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; bí mä.
XiangownsashopintheoldtownofFenghuangthatsellsanddisplaysMiaoembroidery.IthastraditionalMiaocostumes, artpendants, toysandclothescombiningtraditionalembroideryskillsandmoderndesigns.
Thestarpieceintheshopisa148 — 'ma̲i ár — longembroideryfinishedinMarch2013.ItwasdesignedbyXiangandtook48women, includingXiang, 26monthstocomplete.
TheworkshowsanoldmaninaMiaovillagetellingstoriesoftheethnicgroupand #39; shistoryfromtheprehistoricageuntiltoday. Xiangspentabout10yearscollectingthestories.
YangHongjiang — platería
Atonly27yearsofage, YangHongjiangisalreadyanexpertintheMiaostyleofsilverwaremaking.
Hestartedtolearntheskillwhenhewasseven, firstfromhisfatherandthenfromothermasters, andbecameaprofessionalwhenhewas15.
Yangsaidsimilarskillsareseldomseenelsewhere, andhewouldliketopromotethehandicraftnationwide.
AcommonlyusedtechniqueinMiaosilverwareiscoilingthinsilverwirestoformshapesorpatterns.Atechnicianusesamoldwith52holesofdifferentdiameterstoprocesssilveringotsintowiresasthinashairs, stepbystep.
andquot;Ineachofthe52procedures,youhavetobepatientandkeeptheforceeven-nottoohardortoosudden,andquot;saidYang,addingthatanotherofthedifficultiesinthetraditionalskillistokeeptheweldingtemperaturebetween950and1000C.
Eventhoughamaster, Yangsometimeshastostartoveragainifhemakesamistake.
Abraceletusuallytakeshimtwodaystofinish.Hedoesnotneedadesignonpaper, forhecarriesallthepatternsinhismind.
Tradicionalmente, Miaosilverwarewasusedasjewelry, butYangandhisco workershavedevelopednewproducts, suchasteasetsanddinnersets, whichareaspopularwithtouristsasthetraditionalbraceletsandnecklaces.
XiangYufeng — Strawplaiting
XiangYufengaskedfornothingasadowrywhenshemarried, exceptamachinetomakestrawshoes. At61yearsofage, sheisstillusingthesamemachine.
Shesaidthebasicpatternsarefirmlyinhermind. andquot; Icanmakeshoesevenwithmyeyesclosed, andquot; bí mä.
XianghasastrawhandicraftshopintheoldtownofFenghuangwithaplaquethatreadsandquot; KingofStrawShoesandquot; writtenbyfamouscalligrapherHuangYongyu.
Herbusinesswasnotgoodbetween2006and2008. andquot; Somepeoplelaughedatme, andIsometimesthoughtaboutgivingup, butIcouldnand #39; t.Iknowthisisanartandpartofourlifestylethatpeopleshouldneverforget, andquot; She bí mä. andquot; IbelieveIcanmakeadifference.andquot;
Shecanmakemorethan100differentshoepatterns, someofwhicharemodernstyles. Basedontheskillsshelearnedmakingshoes, shehasalsodevelopedotherhandicrafts.
andquot; I #39; maskilledworkerbutnotagooddesigner, andquot; Xiangsaid, addingthatherbrotherhelpsherdesignlargepiecesplaitedfromstraw, someofwhichhavewonawardsatdomestichandicraftexhibitions.
WangYao — Miaobatik
WangYaowasborninGuizhouprovinceandwenttoFenghuangin2006.
andquot; Fenghuangisaplacethatgivesmeinnerpeaceandthelocalpeopleareverytolerant, soIcancreatemyownworks, andquot; bí mä.
Hisgrandfatherownedadyeingbusiness, whereWangbecameinterestedinbatik, asimilartechnique, some30yearsago.
TraditionalMiaobatikpatternsaremostlydotsandcurvedlines, butWangusesmorecomplexdesignswithnewthemesandelements, suchasBuddhismandChinesepainting.
andquot; Anintangibleculturalheritageloosesitsvitalityifitisonlypreservedinthemuseums, andquot; bí mä. andquot; Themarketbringsitfreshblood.andquot;
Hedesignedaseriesofqipao (atraditionalChinesedressforwomen) usingbatiktechnique, andsaidhewantstodevelopaseriesofblueclothesaspopularasbluedenimjeans.
andquot; Ethnicculturecanbefashionable, andquot; bí mä.
Wanghasalsoimprovedthedyeformulatoreducethedyeingprocessfromonedaytolessthan10minutes, sotouristscantrythete
