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; sie sagte.
XiangownsashopintheoldtownofFenghuangthatsellsanddisplaysMiaoembroidery.IthastraditionalMiaocostumes,artpendants,toysandclothescombiningtraditionalembroideryskillsandmoderndesigns.
Thestarpieceintheshopisa148-Meter-longembroideryfinishedinMarch2013.ItwasdesignedbyXiangandtook48women,includingXiang, 26monthstocomplete.
TheworkshowsanoldmaninaMiaovillagetellingstoriesoftheethnicgroupand #39; Shistoryfromtheprehistoricageuntiltoday. Xiangspentabout10yearscollectingthestories.
YangHongjiang-Besteck
Atonly27yearsofage, YangHongjiangisalreadyanexpertintheMiaostyleofsilverwaremaking.
Hestartedtolearntheskillwhenhewasseven, Firstfromhisfatherandthenfromothermasters, andbecameaprofessionalwhenhewas15.
Yangsaidsimilarskillsareseldomseenelsewhere, Andhewouldliketopromotethehandicraftnationwide.
AcommonlyusedtechniqueinMiaosilverwareiscoilingthinsilverwirestoformshapesorpatterns.Atechnicianusesamoldwith52holesofdifferentdiameterstoprocesssilveringotsintowiresasthinashairs,stepbystep.
andquot;Ineachofthe52procedures,youhavetobepatientandkeeptheforceeven-nottoohardortoosudden,andquot;saidYang,addingthatanotherofthedifficultiesinthetraditionalskillistokeeptheweldingtemperaturebetween950and1000C.
Eventhoughamaster, Yangsometimeshastostartoveragainifhemakesamistake.
Abraceletusuallytakeshimtwodaystofinish.Hedoesnotneedadesignonpaper,forhecarriesallthepatternsinhismind.
Traditionell, Miaosilverwarewasusedasjewelry, ButYangandhisco-Workershavedevelopednewproducts, Suchasteasetsanddinnersets, Whichareaspopularwithtouristsasthetraditionalbraceletsandnecklaces.
XiangYufeng-Strawplaiting
XiangYufengaskedfornothingasadowrywhenshemarried, Exceptamachinetomakestrawshoes. At61yearsofage, Sheisstillusingthesamemachine.
Shesaidthebasicpatternsarefirmlyinhermind. Andquot; Icanmakeshoesevenwithmyeyesclosed, Andquot; sie sagte.
XianghasastrawhandicraftshopintheoldtownofFenghuangwithaplaquethatreadsandquot; KingofStrawShoesandquot; WrittenbyfamouscalligrapherHuangYongyu.
Herbusinesswasnotgoodbetween2006and2008. Andquot; Somepeoplelaughedatme,andIsometimesthoughtaboutgivingup,butIcouldnand#39;t.Iknowthisisanartandpartofourlifestylethatpeopleshouldneverforget,andquot;She sagte. andquot;IbelieveIcanmakeadifference.andquot;
Shecanmakemorethan100differentshoepatterns, Someofwhicharemodernstyles. Basedontheskillsshelearnedmakingshoes, Shehasalsodevelopedotherhandicrafts.
Andquot; Iand #39; Maskilledworkerbutnotagooddesigner, Andquot; Xiangsaid, Addingthatherbrotherhelpsherdesignlargepiecesplaitedfromstraw, Someofwhichhavewonawardsatdomestichandicraftexhibitions.
WangYao-Miaobatik
WangYaowasborninGuizhouprovinceandwenttoFenghuangin2006.
Andquot; Fenghuangisaplacethatgivesmeinnerpeaceandthelocalpeopleareverytolerant, SoIcancreatemyownworks, Andquot; er sagte.
Hisgrandfatherownedadyeingbusiness, WhereWangbecameinterestedinbatik, Asimilartechnique, some30yearsago.
TraditionalMiaobatikpatternsaremostlydotsandcurvedlines, ButWangusesmorecomplexdesignswithnewthemesandelements, SuchasBuddhismandChinesepainting.
Andquot; Anintangibleculturalheritageloosesitsvitalityifitisonlypreservedinthemuseums, Andquot; er sagte. Andquot; Themarketbringsitfreshblood.andquot;
Hedesignedaseriesofqipao (AtraditionalChinesedressforwomen) Usingbatiktechnique, Andsaidhewantstodevelopaseriesofblueclothesaspopularasbluedenimjeans.
Andquot; Ethnicculturecanbefashionable, Andquot; er sagte.
Wanghasalsoimprovedthedyeformulatoreducethedyeingprocessfromonedaytolessthan10minutes, sotouristscantrythete
