Tai Yinyan

01 · Lineage & Regional School

He began at the age of 15 to learn silver ornament working from his father. Within the regional tradition and school record of Yinshi Forging Craftsmanship in Jianhe, Guizhou: Miao silver ornaments of Jianhe fall into three regional groups by form: in the Gedong area the collars are of the chain-twisted floral style; in the Nanzhai area they are of the ring-plate style; and the Jiuyang area is known for the horizontal head-plate style. The origins of Miao silver ornaments in Jianhe can be inferred from differences among the regions: Gedong produces chain-twisted floral collars, Nanzhai produces the ring-plate style, and Jiuyang produces the horizontal head-plate style — each of the three places specializing in one line, which shows that after foreign forms entered the locality they were reassigned once among local craftsmen. Silversmiths take most of their designs from women's embroidery patterns; moving motifs from fabric onto metal was a key step that enabled Miao silver ornaments to establish a school of their own. Tai Yingyan's generation held that a person should be judged by his work, treating craft and personal conduct as one and the same; this was the inner discipline that allowed the technique — though transmitted orally within families — never to lose its accuracy.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Tai Yinyan, a man of Miao ethnicity, was born in December 1963 in Jianhe County, Guizhou Province. He is a national representative bearer of silver ornament forging craftsmanship (Miao silver ornament forging), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He is a Miao silverwork forging craftsman. From childhood he held silver ornaments to be sacred objects that stand for the character of their maker, and he resolved to master the forging craft and to create fine pieces that would win recognition and be treasured. After completing his apprenticeship he has worked with care on every piece; honest and trustworthy, he enjoys the full confidence of local people, and demand for his silverwork in the area exceeds supply. Through transmitting and developing silver forging craftsmanship he has helped more than fifty silver-forging craftspeople on the road to prosperity. Within the documented technical tradition of Yinshi Forging Craftsmanship in Jianhe, Guizhou: Silver ornament forging is a distinctive handicraft of the Miao people; the styles and structures of the ornaments are carefully designed by master craftsmen, and the workmanship is of a high level. Miao silver ornaments circulating within Jianhe generally take dragons, tigers, insects, flowers and birds as their basic motifs, coordinated with chain-twisted floral work, chasing, repoussé and braided floral patterns — exquisite yet full of life. Miao silver ornament making in Jianhe comprises more than thirty process steps, forming a complete handcraft process of smelting, casting, hammering, flower-making, braided joining and welding, and washing. A set of silver ornaments often requires several hundred silver flowers welded together, yet no weld marks may show. According to different needs, the silver can be hammered into square bars, round bars, sheets and the like, which can then be used for repoussé, cut-out work and wire drawing. Then, through the steps of braiding, chasing, engraving and brightening, more than a hundred kinds of silver flowers are produced and combined by welding into richly patterned silver ornaments such as hats, collars, chest locks and bracelets. The Miao silver ornament craft has been passed down from generation to generation, carrying the culture and traditions of the Miao people. Miao silver ornaments are processed by hand in family workshops. Silversmiths are not only experts in hammering and chasing but also adept at design; they skillfully draw creative inspiration from women's embroidery patterns and, in keeping with traditional customs and aesthetic tastes, innovate in the rendering of details and parts, so that every silver ornament has its own character. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "": "Archival Record of Process Steps": Miao silver ornament making in Jianhe comprises more than thirty process steps, forming a complete handcraft process of smelting, casting, hammering, flower-making, braided joining and welding, and washing.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2018, Tai Yinyan was announced in the fifth batch of national representative bearers for Yinshi Forging Craftsmanship, with Jianhe, Guizhou as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Yinshi Forging Craftsmanship in Jianhe, Guizhou: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2011 (batch 3), with Jianhe, Guizhou as its declared area, and Jianhe County Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Center 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. Tai Yinyan · National Representative Bearer Archive