Tiaohua
01 · Historical Records
The Huayao are a branch of the Yao ethnic group, numbering more than 12,000 people, who live in the lofty mountains at an altitude of about 1,300 meters on the northeastern foothills of the Xuefeng Mountains in Hunan Province. The Huayao have their own ethnic language but no ethnic writing, and their cross-stitch embroidery technique has been passed down through the migrations of the group. The area around Huxing Mountain, Shanbei and Gezhuping, on the border between Xupu County and Longhui County, is one of the places where the Huayao have lived for generations. Cross-stitch embroidery has long been used to decorate Huayao clothing; its main technique is called the "clear-thread" method, also known as the "thread-counting method," which is carried out with an ordinary cross-stitch needle, using white cotton thread, colored silk thread or colored wool, and dark blue homespun cloth as materials. Because Huayao women mostly switch to Han clothing after marriage, and because the cross-stitch technique is difficult to learn and master, fewer and fewer local people can practice it, and the transmission of Xupu Huayao cross-stitch embroidery faces a severe situation.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Huayao are a branch of the Yao ethnic group, numbering more than 12,000 people, who live in the lofty mountains at an altitude of about 1,300 meters on the northeastern foothills of the Xuefeng Mountains in Hunan Province. The Huayao have their own ethnic language but no ethnic writing. Huayao cross-stitch embroidery is spread throughout the Xupu area of Hunan and is used mainly to decorate Huayao clothing. The main technique of Huayao cross-stitch embroidery is called the "clear-thread" method, also known as the "thread-counting method"; it is carried out with an ordinary cross-stitch needle, using white cotton thread, colored silk thread or colored wool, and dark blue homespun cloth as materials. The craft is exquisite, its conceptions marvelous, its approach novel, its patterns distinctive, its contrasts strong and its symbolism profound, truly conveying spirit through form. It embodies a style in which ingenuity is hidden within simplicity, mysterious and bold, and the works as a whole overflow with an honest, plain rustic beauty. Huayao cross-stitch embroidery is a treasure of China's ethnic and folk arts: in these works, ideal and reality, form and content achieve a harmonious and complete unity, reflecting both the group characteristics of the Huayao and the ethnic history of the Huayao people. At present, apart from wearing ethnic costume at their own festivals and wedding celebrations, young Huayao people are accustomed to wearing simple, convenient Han clothing; since marriages between the Yao and the Han began, Huayao women who marry into Han families no longer wear ethnic costume or engage in cross-stitch work, which has greatly diminished the role of cross-stitch embroidery in Huayao life. In addition, the cross-stitch technique is difficult to learn and master, and ordinary young people are unwilling to learn it, so the number of local people who can practice cross-stitch embroidery is becoming smaller and smaller.
The 'clearing the yarn' counting method
The chief technique, called clearing the yarn or counting the stitches, uses an ordinary picker's needle with white yarn, coloured silk or wool and indigo homespun for fine, novel and strongly contrasted patterns.
White yarn, coloured silk and indigo homespun
Worked in white yarn and coloured silk or wool on indigo homespun, the pieces embody a plain rustic beauty, conveying spirit through form in a guise of rough simplicity.
Cross-stitch on Huayao garments
Transmitted in Xupu, Huayao cross-stitch is used chiefly to decorate garments, matching the women's tube skirts and head-wraps in a harmony of ideal and reality, form and content.
Intermarriage and the loss of the craft
Young Huayao now wear Han dress except at festivals and weddings, and women marrying into Han families give up both the costume and the craft, greatly reducing its role in daily life.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The themes of cross-stitch embroidery fall mainly into four categories: first, common plants and animals; second, scenes of a better life; third, historical stories and folk legends; and fourth, ethnic beliefs and mythological tales.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Tiaohua · Tiaohua · Tiaohua · Tiaohua · Tiaohua.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
If protective measures are not taken as soon as possible, Huayao cross-stitch embroidery will be in danger of being lost.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Shi Jiumei 01-0085
- Fengxuemei 01-0086
- Wang Shifu 05-2604
- Yang Chunying 05-2605
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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