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說起亞洲具代表性的織品，許多人都會立即想到蠶絲，但有誰想過，常見的蓮花，其實也可以製成質感與蠶絲相近，而且不傷害蠶寶寶的純素的織品呢？
來自越南河內郊區村莊的Phan Thi Thuan是一位絲綢工藝師，她的姑婆在法國殖民統治時期，曾製作傳統絲綢銷售到法國，因此她6歲起便跟隨姑婆學習傳統絲綢工藝，一做便是數十年。
2017年，Phan Thi Thuan無意間看間村中蓮花池裡，有許多蓮子收成後被棄置的蓮梗，蓮梗結實的結構引起她的注意，於是她開始嘗試從這些被農民視為垃圾的蓮梗中抽取纖維，製成光亮強韌的「蓮花絲」，成為越南境內第一位製作此纖維的工藝師。
「我自己一人獨自開始嘗試，然後教導我工坊中的其他人。」Phan Thi Thuan說。
目前，Phan Thi Thuan的團隊約有20人，絕大多數是女性，他們從農村的蓮花池收集蓮梗，以手工剔除脆弱、腐敗的纖維，留下強韌、能夠編織的絲線；一般而言，製作一條大的絲巾，需要一名工藝師花上兩個月，使用約9,200枝蓮梗才能完成，儘管過程艱難，Phan Thi Thuan仍然認為這對當地村落而言，是能夠改善生活的創新。
「我的任務是創造工作機會、為環境盡一份心力。」Phan Thi Thuan說。她表示，由於蓮花絲織品能夠帶來可觀的利潤，因此在旺季她有時會雇用上百人在家中進行編織，在新冠肺炎疫情爆發造成觀光業停擺前，一條蠶絲製的絲巾售價約20美元，而蓮花絲巾的價格則為蠶絲巾的10倍以上。
值得注意的是，Phan Thi Thuan雖然是獨自發掘製作蓮花絲的技術，但她並不是第一個發現蓮花莖可以用來抽取纖維的工藝師，同是東南亞的緬甸、柬埔寨，其實一直都有以蓮花纖維製作織品的工藝存在，但作為率先在越南製作蓮花絲的工藝師，Phan Thi Thuan仍被政府視為創新者，目前，她正與越南科技部密切合作，展開為期3年研究如何改進蓮梗收成技術的研究計畫。
除了在工坊中製作蓮花絲織品外，Phan Thi Thuan也透過當地學校進行工藝教學推廣，希望能讓下一代知道，即使是古老的編織工藝，在現代社會中仍然能夠保持活力與創新。
「剛開始學習時雖然很辛苦，但我現在非常有成就感。」2017年起開始學習製作蓮花絲的工藝師Nguyen Thi Xoa說，「它能給我穩定的工作，我感到非常驕傲。」
在 Instagram 查看這則貼文 （@philguy34）分享的貼文 於 PST 2020 年 2月 月 13 日 上午 2:06 張貼
（@philguy34）分享的貼文 於 PST 2020 年 2月 月 13 日 上午 2:06 張貼
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在 Instagram 查看這則貼文 Ikat is the most commonly used technique to make designs on lotus silk fabric. Ikat is probably one of the oldest technique used for textile decoration. Maritime Southeast Asia, India, and Central Asia are all potential candidates for the origin of the technique, but it may also have evolved independently in several locations. The word "ikat" comes from the Malay-Indonesian word for "tie". Technical similarities exist between Indonesian ikat production and that of Madagascar. Ikat patterning is represented in garments shown in the Ajanta cave paintings of India (from the fifth to the seventh century). A fragment patterned in Ikat, kept for centuries in the Horyuji temple at Nara but now in the Tokyo National Museum, was apparently brought from China during the Tang period (618-907 C.E.), probably produced in Central Asia. Simple warp ikat stripes were made in Yemen by the eighth or ninth century and were traded to Egypt, where they have survived. Early ikat production in pre-Columbian South America- Peru, few examples of ikat survive from before the common era. The Mapucha of Chile still produce indigo-dyed warp ikat textiles. Guatemalan ikat, may have been introduced as trade textiles brought by the Spanish from the Philippines and could ultimately have a Southeast Asian source. West African weavers in Ghana, the Ivory Coast, and Nigeria also weave ikat. In the Mediterranean world and Europe, ikat apparently developed in response to Islamic textiles; it first appeared in Italy in the seventeenth century as an influence from warp-ikat striped mashru cloth, made in Syria and Turkey. Ikat eventually spread to Europe, especially France, Majorca, and Spain. Nineteenth- and twentieth-century evidence show that at least during the last two hundred years, Asia produced the most varied and highest quality ikat textiles, although the occurrence of Ikat worldwide needs to be acknowledged.（@siamixsiami）分享的貼文 於 PDT 2016 年 8月 月 29 日 下午 11:38 張貼
Ikat is the most commonly used technique to make designs on lotus silk fabric. Ikat is probably one of the oldest technique used for textile decoration. Maritime Southeast Asia, India, and Central Asia are all potential candidates for the origin of the technique, but it may also have evolved independently in several locations. The word "ikat" comes from the Malay-Indonesian word for "tie". Technical similarities exist between Indonesian ikat production and that of Madagascar. Ikat patterning is represented in garments shown in the Ajanta cave paintings of India (from the fifth to the seventh century). A fragment patterned in Ikat, kept for centuries in the Horyuji temple at Nara but now in the Tokyo National Museum, was apparently brought from China during the Tang period (618-907 C.E.), probably produced in Central Asia. Simple warp ikat stripes were made in Yemen by the eighth or ninth century and were traded to Egypt, where they have survived. Early ikat production in pre-Columbian South America- Peru, few examples of ikat survive from before the common era. The Mapucha of Chile still produce indigo-dyed warp ikat textiles. Guatemalan ikat, may have been introduced as trade textiles brought by the Spanish from the Philippines and could ultimately have a Southeast Asian source. West African weavers in Ghana, the Ivory Coast, and Nigeria also weave ikat. In the Mediterranean world and Europe, ikat apparently developed in response to Islamic textiles; it first appeared in Italy in the seventeenth century as an influence from warp-ikat striped mashru cloth, made in Syria and Turkey. Ikat eventually spread to Europe, especially France, Majorca, and Spain. Nineteenth- and twentieth-century evidence show that at least during the last two hundred years, Asia produced the most varied and highest quality ikat textiles, although the occurrence of Ikat worldwide needs to be acknowledged.（@siamixsiami）分享的貼文 於 PDT 2016 年 8月 月 29 日 下午 11:38 張貼
睡蓮、荷花傻傻分不清？3招教你輕鬆分辨
作為亞洲具代表性的水生植物，大家對荷花、蓮花、睡蓮應該都不陌生，但有時卻分不清三者之間的區別，根據新北市景觀處的說明，荷花其實就是蓮花，兩者並無差別，但荷花與睡蓮，分別是「蓮屬」及「睡蓮屬」不同的物種，而且從外觀就可以明顯看出兩者的差異，荷花為挺水植物，花與葉會長出長柄隨風搖晃；睡蓮則是浮水植物，蓮葉緊貼著水面，花離水面不到30公分。
資料來源：AFP、Jakarta Post
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