Originated from Shanghai Jiading Anting medicinal spot cloth, has a history of more than 800 years, commonly known as blue printing cloth, is a traditional Chinese hand-printed dyeing process, ancient called "gray valerian", with hanging valerian, wax valerian, clip valerian and called the traditional printing and dyeing "four valerian", in 2009 was included in the "second batch of Shanghai intangible cultural heritage list".
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This article was published in the magazine China Women
Hu Sufen Is the founder of HSF Leather Art Studio under Shanghai Juntao Leather Products Co., Ltd., and the inheritor of Jiading Non-Heritage Anting Medicinal Patch Cloth
When interviewed with Hu Sufen, the plane she took had just landed in Beijing and was going to the scene of the GAC Toyota New Car Tasting Meeting, and she wanted to lead the guests to experience the fun of DIY medicinal patch cloth. Even on the phone, hu sufen can be clearly felt fast, logical thinking, and tight schedule. These styles seem to have the shadow of her years of working in fully standardized industrial enterprises. Three years ago, she quit her million-dollar salary job and turned to heritage at the age of 45. She has always firmly believed that as long as there is a firm belief, it is not too late for the officers to start a business, and the pursuit of life is more important than material wealth, spiritual wealth.
Medicinal patch cloth, inherited 800 years of blue and white beauty
When the mascots of the Beijing Winter Olympics and The Winter Paralympic Games", "Ice Pier" and "Snow Rongrong", Hu Sufen's DIY activities were busy, and she led enthusiasts who loved handicrafts to make cute "ice piers" and "snow rongrongs" with medicinal patch cloth. Hu Sufen said: "We use this way to cheer for the Athletes of the Winter Olympics, while better enriching the cultural life of the citizens, but also let the Anting medicinal banbu be passed down from generation to generation." ”
Medicinal patch cloth, commonly known as blue printing cloth, is a traditional Chinese hand-printed dyeing process, through weaving, engraving, scraping, dyeing, scraping white, fixing color, drying seven processes, leaving a natural ice pattern, speckled spots, forming a distinct blue and white beauty. In the eyes of many foreigners, its blue and mysterious patterns are a symbol representing Chinese elements.
Hu Sufen is like a number of family treasures: "The 'medicine' of the medicinal patch cloth refers to the dyeing raw material indigo grass, commonly known as the plate blue root; 'spot' refers to the pattern formed after the engraving of the missed plate. Medicinal patch cloth has good breathability, anti-moth, anti-mildew and other effects, as well as long-term storage does not fade, does not mildew and other characteristics, there are characters, flowers and birds and other patterns, often used to make quilts, curtains and so on. ”
The birthplace of the medicinal patch cloth is in Anting, Jiading, Shanghai, originating from the Tang and Song dynasties, Sheng Yu Ming and Qing dynasties, was the most famous textile product in Anting at that time, "At that time, the large and small shops in Anting had its figure, every New Year's Festival, every family had to pull a few feet of medicinal patch cloth to decorate the whole family, only to have a festive atmosphere." "However, in the 1920s and 1930s, under the influence of Western aesthetics and industrialization, the textile and dyeing workshops of medicinal patch cloth were greatly impacted and gradually faded out of the market, and the entire industry began to decline. It was not until 2009 that Anting medicinal patch cloth was included in the "Second Batch of Shanghai Intangible Cultural Heritage List" and began professional protection work.
Middle-aged, chasing dreams is never too late
Before being exposed to the drug patch, Hu Sufen was a professional manager. "I graduated from high school and started as a front-line worker, self-taught English in my 20s, took my own college and undergraduate examinations, learned German and Spanish at the age of 35, and was admitted to Tongji University for business administration and master's degree from The University of Mannheim in Germany at the age of nearly 40." In the enterprise, she is the backbone of the storm, from private enterprises to military enterprises to foreign-funded enterprises in China vice president, with an annual salary of more than one million. After having the success that many people dreamed of, she began to think about the longer-term pursuit.
"Before I quit my job at 45, I was thinking about what I could do after I was 60. A hundred years from now, what can I leave for the world? ”
When I was young, I watched the literary and artistic work "Red Rock", and the indomitable integrity of Sister Jiang on the stage, as well as the image of a steel scarf wearing blue printed cloth, were deeply imprinted in Hu Sufen's mind. On a business trip to Chongqing 15 years ago, because I really liked it, in a shop in HongyaDong, Hu Sufen bought 6 pieces of blue printed cloth clothing.
3 years ago, by chance, I heard that the birthplace of blue printed cloth is in Jiading Anting, Shanghai, also called medicinal spot cloth, and there is no one in the current inheritance, Hu Sufen took the initiative to introduce himself to the person in charge of the local cultural and sports center, and then learned from the teacher. "Looking back, the accumulation of the first half of my life seems to be a reserve for the inheritance of medicinal patch cloth in the second half of my life." Hu Sufen said affectionately.
Hu Sufen's master is the ninety-year-old Wang Yuanchang, who is the inheritor of the printing and dyeing technology of the Shanghai Non-Heritage Anting Medicinal Patch Cloth. Elder Wang was very cautious before accepting Hu Sufen as an apprentice, because he had seen too many people swear to inherit the intangible cultural heritage because of the momentary fever, but it was difficult to persist in walking.
So Elder Wang and his wife not only made face-to-face exchanges, but also knew Hu Sufen's team, and came to her studio many times to understand the operation status, and Hu Sufen has actively planned the development of the medicinal patch cloth in the next five or ten years. Seeing Hu Sufen's ability and enthusiasm, Elder Wang gladly accepted this apprentice.
Living inheritance, "use" is the best inheritance
Before engaging in the non-genetic inheritance of medicinal patch cloth, Hu Sufen had his own leather goods studio, with more than a dozen employees with bachelor's degree or above, and three years of operation has achieved good benefits. She adopts the idea of "raising cloth with skin", organically combining leather and cloth from opening workshops to promoting works. For example, leather shoes and handicrafts with medicinal cloth elements have expanded the traditional craft that has been passed down for more than 800 years into a diversified space.
Although she has the courage to innovate, Hu Sufen is still loyal to tradition, and the "soul" of intangible cultural heritage must be, and after the test of the market, her persistence is right. In some cultural and creative markets, Hu Sufen often interacts with consumers, and she will put together the medicinal patch cloth products with fashion elements patterns and the products made of traditional patterns, so that some children can choose. She was surprised to find that children always picked up traditional patterns and tried them out. "In fact, our traditional culture or handicrafts have consumer groups, and there is already a very good social environment for loving intangible cultural heritage." There was excitement in her voice.
Hu Sufen often leads the working group into the community and the campus, carries out lectures, holds exhibitions, seizes every opportunity to publicize and display, as long as he hears the news of where the private cultural and creative market is opened, he will actively participate, not let go of any of them, and strive to open up various channels online and offline.
Hu Sufen has a hobby of running marathons, which are 43 kilometers, and the best result is 3 hours and 38 minutes. In 2017, when she participated in the Gobi Desert Challenge of China Business School, she was awarded the title of "Female Version of Zhao Zilong" by tongji Business School alumni for her heroism in the Gobi Desert.
"Every time I run the whole horse to more than 30 kilometers, I always feel exhausted, commonly known as 'hitting the wall', but when I insist on running to the last 43 kilometers, looking back at the pain is not insurmountable!" To do non-genetic inheritance work, we must also have the courage to break through the 'wall'. "The production of medicinal patch cloth to through engraving, scraping, dyeing, white and other steps, each step needs to "withstand loneliness", especially when dyeing, the color of blue printed cloth can not be in place at once, must continue to be oxidized through dyeing, slowly deepened. Light blue is generally dyed 2 to 3 times, medium blue is dyed 5 to 6 times, and dark blue is dyed more than 10 times. Under the subtle chemical reaction, the white rough cloth will be released into a thick and dignified blue print. Hu Sufen said that she used the tenacity of running the whole horse to the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage medicinal cloth, and painstakingly insisted on it for all these years.
"Use is the best inheritance", Hu Sufen said, the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage, not only to protect it, do some works, into art galleries, museums, but try to combine intangible cultural heritage art with daily life, create products that are closely related to people's lives, can be touched, raised to see the products, so that they can be "used". Through her efforts, Anting Medicinal Banbu has now innovated and developed nearly 100 series of cultural and creative products, so that the intangible cultural heritage that was originally facing loss can embark on the road of industrialization and marketization of sustainable development.
At the 2020 China Charity Project • The Second Intangible Cultural And Creative Theme Selection, Hu Sufen's team's "Magpie Dengmei Medicinal Patch Cloth Creative Pack" combines fog wax skin and traditional medicinal patch cloth, the leather surface is hollowed out, the seal is embellished with medicinal patch cloth, and the pattern of "Magpie Dengmei" is printed, which has both national atmosphere and fashion. It stood out from 1206 entries from across the country and won the Excellence Award. "'Magpie Dengmei' is a traditional Chinese auspicious motif, which has the meaning of good luck and blessing since ancient times, and combining traditional patterns with intangible cultural heritage techniques is a successful attempt by us to express Chinese aesthetics." The national tide has become a fashion, this is the best era of non-genetic inheritance, I want to cherish the opportunity to do not slacken off, so that the 'concentric circles' that love medicinal patch cloth are getting bigger and bigger. ”