interested in. From the above market issue, in the process of existence and development of the craft village market, people have appeared who specialize in trading craft village products in domestic and foreign trade activities. Therefore, the craft village itself also has behavioral manifestations in the process of organizing and managing production, which are different behavioral relationships such as: between owners and workers; between workers producing goods; between production owners, workers and customers; between production owners and local authorities... For production establishments, the behavior of relationships is even more concerned, especially behavior in commercial activities and economic contracts of the craft village. Craft village products traded in large quantities bring high income to workers. In general, the development of trade and commerce is a cultural manifestation in the commercial activities of the craft village. To clarify the above issue, we can cite the consumption situation of products of some traditional craft villages in Bac Ninh.

In the case of Dai Bai village, researchers' documents show that in the past, the place where the village's products were sold was mainly concentrated in Buoi market. Therefore, there was a period when Dai Bai village was called Buoi village. During Buoi market sessions, families of craftsmen carried their goods to the market to sell to customers. In addition, families also carried their goods to sell in markets and neighboring villages. Nowadays, the market for consuming products has developed much more than before. It is possible to see some specific forms as follows: 1/ Selling products on the spot (home-based stores). In Dai Bai village

A street selling bronze products has appeared right on the main road of the village [PL6,A.69-74, pp.229, 230]. Craftsmen families built houses along the main road and reserved the first and second floors as places to display and sell products. Domestic and foreign customers come to the village to buy bronze products at the stalls of the families selling them. 2/ According to the opinions of the villagers, in recent years Dai Bai village has expanded its product consumption market to regions across the country. In Hue city, Da Nang city, Ho Chi Minh city, there are shops specializing in displaying the village's products. There are two forms of market expansion: One is, when Dai Bai villagers go to big cities, they rent shops to display the village's products. These people do not participate in production, but only participate in the process of buying and selling products (buying goods in Dai Bai village and transferring them to stores in provinces/cities). Second , Dai Bai villagers combine with businesses in provinces and cities to open stores and display products. This combination takes place as follows: Dai Bai people buy goods, transport them to the gathering place, and local businesses receive and sell the goods . Third, the product consumption market abroad, Mr. Thinh said that in recent years, Dai Bai village has sought a number of foreign markets, including: Taiwan, Korea, Japan, the US, Russia. The expansion of the consumption market abroad has promoted high specialization in which a group of people focus on production; a small group specializes in finding markets to consume products. This has promoted production at a faster level and this is also one of the important factors for the development of the craft village. According to Ms. Thu and Mr. Thinh, Dai Bai commune is currently planning and developing a center to introduce products of the craft village. At that time, the center will be a place to provide space for families of craftsmen to display and sell products. This form will promote the rapid consumption of products and is an opportunity to develop the customer market of the craft village.

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Establishments specializing in trading in craft village products: In Dai Bai in recent years, a new form of business has also appeared: some people in

In other places, they have strong economic potential, opening shops specializing in selling products without a workshop. They buy finished products from artisans, or works that have won high prizes at art competitions, then sell them to earn a profit. For example, Tuan Xinh shop; owned by Ms. Mai Thi Xinh. She is from Kien Giang and has been in Dai Bai since 2000, for more than ten years now. Although she does not have a thorough understanding of the history of the craft village as well as the bronze casting techniques of local production facilities; she has a keen sense of business, marketing and introducing the village's products to domestic and foreign markets. This is a very important factor in promoting the image of the craft village.

In the case of Phu Khe village, in the past, the products of the craft village were mainly sold at home, especially household items [PL6,A.39-44, pp.219, 220]. People in the area have known about this craft village for a long time, so buyers proactively come to the craft village to choose products and place orders, and on time, the products can be delivered by the buyer or the shop owner hires someone to deliver the goods to the address requested by the customer. However, due to the characteristics of the history of the craft village in the past, groups of workers were formed in the village specializing in building houses, communal houses, pagodas, etc. When the project was completed, the workers handed it over to the customer and received the labor fee. Because in reality, the products were architectural works, and the materials were prepared by the locality. Workers in Phu Khe village only received the construction fee as agreed upon at the beginning. Over time, along with the development of skills, the products they make have met the needs of the majority of people in the country. A survey of the two Phu Khe carpentry villages shows that there are some forms of consuming products of the village as follows: Displaying and selling products at home, this form has been developed when the life of the villagers has improved, the households doing the job have the economic capacity to build houses, combined with a shop selling products in front of the house and a production area in the back. It can be seen that this is a quite popular model in Phu Khe today. Due to this form, in the two villages of Phu Khe Dong and Phu Khe Thuong, a city selling products has been formed.

products along the main road of the village. Domestic and international customers have come to the shops selling products along the main road to visit and buy products, and order according to the required samples. Today, Phu Khe village has found many new markets, especially foreign markets such as China, Taiwan, Japan... Chinese traders have come to the production facilities, each household in the village to order products. In the locality, a series of production facilities, businesses, and motels have signs in both Vietnamese and Chinese. In addition, to meet the needs of communication and exchange in business, many Chinese language teaching facilities have been established locally. According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa - Owner of a wooden furniture store in Phu Khe Thuong, " In 2014, my family received orders from Chinese customers, with items worth up to 500 million - 1 billion VND. When production is finished, my family packs the goods and transports them by large trucks to the border gate. Here, customers will receive the handover and transfer money directly to my family. However, in 2014, the Chinese customer market has gradually decreased, so my family still has some unsold items .

In the case of Phu Lang village, because it is located on the banks of the Cau River, boats for trading and transporting raw materials for making pottery such as clay and firewood from other places and traders coming to buy products are busy all year round [PL6,A.15, 16, p.212]. Since ancient times, products of the craft village have been transported for consumption in neighboring areas: Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Hanoi and throughout the Northern region. Phu Lang ceramic products even followed the traders who appeared in the Hue area during the Nguyen Dynasty, which was very popular. In general, the method of consuming products at this time was mainly passive, relying mainly on local traders to buy products. Since the 90s of the last century, Phu Lang ceramic products have been exported to foreign markets. However, the export contracts were irregular, the quantity was small and the economic value was not high.

Nowadays, the village's products are sold in households in the village [PL6,A.6-10, pp.207-209]. Especially products such as ceramic paintings, ceramic statues,

Customers come directly to order according to the request and receive the goods according to the agreement of both parties. In recent years, Phu Lang people have brought the products of the craft village to the product introduction center in Bat Trang pottery village for consumption. In addition, Phu Lang craftsmen have introduced their products on social networking sites such as Facebook, Zalo, websites, electronic newspapers... Especially the form of PR to introduce products and find consumption markets through cultural tourism of craft villages. Phu Lang village has been included by many travel companies in the Hanoi - Bac Ninh tour route, with the goal of experiencing the reality in traditional craft villages. This tourist route is attracting the attention of many tourists, especially foreign tourists: Japan, Korea, France... Perhaps the development of the smokeless industry combined with the development of craft villages is a new and promising direction for Phu Lang craft village to implement in this period of industrialization and modernization.

Summary

Research on changes in craft culture, focusing on revealing the basic elements of craft culture including: changes in production organization forms. If in the past, the organizational model was households and guilds, now the organizational form has changed significantly, besides the traditional elements of households, there are also forms of association between households, LLCs, enterprises, associations...; changes in product manufacturing techniques. This is an easily recognizable feature, because in reality, nowadays, in addition to using traditional techniques, craft villagers also use new technical means to create products. In addition, in terms of craft culture, there are many other elements that are also changing, specifically the behavior between workers, the concept of craft village people about their profession, about village culture, the social relationship between the residents and a part of the people who come to the craft village to learn and develop their profession... It is the change in craft culture that has created opportunities for craft villages to adapt to new conditions and that is also the most favorable condition to help craft villages survive in the current market economy.

Chapter 4

TRENDS OF CHANGING CRAFT VILLAGE CULTURE

TRADITION IN BAC NINH IN THE PROCESS OF INDUSTRIALIZATION, MODERNIZATION AND CURRENT ISSUES

4.1. Evaluation of cultural changes in traditional craft villages in Bac Ninh

Through the process of formation, existence and development, craft villages and craft village culture in Bac Ninh province have always changed at different levels, many craft villages have changed quickly, but there are also craft villages that have changed slowly. That transformation process has created positive results, but there are also negative ones, affecting the activities of craft villages, even many craft villages are facing the risk of disappearing. Based on the survey and research on the manifestations of the change in craft village culture in some traditional craft villages in Bac Ninh province, we draw general conclusions about those changes as follows.

4.1.1. Positive changes

The transformation of traditional craft villages as well as the culture of traditional craft villages in Bac Ninh province is a natural evolution to adapt to the new era. In reality, the 16 traditional craft villages in Bac Ninh province have all undergone a transformation process, but each of these craft villages has had different levels of change. In the case of Phu Khe wood carving, Dai Bai bronze casting, Hoi Quan weaving, etc., the transformation is quite fast and strong, while there are craft villages that have changed slowly, such as Phu Lang pottery, Vong Nguyet silk, etc. There are also some craft villages that, due to not being able to adapt to the market, have switched to producing other products such as paper votive offerings in Dong Ho; towels and medical bandages in Hoi Quan; tissues and household paper in Duong O, etc.

Along with the transformation process of traditional craft villages, the villagers have the opportunity to promote the good elements of craft village culture such as traditional products with local characteristics, product creation secrets... Cases such as bronze products in Dai Bai and wooden products in Phu Khe are typical examples. In these products, cultural characteristics are revealed quite clearly through the style.

Shape, method of creation, lines, patterns, wood quality, paint color... help consumers recognize the "quality" of the product when pricing during the buying and selling process.

Transforming the culture of traditional craft villages is also a good condition to preserve, promote, transmit and honor cultural knowledge about the profession held by artisans. Current reality shows that, in 16 traditional craft villages in Bac Ninh province, folk artisans and craftsmen with golden hands are playing an important role in the development of the profession. They pass on professional secrets to their children and students, creating products of high artistic and aesthetic value. At the same time, folk artisans and craftsmen with golden hands also hold cultural knowledge of the craft village such as professional regulations, taboos of the profession, behavior towards the ancestors, professional ethics along with good local customs and practices expressed through festivals, ancestors' death anniversaries, etc.

Nowadays, the expansion of activities to neighboring areas of craft villages has contributed significantly to the development of the scale of craft villages, while increasing accumulation and reproduction, which has really changed the face of the countryside in the process of innovation. Due to meeting the needs of the market, products of some craft villages are made in large quantities to supply the needs of regions in and outside the country. When economic life develops, people in craft villages have the conditions to take care of their spiritual life, pay attention to common village affairs such as festivals, and jointly renovate and embellish historical and cultural relics, especially the temples of the craft's ancestors. In cases such as Phu Khe, Dai Bai, Phu Lang, Hoi Quan villages, due to economic development, the craft village community has jointly donated to rebuild all the relics that were lost in the past, renovate degraded relics, and restore some worship rituals, especially festivals and ancestor worship ceremonies of the craft villages.

Due to the good adaptation of traditional craft products in the market, people have conditions to develop their family economy. This is clearly shown through the construction of houses, village roads, and the scale of civil works.

public… Therefore, the appearance of traditional craft villages has had remarkable improvements, the villagers have known how to expand trade, bringing products to regions through traders, directly or indirectly exchanging culture with regions in the country and abroad to promote the image of craft villages and traditional products to international friends. In the case of Phu Khe wood carving and Dai Bai bronze casting, the products of these two craft villages have been sold by the people and some traders in provinces and cities across the country and to countries and territories such as Japan, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan. Some copper and wood products have been brought to the European market in recent years. In addition, the products sold to foreign markets are also an opportunity for the craftsmen of the craft villages to have the opportunity to directly or indirectly exchange with businesses and indigenous people of European and Asian countries in many aspects of economics, politics and especially culture. It is also an important condition for the villagers to expand their knowledge, absorb the world's cultural quintessence, and enrich the local cultural identity. This is the factor that affects the transformation of traditional craft village culture in Bac Ninh in both material and spiritual life. The process of exchanging and absorbing knowledge of the villagers has left positive results in the life of craft villages in Bac Ninh today.

In general, positive changes in craft village culture have impacted the development of all aspects of traditional craft villages in Bac Ninh. At the same time, these changes have also contributed greatly to the development of rural industry in this locality in the current period.

4.1.2. Negative changes

Besides the positive changes, in the process of transforming traditional craft village culture, some negative factors have arisen that have significantly affected the current traditional craft village culture. The needs and tastes of the times have caused many changes in craft village products from scale, methods of production, tools, materials, product names, markets, etc. Many craft villages previously produced only one product, but due to consumer tastes, craft villages have created new products.

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