Editorand #39; snote:InheritorsofmanyintangibleculturalheritageitemsinFenghuangcounty, Hunanprovince, notonlypracticewhattheirancestorspasseddownbutalsoinnovateanddevelopnewproductstomeetconsumerdemands. SomesharedtheirstoriesofyearsofefforttolearnandpromotetheirskillswithChinaDailyreporterZhangZhao.
XiangXiuping-Miaoembroidery
WhenXiangXiupingwasalittlegirl, shelivedbesidearoadthatlocalMiaoethnicpeopletraveledontogotothemarket, andnoticedhowbeautifulanddelicatetheirtraditionalclotheswere. Sincethen, shehasbeeninterestedinMiaoembroidery, althoughshebelongstotheTujiaethnicgroup.
ShebegancollectingMiaoembroiderypiecesin1996.Aftershewaslaidofffromatobaccofactoryin2000,sheopenedanembroideryworkshopthatemployedotherlaid-offworkers.
Duringthepastdecade, shehasworkedmanagingcompanies, storehousesandrestaurants, andusednearlyallherearningstobuyembroideryforhercollection.
andquot; Theworksarenotonlyart, butalsoasilentlanguagethattellsthehistoryofacivilization, andquot; hi qal.
XiangownsashopintheoldtownofFenghuangthatsellsanddisplaysMiaoembroidery.IthastraditionalMiaocostumes,artpendants,toysandclothescombiningtraditionalembroideryskillsandmoderndesigns.
Thestarpieceintheshopisa148-arloġġ-longembroideryfinishedinMarch2013.ItwasdesignedbyXiangandtook48women,includingXiang, 26monthstocomplete.
TheworkshowsanoldmaninaMiaovillagetellingstoriesoftheethnicgroupand #39; shistoryfromtheprehistoricageuntiltoday. Xiangspentabout10yearscollectingthestories.
YangHongjiang-Silverware
Atonly27yearsofage, YangHongjiangisalreadyanexpertintheMiaostyleofsilverwaremaking.
Hestartedtolearntheskillwhenhewasseven, firstfromhisfatherandthenfromothermasters, andbecameaprofessionalwhenhewas15.
Yangsaidsimilarskillsareseldomseenelsewhere, andhewouldliketopromotethehandicraftnationwide.
AcommonlyusedtechniqueinMiaosilverwareiscoilingthinsilverwirestoformshapesorpatterns.Atechnicianusesamoldwith52holesofdifferentdiameterstoprocesssilveringotsintowiresasthinashairs,stepbystep.
andquot;Ineachofthe52procedures,youhavetobepatientandkeeptheforceeven-nottoohardortoosudden,andquot;saidYang,addingthatanotherofthedifficultiesinthetraditionalskillistokeeptheweldingtemperaturebetween950and1000C.
Eventhoughamaster, Yangsometimeshastostartoveragainifhemakesamistake.
Abraceletusuallytakeshimtwodaystofinish.Hedoesnotneedadesignonpaper,forhecarriesallthepatternsinhismind.
Tradizzjonalment, Miaosilverwarewasusedasjewelry, butYangandhisco-workershavedevelopednewproducts, suchasteasetsanddinnersets, whichareaspopularwithtouristsasthetraditionalbraceletsandnecklaces.
XiangYufeng-Strawplaiting
XiangYufengaskedfornothingasadowrywhenshemarried, exceptamachinetomakestrawshoes. At61yearsofage, sheisstillusingthesamemachine.
Shesaidthebasicpatternsarefirmlyinhermind. andquot; Icanmakeshoesevenwithmyeyesclosed, andquot; hi qal.
XianghasastrawhandicraftshopintheoldtownofFenghuangwithaplaquethatreadsandquot; KingofStrawShoesandquot; writtenbyfamouscalligrapherHuangYongyu.
Herbusinesswasnotgoodbetween2006and2008. andquot; Somepeoplelaughedatme,andIsometimesthoughtaboutgivingup,butIcouldnand#39;t.Iknowthisisanartandpartofourlifestylethatpeopleshouldneverforget,andquot;she said. andquot;IbelieveIcanmakeadifference.andquot;
Shecanmakemorethan100differentshoepatterns, someofwhicharemodernstyles. Basedontheskillsshelearnedmakingshoes, shehasalsodevelopedotherhandicrafts.
andquot; Iand #39; maskilledworkerbutnotagooddesigner, andquot; Xiangsaid, addingthatherbrotherhelpsherdesignlargepiecesplaitedfromstraw, someofwhichhavewonawardsatdomestichandicraftexhibitions.
WangYao-Miaobatik
WangYaowasborninGuizhouprovinceandwenttoFenghuangin2006.
andquot; Fenghuangisaplacethatgivesmeinnerpeaceandthelocalpeopleareverytolerant, soIcancreatemyownworks, andquot; norganizzaw.
Hisgrandfatherownedadyeingbusiness, whereWangbecameinterestedinbatik, asimilartechnique, some30yearsago.
TraditionalMiaobatikpatternsaremostlydotsandcurvedlines, butWangusesmorecomplexdesignswithnewthemesandelements, suchasBuddhismandChinesepainting.
andquot; Anintangibleculturalheritageloosesitsvitalityifitisonlypreservedinthemuseums, andquot; norganizzaw. andquot; Themarketbringsitfreshblood.andquot;
Usingbatiktechnique Hedesignedaseriesofqipao (atraditionalChinesedressforwomen), andsaidhewantstodevelopaseriesofblueclothesaspopularasbluedenimjeans.
andquot; Ethnicculturecanbefashionable, andquot; norganizzaw.
Wanghasalsoimprovedthedyeformulatoreducethedyeingprocessfromonedaytolessthan10minutes, sotouristscantrythete
