From "Sticky Paste Dyeing" To "Horsetail Embroidery", Why Did The Ethnic Skills Of Qiannan In Guizhou "Go Out Of The Mountain" And "Out Of The Sea"?

With the fan-shaped knife as the brush, after dipping in the dye paste, the dark blue thin line smoothly "slides" out from the side of the blade. Recently, the reporter visited Yaoshan Ancient Village, Libo County, Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, with the theme of "high-quality development research trip", and watched the process of white pants Yao women painting and dyeing clothes with traditional ethnic techniques.

Bai Ku Yao is a branch of the Yao nationality, mainly living in Guangxi and Guizhou provinces. It is named after the men who wear knee high white trousers with wide upper and narrow lower, and the women who wear front and back two-piece blouses and pleated skirts. It is recognized by UNESCO as one of the ethnic groups with the most complete national culture. The unique clothing culture of Baiku Yao has been handed down so far, and the traditional dyeing technique sticky paste dyeing is one of its outstanding features.

"When I was 5 years old, I learned 'sticky paste dyeing' from the old people in my family!" Wang Jinying, a staff member of the sticky paste dyeing workshop in Yaoshan Ancient Village, told reporters that in the village where she lived, almost every white pants Yao women would use sticky paste dyeing to draw patterns on their clothes.

Sticky paste dyeing takes sticky paste tree juice as raw material. This kind of tree is mainly distributed in the Yao people's settlements in Guangxi and Guizhou provinces of China. The trunk of the tree will produce a thick sap after being cut with a knife and an axe. Mix them with butter in proportion, and then boil them with water to make an excellent dye.

On October 26, when the reporter visited the ancient village of Yaoshan in Libo, Guizhou, white pants Yao women were drying traditional ethnic costumes. Photographed by Liu Zijin, a reporter from China News Service

In 2006, Baiku Yao costumes were listed in the "First National Intangible Cultural Heritage List" by the State Council of China, and gradually came into the public view. The white pants Yao people, represented by Wang Jinying's family, also went out of the mountain and found jobs with their sticky paste dyeing skills.

Mo Yanzi founded Yaogu Village Operation and Development Co., Ltd. in 2019, and relying on the passenger flow advantage of Yaoshan Ancient Village, a national AAAA scenic spot, launched the paste dyeing workshop project in the scenic spot in 2022. The workers are all white pants Yao women in the surrounding mountains. Mo Yanzi said that setting up workshops is an intuitive way for tourists to experience the customs of Baiku Yao. "Tourists will be willing to buy products only when they know Baiku Yao." Because the raw materials are precious and the techniques are complex, the market price of a paste dyed garment is about 4000 yuan (RMB, the same below). Mo Yanzi said, "We have begun to train workers to make clothes that can be worn by the public in a short period of time. Next, we want to introduce more handicrafts that tourists can take away from clothes, and strive to use a larger market to drive the inheritance of paste dyeing technology."

Just as the white pants Yao people walked out of the mountain with "sticky paste dyeing", the Shui people also put on the intangible cultural heritage "horsetail embroidery" and let this national embroidery enter the international market.

Sandu County, Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, is the only autonomous county of Shui nationality in China and the center of Shui culture. Pan Yao, associate researcher of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Project Experience Center in Sandu County, said that the horse's tail hair was taken as raw material, and the white silk thread was evenly wound to form a horsetail thread. The embroidery made with it was called horsetail embroidery, which was a national embroidery craft inherited by Shui women from generation to generation. The ponytail is thick and hard like the strings of a cello. The embroidery has a three-dimensional sense, just like a colorful relief.

On October 26, when the reporter visited the Intangible Cultural Heritage Project Experience Center in Sandu County, Guizhou Province, the Shui nationality embroiderer was demonstrating horsetail embroidery skills. Photographed by Liu Zijin, a reporter from China News Service

According to official data, horsetail embroidery was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006; In 2018, it was selected into the first batch of national traditional craft revitalization catalogue. "After being listed in the 'Intangible Cultural Heritage', some skilled embroiderers in our county started their businesses, led apprentices, and passed on horsetail embroidery." Pan Yao said, "Now women in the village can earn money by their skills instead of doing farm work and housework at home. Mature embroiderers can earn 8000 yuan a month."

According to the data from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Project Experience Center, there are currently about 20000 people in Sandu County who work in horsetail embroidery, and the relevant income of horsetail embroidery industry in the county has reached 100 million yuan, including orders exported to France, Italy and other European countries.

On October 26, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Project Experience Center in Sandu County, Guizhou Province displayed a horsetail embroidered canvas bag exported to Pantone in France. Photographed by Liu Zijin, a reporter from China News Service

"You know that the French Pantone Agency, which releases the annual popular colors every year, invited our county company to customize the sample of horsetail embroidered canvas bags." Pan Yao found several canvas bags from a large number of embroidery displays, with an expression of pride. "There will be a Taiwan travel group to experience horsetail embroidery these days.". Pan Yao said, "The sale of horsetail embroidery can bring income to the embroidery lady and protect the skills of the Shui nationality from loss. We adhere to the productive protection method of intangible cultural heritage advocated by the state to achieve a virtuous circle of economic and social benefits."

(Source: China News Network)