Ancient Charm And Modern Style Dance Together, And Intangible Cultural Heritage Is Renewed In The Protection And Inheritance

Zhuang brocade, as famous as Yun brocade, Shu brocade and Song brocade, is one of the four famous brocades in China and a precious heritage of Chinese national culture; Mame (pronounced m ō mi e) is also a unique traditional auspicious ornament of Zhuang nationality in Guangxi, which expresses the nation's wishes with colorful colors and exquisite patterns.

With the development of the times, both Zhuang brocade and Mowha techniques have declined in the folk. However, in recent years, as the people pay more attention to folk culture, intangible cultural heritage skills have gradually moved from the minority to the public, and even go abroad.

Recently, reporters from chinanews. com followed the theme activity of "Pomegranate Blossoms, Eight Gui Feelings, Seeds and One Heart Travel to Guangxi" to understand the story of the ancient loom resonating with the pulse of the times and Guangxi "hearing the sound of the loom again".

A backpack with strong brocade elements. Photographed by Zuo Yukun on China News Network

　　 Once warp and weft, Zhuang brocade weaves a colorful future

Entering the Guangxi Traditional Skills Exhibition Center, the rare folk traditional bamboo cage brocade machine still has the same style, and thousands of folk embroidery costumes, hundreds of embroidery pieces lost for centuries and other folk collections silently witness the past and present life of Zhuang brocade. Here, the technological process of twisting, drawing, knitting brocade and other brocades are displayed one by one by the weaving mother, and tourists can vividly experience the cultural charm of Zhuang brocade.

With cotton thread as warp and silk thread as weft, Zhuang brocade with complicated patterns is woven by jacquard technique, which can be called "inch brocade and inch gold". He Dingyu, the curator of Guangxi Zhuang Brocade Museum and the secretary-general of Guangxi Weaving and Embroidery Development Research Association, introduced that Guangxi Zhuang Brocade has a history of more than 1500 years of manual weaving. With special jacquard, warp and weft cutting techniques, it expresses a special aesthetic realm and cultural and artistic charm.

He Dingyu has been influenced by Zhuang culture since childhood and has a strong interest in Zhuang brocade. After experiencing the heartache that Zhuang Brocade Factory cannot survive due to the market and various reasons, she decided to save the national treasure that was on the verge of being lost and "let Zhuang Brocade survive and pass on".

Traditional bamboo cage loom. Photographed by Zuo Yukun on China News Network

For this reason, He Dingyu began to systemically collate the historical and cultural materials related to Zhuang brocade, and then quit his job to devote himself to the excavation, inheritance, protection and innovation of Zhuang brocade. She has traveled all over the Zhuang minority inhabited areas such as Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, collecting and sorting out the traditional production techniques of various kinds of Zhuang brocades.

In 2016, the company "Jin Zhuang Brocade" founded by He Dingyu, together with other enterprises and organizations, established the "Longzhou Zhuang Brocade Craft Workshop" in Banchi Village, Shuangmeng Village, Jinlong Town, Longzhou County. Among more than 170 households in the village, 56 households participated, including 18 poor households. The oldest participant was 73 years old and the youngest was 26 years old.

In their spare time, local women follow the company's craftsmen and artists to learn and make Zhuang brocade for free. Under the condition of taking care of their families and farm work, the weavers weave brocade for 2-4 hours every day, with an annual income of more than 10000 yuan. In 2018, Longzhou Zhuangjin Craft Workshop became one of the first "Intangible Cultural Heritage+Poverty Alleviation" employment workshops supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Poverty Alleviation Office of the State Council.

He Dingyu is well aware that the Zhuang brocade culture should be passed down and the country should also be opened to "go out". In addition to cooperating with foreign brand masters to better match the needs of foreign markets, she also created a fashion brand of Guangxi Zhuang brocade, established a promotion association, and carried out cultural promotion activities of Guangxi Zhuang brocade.

"After the government took us out of the country, we knew the unique charm of Zhuang brocade culture." Today, He Dingyu is still committed to letting more women participate in the brocade team, making Zhuang brocade go to the world market, and reappearing the prosperous scene of "October mountain city lights, every family brocade to the third watch" in Zhuang hometown.

All kinds of things. Photographed by Zuo Yukun on China News Network

　　 A needle and a thread, what can we continue to write about the splendor of Zhuangxiang

"Mo what" is a unique folk auspicious sachet in the Youjiang River basin of western Guangxi. It is filled with natural Chinese herbs such as wormwood leaves, calamus, atractylodes, or cotton, and is sewn with cotton cloth with auspicious patterns. The sachet is shaped like a human holding a ball. The shape comes from the ancient legend of the Zhuang nationality.

What connects the past and the present of Zhuang culture is as exquisite as an embroidery ball and has been handed down for a long time. People believe that it has the functions of calming the nerves, calming down the nerves, dispelling evil spirits and detoxifying. Every Dragon Boat Festival, many families will sew or buy something to give each other as a gift to show a blessing. However, due to the complicated process and scarce output of traditional handmade products, they are gradually placed on the edge.

"It's basically women who make what. When my grandmother was still alive, she taught me from a needle to a thread. In my eyes, what is not only a national culture, but also comes from the constant love of the elders." Zhu Shaoyan, the inheritor of intangible cultural heritage of the Zhuang nationality in Youjiang, Baise, Guangxi, has always remembered snuggling beside her grandmother when she was young and listening to her tell the story of the Bohuang and the Dragon Ball, It is exquisite.

With a belief in what skills to regain, Zhu Shaoyan quit her stable job and embarked on the unknown path of intangible cultural heritage inheritance. The focus of Zhu Shaoyan's life is unconsciously to pull a seam, draw a picture, and push a plug.

She boldly tried to combine the ancient "what" with modern aesthetics and life scenes. The introduction of Zhuang brocade in the selection of cloth makes the gorgeous brocade collide with the traditional craft to create a new spark; What a new image was given to the design concept, and a series of unique and creative works emerged at the historic moment, and successfully applied for a number of patents and copyrights.

"I make what series of products, not only to show the unique style of Zhuang culture, but also to let our countrymen understand its cultural value and spiritual strength," Zhu Shaoyan said.

"Teachers pay special attention to the details of production, such as the size of the head and the proportion of the head to the body, and all have their own data. At the beginning, I may be able to do a good job in a few months." As a student of Zhu Shaoyan, Lu Chunfeng, the sales manager and training teacher of Bohuang Zhuang's non heritage cultural creativity, said that he hopes to spread the traditional culture through everyone's efforts, Let more people know about Guangxi's national culture; It is also hoped that the realization of products will increase the income of handicrafts for more women with flexible employment.

Now, with the hot sales of Zhuang brocade and cultural and creative products, the once disappeared weaving sound has returned to the daily life of Zhiniang, and the traditional intangible cultural heritage skills are also shining new light in the inheritance.

(Source: China News Network)