Yinshi Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The Tang-dynasty poet Liu Yuxi, after being banished to a post in western Hunan, once wrote a poem describing the Miao people wearing "silver bracelets and gold hairpins." Hong Mai of the Song dynasty, in his Rongzhai Suibi, recorded that Miao ornaments were made of silver and tin and were more than one chi in length. The Ming-dynasty text Qian Ji states that the Miao of Guizhou "wore silver rings in their ears, called malang (horse youths), removing them upon marriage," while in Liping "the wealthy wore gold and silver earrings, as many as five or six, like linked rings."
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Miao people have a long history of making and wearing ornaments. Miao silver ornaments come in many varieties, including neck rings, silver bracelets, silver crowns, silver flowers, silver waist chains, silver bells, silver earrings and ear pendants, silver collar plates and capes, and silver rings and buttons. Yi people's buttoned jackets commonly use rows of silver buttons, the most famous being the silver tiger jacket button. Shaped like a tiger, it symbolizes dignity, solemnity, good fortune, and happiness. Whenever a daughter marries, her mother sews silver buttons onto her wedding dress to pray that everything goes well for her. As social life has changed, the dress and customs of some ethnic minorities have gradually modernized, and their original cultural characteristics are being lost. Therefore, protecting and inheriting the silver ornament making craftsmanship of ethnic minorities is of significance that cannot be underestimated for revitalizing ethnic culture and sustaining the ethnic spirit. Butuo County in Sichuan Province has long been known as the hometown of Yi silver ornaments. Drinking vessels include silver cups and silver wine pots; tableware includes silver bowls, silver chopsticks, and silver plates. Silver jewelry comes in a great variety, including earrings, bracelets, buttons, rings, chest pendants, collar ornaments, ear chains, ear pendants, and headdresses. These silver ornaments are made using a variety of techniques such as chasing, openwork, inlaying, and suspension, in diverse forms and shapes. The Yi people of Butuo have loved silver ornaments since ancient times. The silver jewelry they make is noble and elegant, achieving a perfect combination of dress, silver ornament, and the human body. Protecting and utilizing the folk craftsmanship of Butuo Yi silver ornaments is of great significance for promoting ethnic culture, adjusting the industrial structure of ethnic minority regions, and advancing all-around local social and economic progress.
Chiselling the pattern
Chiselling is the hardest step in Butuo silver work, the line being driven freehand and the depth judged by the wrist.
Piercing openwork
Openwork is used on thin plaques and chest pendants: positions are marked first, then cut from behind, and the spacing decides how light the piece feels.
Inlay and hanging work
Inlay and hanging work finish a piece; the balance of inlay and dangling chains has to hold while the wearer moves.
Chiselling the tiger-shaped coat button
The tiger-shaped button is the best-known fastener of the Yi coat; a mother pins it to her daughter's wedding robe, which gives the chaser's work a ceremonial weight.
Forming wine and table vessels
Wine and table vessels are raised by hand entirely, with spouts and handles welded in one go without a visible seam.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Many ethnic minorities in China have the custom of wearing ornaments, among which the Miao and the Yi are the most prominent; they are mainly distributed in Guizhou, Hunan, and other provinces. The Yi are mainly distributed in Sichuan, Yunnan, and other provinces, and their silver ornaments are also quite rich in variety, including phoenix crowns, rings, ear pendants and earrings, neck rings, silver bracelets, silver chains, and silver buttons. Butuo Yi silver ornaments can be classified by use into drinking vessels, tableware, jewelry, and other categories.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Miao Yinshi Forging Craftsmanship · Miao Yinshi Forging Craftsmanship · Yinshi Making Craftsmanship · Yinshi Forging Craftsmanship · Yinshi Forging Craftsmanship · Yinshi Forging Craftsmanship · Yinshi Forging Craftsmanship · Yinshi Forging Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Silver ornaments that are simple and dignified, dazzlingly brilliant, and exquisitely crafted embody the distinct cultural traditions of the Yi people and their unique aesthetic taste, and hold research value in ethnology, cultural studies, arts and crafts, and other fields. Le Gu Shari (record from the official archive of the associated inheritor): Male, Yi ethnicity, born in June 1956, from Butuo County, Sichuan Province. Representative inheritor of Silver Ornament Making Craftsmanship (Yi Silver Ornament Making), a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the fourth national batch. He joined the army at the age of 22. In 1981 he formally took up handmade Yi silver ornament making as a livelihood. He excels at purely handmade production of Yi silver drinking vessels, tableware, and costume ornaments; his works preserve traditional Yi cultural symbols and are refined and distinctive, highly esteemed. He has taken on more than thirty apprentices in total; those with notable achievements in the craft include Le Gu Eri, Le Gu Yongri, and Le Gu Turi. In 2007 he participated in the Chengdu International Intangible Cultural Heritage Festival and received a silver award for handmade Yi silver ornament making from the organizers.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Yang Guangbin 01-0160
- Long Migu 03-1316
- Ma Maoting 03-1317
- Lin Shiyuan 04-1842
- Leigushari 04-1843
- Wu Shuigen 04-1844
- Lin Lingxiang 05-2748
- Yang Zhenggui 05-2749
- Tai Yinyan 05-2750
- Mubinglin 05-2751
- Cunfabiao 05-2752
- Li Zhengyun
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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