1.3 Flourishing Development – The Heyday of Ronghua

The production and craftsmanship of Ronghua reached their peak during the Qing dynasty. Particularly in the then-capital Beijing, Manchu women popularized the "liangbatou" hairstyle, also known as the "qitou," which was often adorned with delicate accessories such as Ronghua, silk flowers, and kingfisher feather ornaments.

Manchu noblewomen not only wore Ronghua on joyous occasions like weddings but also changed the flowers they wore daily to align with the seasons. The Qing imperial household’s manufacturing office even established a specialized workshop called the "hua'er zuo" dedicated to crafting Ronghua for the court.

The *Classified Anthology of Qing Anecdotes* records the use of Ronghua in imperial weddings: "After the Emperor and Empress sat on the dragon-and-phoenix wedding bed and consumed the子孙饽饽 (symbolic dumplings), four consorts led female officials of the imperial household to assist the Empress in dressing and styling her hair. She continued to wear the Double Happiness Ruyi ornament, added a flat hairpin with auspicious Ronghua, donned court beads, and then proceeded to the合卺 (wedding) banquet."

The "palace flowers" made for the court far surpassed folk versions in material, craftsmanship, and intricacy. Examples of Ronghua used in imperial weddings are still preserved in the Palace Museum in Beijing. The popularity of Ronghua among the nobility further fueled its flourishing development among the common people.

(Illustration) Manchu noblewoman wearing Ronghua in her qitou hairstyle

Moreover, during the Qing dynasty, Huashi Street outside Chongwenmen in Beijing became a major production hub for handicrafts like Ronghua, silk flowers, and paper flowers. Residents here often operated small family workshops dedicated to crafting these traditional artisanal products. During traditional festivals, Ronghua sales would peak. Artisans would prepare materials in advance and meticulously create exquisite Ronghua pieces to meet market demand.

Besides festivals, temple fairs provided another prime opportunity for selling Ronghua. To better display and sell their products, artisans crafted special flower boxes, arranging their carefully made Ronghua in categorized displays inside. Opening the box lid revealed a vibrant, neat array of colorful Ronghua, both beautiful and convenient for customers to select. This design not only reflected the artisans' ingenuity but also significantly enhanced the products' appeal and sales.

(Illustration) Ronghua sold in flower boxes

During the early and mid-Republican period, Ronghua continued to thrive. In his work *Tales of Danao*, Wang Zengqi wrote: "On one side of their hair buns, they always inserted something. For Qingming, a willow ball (made from tender willow branches, biting one end with the teeth and forcefully stripping the bark and pale yellow leaves downward to form a small sphere); for the Dragon Boat Festival, a sprig of mugwort; when fresh flowers were available, a gardenia or an oleander; when there were no fresh flowers, a large red Ronghua." This indicates that wearing Ronghua remained popular among women at the time.

During the Republican era, frequent Sino-foreign exchanges attracted many foreign photographers deeply interested in Eastern culture to China, capturing and documenting the era's customs and daily life. Among them, German photographer Hedda Morrison stood out.

Particularly noteworthy is that between 1933 and 1934, Hedda Morrison captured a vivid scene at a temple fair in Mentougou, Beijing: the woman in the photograph wore a popular knitted sweater of the time, adorned with a delicate Ronghua goldfish and butterfly brooch on her chest, and a lifelike phoenix hairpin with a tassel dangling from its beak on her temple, adding elegance and dynamism. Judging by the phoenix's style, this hairpin was undoubtedly a classic of the era, showcasing superb craftsmanship and serving as a symbol of fashion, widely disseminated and collected. The author also treasures similar accessories.

(Illustration) Woman wearing Ronghua, photographed by Hedda Morrison

In the late Republican period, due to the impact of war, Ronghua artisans were displaced and forced to seek alternative livelihoods, leading to a decline in the Ronghua industry.

After the war, in the latter half of the 20th century, to meet the demands of the new era, many Ronghua artisans began innovating, focusing on creating animal and bird-themed works, opening a new path for Ronghua art: the production of velvet handicrafts.

Taking Beijing Ronghua as an example, in the late 1950s, the "Beijing Velvet Bird Cooperative" was established, specializing in Ronghua works depicting animals, birds, and landscapes. Subsequently, in the late 1960s, the "Beijing Velvet Bird Factory" emerged, producing Ronghua handicrafts that were largely exported overseas, significantly promoting the international dissemination of Ronghua art.

Notably, during this period, not only in Beijing but also in cities like Nanjing and Yangzhou in Jiangsu province, Ronghua workshops were successively established, collectively ushering in another golden age in Ronghua's development. Major workshops seized the opportunity to promote velvet products abroad, exporting them worldwide. The illustration on the following page shows a newspaper report from 1955 on Yangzhou Ronghua exports, collected by the author, witnessing the brilliant moment of Ronghua art on the international stage.

(Illustration) Newspaper report on Yangzhou Ronghua exports

Ronghua, this traditional handicraft, not only plays a significant role in daily life but also shines uniquely in various industries. Especially in China’s precious intangible cultural heritage—Peking Opera—Ronghua, as headdress, plays a pivotal role in character portrayal with its distinctive charm.

From the magnificent Ronghua phoenix headdress worn by Princess Tiejing in *Silang Visits His Mother* to the use of various Ronghua hair ornaments by other female characters to signify status differences, all highlight the artistic value and profound cultural heritage of Ronghua. Additionally, on the Peking Opera stage, generals' helmets are often adorned with velvet pom-poms. These colorful pom-poms of varying sizes not only enhance the characters' majestic aura but also enrich the stage effects.

The charm of Ronghua extends far beyond this; it also frequently appears in television dramas. During the filming of *Journey to the West*, the production team specially ordered a series of exquisite headdresses from the Beijing Velvet Bird Factory. Whether it was the red phoenix coronet for Miss Gao's wedding, the red and blue phoenix coronets for the Queen of the Kingdom of Women, or the crowns for the kingdom's civil and military officials, all were crafted by this factory, adding significant appeal to the series. In the film *The Burning of the Old Summer Palace*, Ronghua also appeared as an important prop, further demonstrating its timeless artistic charm.