Editor's Note
Zhao Yi of the Qing Dynasty has a poetry cloud: "Dyeing clothes (yi) blue grass, weaving cloth and planting kapok." "In the agricultural era, men and women weave, spinning, weaving, cutting grass, dyeing cloth, tailoring are all done by hand, and the ancient skills accumulated over thousands of years are scattered in the fields, and in the era of industrial large-scale production, they retain a simple texture and traditional aesthetics. In this issue, we will pay attention to the representative project of intangible cultural heritage at the autonomous region level - Debao Pass Zhangtubu.
Debao Pass Chapter Native Cloth Making Technique
Category: Traditional Skills
Level: Representative items of intangible cultural heritage at the district level
Batch: Eighth batch
Region: Guangxi Baise Debao
Zhuang native cloth making techniques can be traced back to more than 3,000 years ago. The pure hand-weaving technique of the Pass Zhangtu Cloth, the simple tones and patterns retain the simple nostalgic flavor, and in 2020, it was included in the eighth batch of representative projects of intangible cultural heritage at the autonomous region level.
In the 55 households in Aizhangtun, Debao County, Guangxi, 39 old-fashioned looms are still intact, and the middle-aged women in the tun will spin yarn and roll thread, and the pedal loom will weave a lattice striped earthen cloth through the warp and weft. This kind of native cloth is woven with pure cotton, which is both thick and breathable, and used to be used by locals to make clothes to make quilts, wear them warm in winter and cool in summer, and wear them with quilts that are strong and wear-resistant. With the popularization of textile industrialization, although handmade clothes gradually faded out of the lives of locals, the skill of weaving native cloth survived in the hands of weavers.
In 2020, it was included in the eighth batch of representative items of intangible cultural heritage at the autonomous region level. Hu Zhaoshuang photo
According to research, the Zhuang native cloth making technology can be traced back to more than 3,000 years ago. The style of the Pass Chapter Soil Cloth is mostly striped and checkered, and the bright colors and ancient patterns precipitate the unique aesthetics formed by the ancestors of the Zhuang people in the long river of history, revealing the easy-going and optimistic personality of the Zhuang people and the warm and introverted emotional expression.
The scarf made of the seal soil cloth has won many awards as an exhibit, and in 2018, it was unveiled at the 15th China-ASEAN Expo as a representative of folk crafts. At that time, a Thai merchant took a look at the scarf of the pass chapter, and after learning that it was only exhibited and not sold, he had to grind the hard bubble to find someone to intercede and buy all the scarves on the booth. Later, this merchant became a long-term orderer of the Pass Chapter Tubu, and the Pass Zhang Tubu went out of the country in this way.
Pure hand-woven Pass Chapter soil cloth needs to go through thirteen weaving processes of cotton removal, elastic cotton, rolling tampons, spinning, coiling, winding, dyeing, sizing, loading and arranging, threading, weaving, dyeing and washing cloth. Hu Zhaoshuang photo
Xu Meiquan, 63, is the inheritor of the weaving skills of The Pass Zhangtu Cloth, and she has an old-fashioned loom at home, and the weavers in the tun often gather around the loom, singing mountain songs while weaving fabrics. "Once upon a time, when I was young, I worked in the field during the day, and everyone gathered together at night to spin and weave under the kerosene lamp, and the quilts that were covered, the children's straps, and the clothes worn by the old and young people at home were all knitted overnight." Xu Meiquan told reporters that at that time, almost every woman in every household would weave native cloth. This is a craft that has been passed down from mother to daughter for generations. After the cotton is plucked, it must go through thirteen processes of cotton removal, elastic cotton, rolling tampons, spinning, rolling thread, winding, dyeing thread, slurry line, packing tube, threading, weaving, dyeing cloth, washing cloth, etc., in order to weave into cloth.
The old-fashioned ginner in the Pass Zhangtun. Hu Zhaoshuang photo
In a small courtyard in Aizhangtun, old wooden gins, spinning wheels, spindles, spinning wheels, looms and other tools are lined up, each of which is an old object that has been covered with the traces of age for a long time. Xu Meiquan and her weaver sisters often show guests the production process of cotton deseeding and loosening, twisting, spinning, bending, knotting, and pulp dyeing.
Hand-cranked spinning machine in The Pass Zhangtun. Hu Zhaoshuang photo
The weavers in the tun are skilled, and the hand-cranked spinning machine skillfully wraps around a spindle. This is one of the thirteen weaving processes, which seem simple but actually requires a technical content that is not low. Under the guidance of Xu Meiquan, the reporter tried to pull out a uniform cotton thread from the spinning wheel, and the thread broke with a little force, and several attempts ended in failure.
Once a smooth and uniform cotton thread is spun, the dyeing begins. In Xu Meiquan's view, the cloth is not woven beautifully, and dyeing is a key step. Regolith as the main ingredient, with blue indigo, maple leaves, grapefruit fruit, red and blue grass, etc., dye bright colors. The colored cotton thread is boiled and dried before it can be woven into cloth.
Xu Meiquan, a non-hereditary heir, learned to weave cloth from an early age. Hu Zhaoshuang photo
"The boiling line usually takes an hour to cook, and with corn flour, you can make the cotton thread non-frizzy, smooth and smooth." Xu Meiquan has learned to weave native cloth since she was a child, she loves to ponder, and has many of her own small skills. She studied textile techniques with her heart, mixed with elements such as stripes, flowers, and checks, and constantly improved the style of the native cloth, forming her own textile style.
When Xu Meiquan was young, Mo mo could weave a piece of cloth in about 20 days, and at that time, the covers worn by the family were all made by hand, and almost all the women in the village were weavers. Nowadays, ready-to-wear is popular, and few people under the age of 50 in the village can spin and weave fabrics.
Pass Zhang Tubu was once favored by foreign guests at the 15th East Expo. Hu Zhaoshuang photo
In the past, weavers weaved under kerosene lamps to weave a solid life, but now most of the looms are because of orders, and the native cloth that has been passed down from generation to generation is designed into handicrafts, and they go out of the city and go abroad. Debao County has approved the construction of a 4-acre exhibition hall of native cloth making skills in Aizhangtun to combine native cloth textiles with the tourism industry.
Xu Meiquan hopes that the native cloth of The Pass Chapter will be integrated with modern design to produce more handicrafts and cultivate more new generations of weavers.
—Ends—
About falling in love with intangible cultural heritage
The "Love intangible cultural heritage" series is an important part of the "Guangxi Non-Genetic Inheritance Plan" launched by Guangxi Daily-Guangxi Yun. We hope to use our own brushstrokes and perspectives to sincerely present those intangible cultural heritages rooted in the magnificent land of Guangxi, and those cultural imprints that are deeply integrated into the blood of the sons and daughters of Zhuangxiang. As a result, a trickle of nurturing national pride and cultural self-confidence is gathered, so that everyone can become a practitioner, inheritor and beneficiary of intangible cultural heritage.
Planning coordinator 丨 Zeng Junfeng Rosa
This issue is written by Xie Linlin
Editor of this issue 丨Li Tranquility
Visual design 丨Qin Yuting Feng Shanwei
Video production 丨Hu Zhaoshuang
Proofreading 丨 Wu Yuheng
Chief Duty 丨 Huang Li Chen Lijie
Produced by Guangxi Cloud Intangible Cultural Heritage Communication Team