Xiang Laosai
Mastery, Signature Works & Repertoire
Male, of the Achang ethnic group, born in 1960, a native of Longchuan, Yunnan. National representative bearer of Achang Husadao Forging Craftsmanship (Achang Husa Saber Forging Craftsmanship), a first-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. At the age of fourteen Xiang Laosai learned the art of forging sabers from his father. With astonishing perseverance and a natural gift for the work, he gained complete mastery of the full range of metal-cutting and finishing techniques: turning, clamping, planing, scraping, firing, grinding, and milling. At the age of twenty-seven he began to set up on his own. Because his skill was so accomplished, he enjoyed in his village the proud title of "King of the Husa Saber." He not only inherited the traditional techniques passed down by his Achang ancestors but also constantly innovated in the making of knives and sabers: he selected his materials strictly, used each according to its measure, and worked to raise both the practical value and the decorative and artistic value of his products, so that they truly cut through iron as though it were mud and split a hair with a puff of breath. In recent years Xiang Laosai has kept three saber-forging workshops operating at his home throughout the year, and the knives and sabers he makes sell as far away as Shanghai, Beijing, and Tibet. The "Dragon-and-Phoenix Saber" (Longfeng Dao) he forged has been collected by the Museum of the Minzu University of China. At present he leads his three sons in jointly studying the Husa saber-forging craft.
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