Looking For A New Way Out For Tang'S Knitwear

After watching more than 200 pairs of hot sales a day after the victory of the Anti Japanese War, after the impact of "foreign style" leather shoes and sports shoes after the reform and opening up, lamented the desolate scene of shipping a pair of shoes in a few months, and the old people worried that there would be no successor. The old man hopes to continue this old Xiguan brand.

After the victory of Anti Japanese War

280 pairs sold a day

In 1945, Liang's elder brother Liang Zhiguang's "foot an Zhai" Tang shoe store opened at No. 49, Baohua Road, Xiguan, Guangzhou. When he was 9 years old, Liang Bo entered the industry and started as a student with his elder brother. Young he did not think that this road is a lifetime.

In the 1940s, the Tang shoes of "zuanzhai" were famous at home and abroad for their fine workmanship, high quality and low price. Many overseas Chinese from Singapore and Malaysia came back to buy and wear Tang shoes.

"I remember the best business was after 1945, when the war of resistance against Japan was won, and Tang shoes and Tang costumes sold well. At most, more than 280 pairs of shoes were sold in one day." Now in retrospect, Liang Bo is still proud.

After the reform and opening up, with the popularity of leather shoes and new sports shoes, the business of Tang shoes, the old Xiguan brand in Guangzhou, has become increasingly cold. After his eldest brother died in the 1980s, Liang Bo provoked "Zuan Zhai" alone. Later, he and his Tang shoes lost their homes due to the failure of the demolition lawsuit.

"Foot an Zhai" no longer exists. Nowadays, it is difficult to find the footprints of Tang shoes in such a large city of Guangzhou. Now, Liang Bo lives in his relatives' home in zhoumen street, Zhongshan 8th Road. In his dilapidated room, there are wooden lasts, insoles, tire soles, vamp fabrics, etc. There are no signs, no shops, but he is still insisting, a needle, a cone, a hammer, sweet if Yi.

Needle and thread cone hammer is hand-made in the whole process

Tang shoes are hand-made from sole grinding to upper sewing. First of all, the tire is cut according to the insole, and then the upper is made of three layers of different materials from the inside to the outside. The innermost layer is cotton cloth. The middle layer is made of denim to support the shape of shoes. The outer layer is made of wool. Finally, the three layers of cloth are bound with cow leather.

Due to the humid and rainy weather in the south, the soles should be made of dirty black rubber, which is different from the common white soled Tang shoes in the north. In addition, each pair of Tang shoes should be shoveled with a spatula to produce anti-skid ripples on the soles. It takes five or six hours to make a pair of Tang shoes. Liang Bo said that only in this way can Tang shoes be soft, comfortable and durable.

Liang Bo said that any process of making Tang shoes was careless. When he first learned to make shoes, his elder brother was very strict with him. For the first two years, he was only allowed to follow and help him, not to make shoes. After playing basic skills, he was allowed to make shoes by himself. Liang Bo is 75 years old, but he still insists on making shoes every day. "Making shoes is like writing. If you don't do it for a long time, your craftsmanship will gradually become obsolete. This is what I don't want to see. So as long as I live, I have to make one day."

Chinese Normal School Students

Want to save tradition by Internet

Liang Bo thinks that Tang shoes are not just a pair of shoes, they represent a kind of culture and a kind of handicraft spirit. Talking about the way out for Tang shoes, he told reporters excitedly that students from South China Normal University contacted him last year and put Tang shoes of "zuanzhai" brand on the Internet to sell. The concern of the younger generation moved him deeply after 66 years.

It was a project implemented last year by the Saifu team of Huashi Normal University, an NGO that helps the disadvantaged groups in society through public welfare business projects. Peng Dishun, a senior in the school of economics and management of Huashi Normal University, said that "Saifu team" helped Liang Bo sell shoes by contacting Taobao sales agents. They took about 10 pairs of Tang shoes from Liang Bo, which was 200 yuan at that time. The main buyers were middle-aged and elderly people.

"We hope that we can always pay attention to Tang shoes and help Liang Bo, and hope that more and more young people will come to know Tang shoes and understand this history." This time, the operation of using modern marketing to call back the youth of Tang shoes ended in failure in business - only a pair of shoes were sold in a few months. Unable to arouse the young people's attention to the local tradition, the "SIFE" team members feel frustrated, but still can not rule out other new sales methods to continue to promote.

Hope Xiguan time honored brand continues

On the day of the reporter's interview, aunt sun, who retired from the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences, came to find Liang Bo to make a pair of Tang shoes. Auntie sun, who has been retired for a long time, needs a pair of antiskid cloth shoes that can walk the mountain road. Hearing this demand, Liang Bo said frankly that he could not do it. "You can't cheat people just to sell one more pair of shoes. These shoes are not good enough for mountain climbing." Compared with the "handmade" shoes, don's shoes are more cost-effective. It is hard to avoid the decline of the handicraft market.

Speaking of the current situation, Liang Bo pauses for a long time, holding a pair of Tang shoes to be delivered, and says in a low mood: "this pair of shoes was ordered by an old cadre. I'll pick them up in a few days. I still remember some of the shoes in my age Liang Bo told reporters that Liwan museum had photos of him and Tang shoes, but he did not want to see Tang shoes become history, because becoming history "means that we have lost it.". "My greatest wish is to be able to reopen" Zuan Zhai ", to have apprentices inherit my craft, and to make this old Xiguan brand continue. This is a kind of culture. It's a treasure left by our ancestors. We can't lose it! "Liang Bo repeated this remark several times.