Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritance Blended Into Jilin Special Education Classroom Cheongsam Skills Illuminated The Silent World

Most of the time, Chen Dongmei's class is very quiet. Standing on the platform, she spoke in both spoken and sign language, and spoke carefully about the details of the Manchu cheongsam, while the students expressed their affirmation or questions in facial expressions or sign language.

Chen Dongmei, 52, is the vice principal and senior teacher of Jilin Special Education Experimental School. Over the years, she and her sister have been committed to the inheritance and dissemination of cheongsam culture.

Chen Dongmei is giving a lesson to the students. Photographed by Shi Hongyu

On the campus where Chen Dongmei works, students are all disabled. She has worked in school for nearly 20 years. In 2016, she introduced four representative intangible cultural heritage projects for the school, including Manchu cheongsam making skills, to help students increase their skills.

In class, Chen Dongmei led the students to design styles, make buckles, level cloth, and practice needlework, which was very substantial. Chen Dongmei said that students have a single channel to understand the world, and intangible cultural heritage courses are very helpful to broaden their horizons.

Jilin Special Education Experimental School has a long history and obvious advantages. Although the class size of clothing specialty is small, it is quite distinctive. At present, the school has set up an intangible heritage inheritance teaching practice base, which will teach students from the cultural heritage of cheongsam, the development of cultural and creative works to the production of accessories.

The students are taking the Manchu cheongsam making skill course. Photographed by Shi Hongyu

Wang Qi, a student, is very serious in class. He does a good job of knitting and sewing. Soon after graduation, her wish is to open a studio and continue to make cheongsam or related cultural and creative products.

Chen Dongmei said that hearing-impaired students are limited in communication, but they have a deeper understanding of color and more focused creation, and can become good costume designers or craftsmen.

By 2024, more than 50 students have been admitted to the clothing specialty of colleges and universities from the university, and some students have directly taken up their jobs as technical backbones in clothing enterprises. "Every student's growth and progress is the pride of the school."

In recent years, the educational environment for special groups of students with hearing impairment has been improving, and significant progress has been made in policy support, technology empowerment, and educational model innovation. "Some children will also discuss the use of AI and do some auxiliary design with us." Chen Dongmei said that technological progress has provided more career opportunities for the disabled.

(Source: China News Network)