Origins

        Taiwanese women made spring flowers as a hobby. Some even sold their great work in the market for pocket money. However, to avoid competition, the techniques were passed down by mothers to daughters only.

        Entangled flowers come in two types, Minnan and Hakka. These two regions developed different characteristics in this traditional art.

Below is a description of the differences of entangled flowers in these two locations

1. Minnan—Spring Flowers

Minnan people call their entangled flowers “spring flowers” because they were often used as a decoration on weddings and festival occasions. Spring flowers are usually three-centimetre red flowers. Women wore spring flowers in their hair. Different types of spring flowers were made for different occasions. The most common seen designs were turtles, water lilies, deer and guavas. Generally speaking, females on the bridegroom side wore red flowers whereas females on the bride side (except for the mother of the bride) wore pink ones. The mother of the bridegroom wore the deer or turtle design, as a token of prosperity or longevity. The mother of the bride and the grandmother of the bridegroom wore the turtle design. Aunts wore “lucky five” flowers and the matchmaker wore “cherry blossom” flowers, which symbolized fertility and good fortune.

2. Hakka—Entangled Flowers

        Entangled flowers are a craftsmanship unique to the Hakka people in Chungli, Miaolia and Hsinchu of northern Taiwan. They are renowned for their luxurious look and design variety, such as insects and aquatic animals. In fact, the Hakka entangled flowers were more widely used than spring flowers. Women wore entangled flowers in their hair. Children attached entangled flowers on their hats. Entangled flowers were also used as hanging ribbons or lighting decorations, most often on religious ceremonies or rites of passage. Entangled flowers could be part of the religious offerings or accessories. When used as hair accessories and lighting decorations and hanging ribbons, entangled flowers (and other upholstery for newlyweds) were bride’s dowry. Entangled flowers were also used to decorate the hat of a new born baby on ceremonies.

3. Kinmen—Fortune Flowers

        People in Kinmen call their entangled flowers “fortune flowers”. The entangled flowers worn by a bride are called “Great Fortune”. The Kinmen people love to grow guavas, whose numerous seeds and red looks represent fertility and auspiciousness.