Intangible Cultural Heritage Sister Flowers: A Pair Of Skillful Hands To Protect National Dress Culture

A pair of scissors cuts out the rich and beautiful costumes of 28 Mongolian tribes, and a string of beads strings up the glorious history of grassland clothing culture.

In the process of human civilization for thousands of years, all ethnic groups have integrated and developed, and jointly created a colorful humanistic culture. In the treasure house of Chinese culture, the intangible cultural heritage of Mongolian costumes is like a bright pearl, shining with unique light.

Today, let's explore the cultural connotation of ethnic costumes in different regions of Inner Mongolia through living intangible cultural heritage, and feel the original intention of a pair of grassland sister flowers to inherit ethnic costumes and the ingenuity of craftsmen.

　　 Intangible cultural heritage sister flowers: a pair of skillful hands to protect national dress culture

Su Tingyan, the inheritor of intangible cultural heritage of Mongolian headwear, is sewing Mongolian headwear in Wushen Banner, Ordos, in the dress workshop of a teaching building in Inner Mongolia Vocational College of Commerce and Trade, Hohhot University City. Red coral, green turquoise, exquisite silver ornaments and other accessories are all over the table.

Accessories for making headwear (photographed by Shao Yuqin, a trainee reporter of CCTV)

"This headdress is the headdress of Fujin, the King of Ejin Horo in Inner Mongolia, which was restored one-to-one according to the cultural relics of the Inner Mongolia Museum. Its weight is about 15 kg." Su Tingyan told reporters with a heavy Ordos headdress in her hand.

As Su Tingyan who grew up in Xilingol Grassland, she has special feelings for national costumes. She said that when she was young, she always wore beautiful Mongolian robes sewn by her mother to participate in various grand events at the grassland Nadam Convention or other important festivals.

Influenced by her mother since childhood, Su Tingyan grew up with a special love for national costumes and became a inheritor of intangible cultural heritage of Mongolian national headwear, specializing in Mongolian headwear production.

As a living fossil in the clothing of nomadic people in the north, the Mongolian headwear has been preserved to this day. At Nadam Convention and grand wedding occasions, Mongolian women with gorgeous headdresses can always be seen, and their appearance always makes people see.

Mongolian women's headdresses are mostly made of gold and silver, red coral, turquoise, agate and other materials. As nomads, they like to convert their cattle and sheep into gold, silver and jewelry to wear on their bodies, which not only shows their love for clothing, but also facilitates preservation and migration.

Sister Su Tingling wears a headdress for her sister Su Tingyan (photographed by Shao Yuqin, a trainee reporter of CCTV)

Su Tingling is a cultural and museum researcher of Inner Mongolia Museum, vice chairman of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region National Costume Association, and an expert of Inner Mongolia Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Expert Database.

"'Women have money to wear on their heads, men have money to use on their horses' is the Mongolian headdress." Su Tingling has in-depth and systematic research on headdress culture.

She said that since ancient times, China has been known as the "country of dress", and local minorities are an important part of the "country of dress". When a Mongolian girl gets married, her parents must make a headdress for her. A good headdress is expensive. Therefore, family status can be seen from headwear. For women or young men in general families, the headdress weighs about three or four kilograms when they get married, while the headdress for rich women or young men when they get married weighs about ten kilograms. Whether expensive or cheap, the headdress is a must for Mongolian married women and cannot be left alone. It can only be taken off when sleeping.

In her sister's eyes, her sister Su Tingling is not only a navigator on her path to intangible cultural heritage, but also a mentor in her national dress craft.

Su Tingling has a long relationship with the arrangement and protection of Mongolian costumes. While working in the Inner Mongolia Museum with her teachers, she found many sets of Mongolian ethnic costumes with different styles. Through identification and textual research, it is proved that these collections are Mongolian tribal costumes.

Siziwang Qi Luo Tribal Costumes (photographed by Shao Yuqin, a trainee reporter of CCTV)

In 2004, Mongolian costumes were included in the pilot project of the National Ethnic and Folk Protection Project, and in 2008, they were included in the national intangible cultural heritage list of China.

In April 2009, the government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region took the lead in carrying out the rescue and protection project of Mongolian costumes, of which Su Tingling was one of the important members. After more than four years, the members of the research team walked about 200000 kilometers, traveled over more than 50 banners and counties in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, went deep into urban and rural areas, grassland and pastoral areas in Inner Mongolia, visited experts and herdsmen, and finally determined the basic patterns of traditional costumes of 28 Mongolian tribes, produced 108 sets of costumes and headwear of Mongolian tribes, all of which were used by the Inner Mongolia Museum It is permanently collected by Inner Mongolia Institute of Standardization for display and research.

Now, Su Tingling, 66, is retired from work. After retirement, she has long served as the industrial tutor of the art department of Inner Mongolia Vocational College of Commerce and Trade, introduced intangible cultural heritage culture to the campus, let young people who love traditional culture learn clothing culture, and guided them to find jobs and start businesses through the handmade ethnic costumes.

　　 National Costume, a Living History Book Keeping Pace with the Times

Mongolian intangible cultural heritage clothing, with its exquisite workmanship, profound cultural connotation and unique artistic charm, shows the wisdom and creativity of the grassland people.

In an 800 square meter intangible cultural heritage clothing exhibition hall of Inner Mongolia Vocational College of Commerce and Trade, 28 Mongolian tribes, including Balhu, Buryat, Horqin, Uzhumuqin, Chahar, Sunit, Ordos, Urat, and Heshuote, have 56 sets of colorful Mongolian headdress costumes. Apart from a few old objects collected from the folk, most of these exhibits are sewn by Su Tingling and her sisters.

Wuzhumuqin winter clothes (photographed by Shao Yuqin, a trainee reporter of CCTV)

Su Tingling said that Mongolian costumes are gorgeous and elegant, and different regions and tribes show different styles and styles. These clothing patterns are mostly inspired by pure nature and life elements, such as blue sky and white clouds, grassland and rivers, sun and moon and stars, flowers, plants, insects, fish, and five livestock and eagles. With bright colors and exquisite patterns, it tells the history and legends of different tribes in a stitch. Each pattern implies the grassland people's awe of nature and yearning for a better life.

"This dress is of the Buryat Mongol nationality in Hulunbeier, and its clothing is made in eight pieces. The clothing here is influenced by Russian culture, and the high bubble sleeves close the waist, showing European style."

"This dress comes from the Horqin tribe, and its hem is loose. In the Qing Dynasty, for the sake of border stability, the Qing royal family married the grid to the Horqin grassland, and the cheongsam style Mongolian gowns became popular. The sleeves were embroidered with tangled flowers, implying national integration and unity."

The hair sticks that tie the hair, the tassels on the crown, and the flower embroidery themes that are locally made, each piece of workmanship is amazing. The culture and stories behind these costumes are thick and distant. These costumes are the basis for studying different regional cultures and the spiritual home of grassland people.

However, for Su Tingling, who is engaged in the research of national costumes, she believes that national costumes should also keep pace with the times, inherit in protection, and develop in innovation, so as to bloom its long-term vitality.

National costumes combining traditional and modern design (photographed by Shao Yuqin, a trainee reporter of CCTV)

In the opinion of Zhang Li, vice president of Hohhot Institute of Culture and Arts, in recent years, more and more young people have paid attention to and loved traditional costumes. This is young people's love for traditional culture, a search for Chinese culture, a return of culture and aesthetics, and a self trust in Chinese culture. On the one hand, generations of craftsmen have learned from the wisdom of their ancestors, on the other hand, they are constantly seeking change and innovation, reshaping the vitality of traditional crafts, and letting people feel the beauty of clothing, national fashion, and intangible cultural heritage.

(Source: CCTV)