Bamboo Weaving
01 · Historical Records
After years of evolution and development, by “the early years of the Ming dynasty, bamboo ware in Yiyang had already become a trade, with practitioners spread throughout urban and rural areas and products visible on every street and in every alley” (Gazetteer of Yiyang City). In the Qing dynasty, Yiyang was already the “City of Bamboo Ware” famous throughout Jiangnan; the water-bamboo cool mats of Maozhu Lake, the xiaoyu bamboo ware of Hejia Bridge, and the bamboo-ribbed paper umbrellas of Sanli Bridge were acclaimed the “Three Wonders of the Bamboo City.” During the Daoguang reign of the Qing dynasty, xiaoyu bamboo craft began to be exported to England, France, and other countries.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Yiyang xiaoyu bamboo craft refers to small bamboo articles and implements made using traditional techniques such as joining, inlaying, and mortise-and-tenon fitting. “Yu” is a Yiyang dialect term referring to a process in which bamboo components are heated and bent so as to meet the needs of a given form. Yiyang lies in the north-central part of Hunan Province; its soil is fertile, its rainfall abundant, and its climate suitable, and its bamboo resources are extremely rich. In the past hundred years it has won gold and silver awards more than eighty times at various exhibitions at home and abroad. Xiaoyu bamboo craft is particular about the selection of materials: generally, gang (ma) bamboo with a diameter of less than 5 centimeters is used to make the frames, while mao bamboo is used to make the components. In the making of bamboo articles, more than thirty processing steps—including material selection, material cutting, oil scorching, and yu-bending—are required before the article is completed. Yiyang xiaoyu bamboo craft has handsome forms, fine workmanship, and lasting durability. Locally, articles made using bamboo cover almost every aspect of production and daily life. “Yu” is a Yiyang dialect term referring to the process of heating and bending bamboo components so as to meet the needs of a given form; oil scorching and yu-bending are the two key steps that determine the curvature and strength of an article. Xiaoyu bamboo craft is quite particular about the selection of materials: frames are generally made of gang (ma) bamboo with a diameter of less than 5 centimeters, while components are made of mao bamboo, and more than thirty processing steps—including material selection, material cutting, oil scorching, and yu-bending—are required before an article is finished; because the articles are joined by joining, inlaying, and mortise-and-tenon fitting, with few nails or glue used throughout, they are durable once completed.
Archival Record of Working Procedures
In the making of bamboo articles, more than thirty processing steps—including material selection, material cutting, oil scorching, and yu-bending—are required before the article is completed.
Bending and oil-firing
The craft joins bamboo by splicing, inlay and mortise, the local word yu meaning to bend the heated material into shape.
The all-bamboo theatre decoration
Born in 1963, Wei Lumian designed the all-bamboo decoration of the Yiyang Grand Theatre and the museum's miniature garden and covered walkway.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The local people made use of the native bamboo to make various implements from very early times: bamboo implements have already been found among the artifacts of the Neolithic Daxi culture site excavated at Tujiatai in Nan County, Yiyang. Yiyang Chaoyang Xiaoyu Bamboo Craft Co., Ltd. is the project’s protection unit; Wei Lumian established a transmission institute and a museum and participated in founding a training base for the promotion of xiaoyu bamboo craft. The local history of using bamboo is extremely early: bamboo implements have been found among the artifacts of the Neolithic Daxi culture site excavated at Tujiatai in Nan County, Yiyang; by the Qing dynasty, Yiyang was already the “City of Bamboo Ware” famous throughout Jiangnan, and bamboo-made implements covered almost every aspect of production and daily life.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Shengzhou Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Wei Lumian (official archive record of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in September 1963 in Yiyang County, Hunan Province. Senior arts-and-crafts designer. He completed the all-bamboo decorated auditorium of the Yiyang Grand Theater, the miniature Chinese-garden landscape of the Yiyang Museum, and the overall design of the “Wind and Rain Corridor”; his bamboo-slice zither and Go table are in the collection of the Hunan Provincial Arts and Crafts Museum. He established a transmission institute and a museum, participated in founding a training base, and has widely publicized xiaoyu bamboo craft, expanding its social influence. Representative inheritor of Bamboo Weaving (Yiyang Xiaoyu Bamboo Craft), a national-level intangible cultural heritage project of the fifth batch. His works have participated many times in national- and provincial-level intangible cultural heritage expositions and intangible cultural heritage festivals, winning gold, silver, and bronze awards more than forty times.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Yu Zhanggen 01-0119
- He Fuli 03-1265
- Song Zengli 03-1266
- Mou Bingheng 03-1267
- Liu Jiafeng 04-1794
- Su Chengjun 05-2640
- Chen Qinghe 05-2641
- Tian Xianmin 05-2642
- Wei Lumian 05-2643
- Tan Sujuan 05-2644
- Chen Yunhua 05-2645
- Zhao Sijin 05-2646
- Ding Zhiyun
- Hu Zhengren
- Lvcheng
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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