The shop signs on display in the streets of Hoi an represent a link between the present and the prosperous past of this old port town.
Next time you’re in Hoi an and strolling through the old town make sure you check out the signs hanging above the doors. From the positively ancient to mid-20th century kitsch, numerous signs have been retained by the local population and serve as wonderful markers of times gone by.
In particular Tran Phu, Nguyen Thai Hoc and Tran Quy Cap streets have dozens of signs that are closely associated with the names of shops owned by Vietnamese as well as Chinese immigrants who settled in Hoi An centuries ago. There are 45 shops with signs that are from 100 to 200 years old and 30 shop signs that are less than 100 years old.
Once certain family names would have been veritable brandnames in the region – a name like Duc Thanh, Xan Thanh or Tan Ky would have been the equivalent of Khai Silk once upon a time. Thai Thi Sam, a 90-year old lady who lives on Tran Phu street, explains that the sign Quan Thang San above her front door, which is written in Chinese symbols, dated back to when her grandfather did business near the market.
“Now the shop is history but we will keep the sign there at any cost as a way of preserving the names of our forefathers,” she says. Her house is typical of the ancient architectural style of South China. The house was built by Diep Bao Hung, the descendent of a ship’s captain named Thai Ke Trinh, who sailed between China and Asian countries trading Chinese medicinal herbs.
Decorations carved into the wooden boards often featured floral patterns as well as Chinese symbolism – you might find a dragon fighting over pearls or herons, for example. While shop-signs differ in size and design most share the basic same principles of geomancy in terms of their dimensions.
Each sign would have been designed to instill a sense of energy to the household or store as well as bring good fortune, longevity and academic success to the owners. The names of the Chinese immigrants often expressed a desire for success. Nam Phat, for example, expressed a wish for prosperity in the south as Nam means south and Phat means prosperity.
Guarding the signs
Most households clean up these ancient signs every year with a piece of soft cloth soaked in alcohol – never with a brush. According to Le Thi Tuan, an expert at the Hoi An Relics Preservation Centre (RPC), “Over the past centuries, trading activities have always been the foundation of our forefathers, so, shop owners have a deep respect for these old shop-signs.”
When placing a shop-sign in its position, the shop owner would perform a set of rites, such as choosing an auspicious day and time – by consulting a lunar calendar – and offering fruit, betel and areca, alcohol, steamed glutinous rice, meat, imitation gold and silver, frankincense and a petition written on red paper to the gods announcing the opening of the shop.
Offerings at a Chinese shop would have most likely included a bowl of noodles and a piece of red paper laid over a cooked chicken and a dish of steamed glutinous rice as a symbolic wish for perpetual prosperity and good luck. If a customer bought some goods during the opening ceremony the receipt from the sale of goods would be kept carefully until the next lunar year began. If an apothecary sold liquorice on the shop’s opening day it meant that the shop would do brisk business.
Modern Times
The old signs are rightly cherished for their cultural value. In a town that prides itself on its traditional roots, these signs are symbols of the town’s Glory days when Hoi An hummed with traders from Japan, China, Holland and Portugal. As a result non-traditional shops and restaurants often mimic the traditional style to give their business that classic Hoi An façade that appeals to tourists.
Keen to preserve the town’s unique heritage, the Hoi An authorities have issued strict guidelines to ensure that newly erected signs maintain the ancient town’s traditional look.Signs must be of a certain size, preferably built from wood and can only be brown or dark yellow in colour.
The use of nylon or other artificial modern materials is forbidden. However as the town grows on the strength of tourism, such cultural mimicry means Hoi An is in danger of becoming a replica of itself. They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but it makes it all the harder for the old signs to stand out.
(Souce:Timeout)
Tag: Asia , Hoi An , Japan , Tour , Tourism , Tourist , Vietnam , Vietnamese Sign of the times - Hoi An
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