Abulizi Tuerxun

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Abulizi Tuerxun, Male, Uyghur, from Keping, Xinjiang, is a fourth-batch national representative bearer of Maofangzhijiganzhijiyi (Ⅷ-101). The tradition is documented in Keping, Xinjiang. Within the regional tradition and school record of Maofangzhijiganzhijiyi in Keping, Xinjiang: This craft has been passed down by the industrious people of Keping from generation to generation and bears distinct local characteristics. The Uyghur flower felt, also called kegezi, is a unique and ancient handicraft of the Keping (Kalpin) County area of Xinjiang, clearly distinct from felting practices elsewhere in the autonomous region: the patterned felt belongs to the category of patterned rolled felt, using only natural wool as the main material and adding no other ingredients in its making, being dyed solely with natural plant dyes. It has been passed down by the industrious people of Keping from generation to generation. Between 1958 and 1960, Abliz Tursun studied the craft under his master Yusup Emira, mastering the full set of process steps, and afterward organized more than fifty training sessions and took on over three hundred apprentices. In recent years, fewer and fewer artisans make felt, and only a few inheritors still keep up the making; the protection work urgently needs strengthening.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Born in May 1944 in Keping County, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, he is a man of the Uyghur ethnic group. He is a national representative bearer of wool textile and felting craftsmanship (Uyghur patterned felt making craftsmanship), a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He is a technician of Uyghur patterned felt making. Between 1958 and 1960 he studied patterned felt making under his master Yusufu Yimila. He has a thorough command of the entire set of processes for making Uyghur patterned felt. The felt he makes covers a wide range of subjects, with flexible and varied forms, well-balanced layout, clear lines, delicate expression and brilliant colours. He has taken part many times in national and regional intangible cultural heritage exhibitions and demonstration events. He is devoted to teaching apprentices, having organised more than fifty training sessions and trained more than three hundred apprentice attendances. Within the documented technical tradition of Maofangzhijiganzhijiyi in Keping, Xinjiang: The Uyghur flower felt (kegezi) making craft is a unique and ancient handicraft of Keping County, Xinjiang. The Uyghur flower felt making craft of Keping County is clearly distinct from felting crafts elsewhere in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The patterned felt belongs to the category of patterned rolled felt, its main component being natural wool; no other ingredients are added in the making, and it is dyed only with natural plant dyes, making it a purely natural handmade product. It is an everyday article in the domestic life of Uyghur families, and the patterned felt also has a role in treating endemic diseases in traditional ethnic medicine. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Sorting and laying the wool": Only natural wool is used; it is combed clean and laid out before the felt is formed. "Fulling the felt": Water and a rolling pin work the fibres together; pressure decides whether the sheet stays soft or falls apart. "Dyeing with plants": Plant dyes give vivid colour without chemical smell, on motifs that are flexible, clearly laid out and finely worked. "The felt makers of Xiamuli village": The craft now survives at Xiamuli village, where the felt is daily household gear and is also used against local ailments.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2012, Abulizi Tuerxun was announced in the fourth batch of national representative bearers for Maofangzhijiganzhijiyi, with Keping, Xinjiang as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Maofangzhijiganzhijiyi in Keping, Xinjiang: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2011 (batch 3), with Keping, Xinjiang as its declared area, and Keping County Cultural Center (Wen Gong Troupe) as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Abulizi Tuerxun · National Representative Bearer Archive