Yi Chunguang

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Yi Chunguang, Male, Xibe, from Xinjiang, is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Bow and Arrow Making Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-44). The tradition is documented in Xinjiang. Within the regional tradition and school record of Bow and Arrow Making Craftsmanship in Xinjiang: Tao Wenxin makes bows mainly from local red willow and ox tendon, and also uses hardwood timbers such as large-leaved ash, black locust, and elm. In the 29th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty (1764), more than four thousand Sibo (Xibe) soldiers and civilians migrated westward from the Liaoning-Shenyang region to the Ili area of Xinjiang to garrison the frontier and open land for settlement. Influenced by the mounted-archery culture prevalent in the Qing dynasty, bows and arrows became their weapon of choice for guarding the western frontier.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, of Xibe ethnicity, born in October 1947 in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. A representative bearer of bow and arrow making craftsmanship (Xibe bow and arrow making craftsmanship), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He is the fourth-generation transmitter of bow and arrow making craftsmanship. He learned the traditional Xibe horn-bow making craft from his father in childhood; his lineage is well ordered and clearly documented, and he has comprehensively mastered the project's core skills, is familiar with the more than one hundred procedures of bow and arrow making and has a deep understanding of horn-bow and wooden-bow making, having reproduced representative Eight Banners horn bows with outstanding skill. He established a handicraft workshop in Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County, where he takes on apprentices and transmits the craft, enrolling twelve disciples. Among them, Yi Chenyong was named a Xinjiang Arts and Crafts Master. Using a registered company as a platform, he is committed to the cultural dissemination of bows and arrows, the transmission of the craft, digital preservation and the reproduction of ancient bows and arrows. Within the documented technical tradition of Bow and Arrow Making Craftsmanship in Xinjiang: The Sibo people of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region have long been renowned for their skill in mounted archery, and bows and arrows are an indispensable and important part of their ethnic culture. Through long development, bows and arrows among the Xinjiang Sibo gradually turned into implements of folk competition, used mainly in archery contests. In the past, almost every Sibo household in Xinjiang made bows and arrows by hand for various competitions, but later the handcraft of bow-making nearly died out. In recent years, Tao Wenxin, a craftsman in his seventies from Sunzhaqi Nuru Township, Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County, has brought about the revival of the long-lost folk bow-and-arrow making technique. What he makes is the whistling-arrow bow: the arrowhead is made of animal bone, is pointed and round in shape, and has four small holes. Once the arrow leaves the bowstring, its speed forces air through the small holes, producing a whistling sound. The target is specially made from horsehide and felt, with cloth rings sewn from fabric in six colors; the bullseye is red. The making of a single bow includes cutting, sawing, planing, decorating, and many other processes, requires the use of over a hundred specialized tools, passes through nearly one hundred process steps, and takes more than twenty days to complete. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Archival Record of Process Steps": The making of a single bow includes cutting, sawing, planing, decorating, and many other processes, requires the use of over a hundred specialized tools, passes through nearly one hundred process steps, and takes more than twenty days to complete.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2018, Yi Chunguang was announced in the fifth batch of national representative bearers for Bow and Arrow Making Craftsmanship, with Xinjiang as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Bow and Arrow Making Craftsmanship in Xinjiang: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Xinjiang as its declared area, and Chabuchaerxibo Autonomous County Cultural 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. Yi Chunguang · National Representative Bearer Archive