Lai Shufang
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Lai Shufang, Female, Han, from Chengdushipidou, Sichuan, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Shougongzhixiejiyi (Ⅷ-115). The tradition is documented in Chengdushipidou, Sichuan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Shougongzhixiejiyi in Chengdushipidou, Sichuan: Tangchang cloth shoes are rooted in the Tangchang Subdistrict area of Pidu District; the art began in the Ming and prospered by late Qing, passed down through both family and master-apprentice lines. The shoe's face edge is not cut clean but must be fuzzed with sanding to draw out fine nap — called the brushed edge in the trade; the three-turn mouth, stacked heel, soaking the mouth, and inner lasting are moves few others possess, and the full set of thirty-two process steps is complete without omission. The artisans make their own reaching rulers, scrapers, and cutting knives; today the transmission rests with Master Lai Shufang's studio and the Zhanqi Village Rural Eighteen Workshops. Tangchang was established in the Tang dynasty and was once among the most prosperous areas of the Chengdu region. The western-Sichuan handmade cloth-shoe making craft, represented by Tangchang cloth shoes, originated in the Ming dynasty and flourished in the late Qing; it has been transmitted mainly through families and the master-apprentice relationship.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Lai Shufang is anchored in the documented technical standards of Shougongzhixiejiyi in Chengdushipidou, Sichuan. Within the documented technical tradition of Shougongzhixiejiyi in Chengdushipidou, Sichuan: The Tangchang cloth-shoe making craft is one of China's traditional handmade shoemaking crafts; historically distributed mainly across the western-Sichuan plain, it is now centered on Tangchang Subdistrict of Pidu District, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, radiating to surrounding villages and communities. Flourishing trade, convenient water and land transport, and vigorous market demand created the historical scene in Tangchang of "elm shade meeting shade, mulberry and hemp gradually thriving," and gave rise to well-known products such as "Chongning knives and scissors" and "Chongning thread," laying a good foundation for the spread and development of the handmade cloth-shoe industry. Through more than a century of development, the traditional Tangchang cloth-shoe making craft has upheld the basic requirements of western-Sichuan brushed-edge cloth shoes; its core skill is embodied in thirty-two process steps, including preparing materials, shrinking the cloth, mixing paste, forming the cloth shell, sunning the cloth shell, laying out (drawing the shoe pattern), cutting the layout, cutting the shapes, wrapping the insole board (binding the insole edge), mounting the lining and face, cutting the upper, attaching the binding strip, joining the binding strip, pressing the binding strip, folding the vamp, the three-turn mouth, standard coding, stitching the sole, trimming the edge, turning the edge, making the inner sole, soaking the mouth (adding a stiffener at the shoe front), hammering the sole, lasting the shoe, last-shaping, oven-drying, sanding the edge (fuzzing the sole edge), cutting the edge, gluing the edge, gluing the heel, removing the last, and final inspection. To this day the craft still uses manual methods to mix paste and make the stiffened shell, and in summer uses natural sunlight to air-dry; following the principles of breathability, comfort, and environmental friendliness, it uses entirely natural materials such as pure cotton and pure wool; the techniques of mounting lining and face, the three-turn mouth, stacked heel, soaking the mouth, inner lasting, sanding the edge, and cutting the edge are unique to it. The craft is closely tied to people's daily lives and plays a positive role in driving home-based employment and supporting the region's inclusive economic development. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Process Records": Through more than a century of development, the traditional Tangchang cloth-shoe making craft has upheld the basic requirements of western-Sichuan brushed-edge cloth shoes; its core skill is embodied in thirty-two process steps, including preparing materials, shrinking the cloth, mixing paste, forming the cloth shell, sunning the cloth shell, laying out (drawing the shoe pattern), cutting the layout, cutting the shapes, wrapping the insole board (binding the insole edge), mounting the lining and face, cutting the upper, attaching the binding strip, joining the binding strip, pressing the binding strip, folding the vamp, the three-turn mouth, standard coding, stitching the sole, trimming the edge, turning the edge, making the inner sole, soaking the mouth (adding a stiffener at the shoe front), hammering the sole, lasting the shoe, last-shaping, oven-drying, sanding the edge (fuzzing the sole edge), cutting the edge, gluing the edge, gluing the heel, removing the last, and final inspection.
Process Records
Through more than a century of development, the traditional Tangchang cloth-shoe making craft has upheld the basic requirements of western-Sichuan brushed-edge cloth shoes; its core skill is embodied in thirty-two process steps, including preparing materials, shrinking the cloth, mixing paste, forming the cloth shell, sunning the cloth shell, laying out (drawing the shoe pattern), cutting the layout, cutting the shapes, wrapping the insole board (binding the insole edge), mounting the lining and face, cutting the upper, attaching the binding strip, joining the binding strip, pressing the binding strip, folding the vamp, the three-turn mouth, standard coding, stitching the sole, trimming the edge, turning the edge, making the inner sole, soaking the mouth (adding a stiffener at the shoe front), hammering the sole, lasting the shoe, last-shaping, oven-drying, sanding the edge (fuzzing the sole edge), cutting the edge, gluing the edge, gluing the heel, removing the last, and final inspection.
Core Technique I
The Tangchang cloth-shoe making craft is one of China's traditional handmade shoemaking crafts;
Core Technique II
historically distributed mainly across the western-Sichuan plain, it is now centered on Tangchang Subdistrict of Pidu District, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, radiating to surrounding villages and communities.
Core Technique III
Flourishing trade, convenient water and land transport, and vigorous market demand created the historical scene in Tangchang of "elm shade meeting shade, mulberry and hemp gradually thriving," and gave rise to well-known products such as "Chongning knives and scissors" and "Chongning thread," laying a good foundation for the spread and development of the handmade cloth-shoe industry.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Lai Shufang was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Shougongzhixiejiyi, with Chengdushipidou, Sichuan as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Shougongzhixiejiyi in Chengdushipidou, Sichuan: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Chengdushipidou, Sichuan as its declared area, and Sichuan Ning ChangXieYe Co., Ltd. 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
Historical origin
Tangchang was established in the Tang dynasty and was once among the most prosperous areas of the Chengdu region. The western-Sichuan handmade cloth-shoe making craft, represented by Tangchang cloth shoes, originated in the Ming dynasty and flourished in the late Qing; it has been transmitted mainly through families and the master-apprentice relationship.
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.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| He Kaiying | Beijing | 03-1373 | Other regional school |
| Xing Jun | Heping, Tianjin | 04-1881 | Other regional school |
| Lai Shufang | Chengdushipidou, Sichuan | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。