Huashupi Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The Greater Khingan Range area where the Ewenki dwell is covered with white birch groves, so raw material has never been lacking; yet the selection of material is particular: only trunks that are straight, glossy, and free of knots are considered superior, and the stripping season is fixed in May and June each year. The stripping method is also particular: first score a circle at top and bottom of the trunk, then a vertical cut down the middle; with a light lift the whole sheet of bark falls away. Whether this cut is clean determines the success or failure of the subsequent softening-by-boiling and cutting.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Ewenki are a quintessential forest people; the Greater Khingan Range region they inhabit is everywhere dense with flourishing white birch forest, providing abundant resources for birch-bark products. The Ewenki birch-bark craft has distinctive making methods. The first step in making is selecting the birch-bark raw material. May and June each year are the best season for stripping birch bark. In selecting material, one must first choose trees with straight trunks and comparatively glossy, knot-free surfaces; then, according to the needs of the intended object, measure out the length, score a circle at top and bottom of the trunk, then a vertical cut down the middle, and with a slight lift the whole sheet of birch bark peels off. After peeling away the uneven, hard inner layer of the birch bark, boil it in water or steam it to soften it for cutting; next, stack the birch bark and press it flat, then cut and make it as needed. At seams one commonly stitches with thread made from roe-deer or deer sinew, or from horse-tail and hemp twisted together; finally, at the joints one coats on animal fat and bakes it over fire to make it firm. Through more than ten process steps—cutting and peeling, braiding, matching-and-joining, prick-patterning, and edge-pressing—one can make birch-bark products that are supple in texture, soft in color, rot-resistant and moisture-proof, varied in form, and durable. The Ewenki birch-bark craft is a precious gem of ethnic handicraft; it inherits more than three thousand years of fine ancestral tradition, becoming a cultural symbol of the Ewenki people, and holds research value in many respects such as ethnology, historical culture, and the history of ethnic handicraft.
Archival Record of Process Steps
Through more than ten process steps—cutting and peeling, braiding, matching-and-joining, prick-patterning, and edge-pressing—one can make birch-bark products that are supple in texture, soft in color, rot-resistant and moisture-proof, varied in form, and durable.
Choosing and stripping the bark
May and June are the best months; the tree is judged by shape and surface, measured, then opened with a ring above and below and one vertical cut.
Boiling, steaming and flattening
Once the knobbly inner face is pared away, the bark is boiled or steamed soft, stacked flat and only then cut to size.
Stitching, greasing and baking
Seams are sewn with sinew or twisted horsehair and hemp, and the joints are greased with animal fat and baked to set.
Punching motifs and edging
Punching and edging are the two most demanding steps: rows of tiny holes are pricked with an awl, then the rim is pressed into an even dark line.
Making bark canoes and deer saddles
Deer saddles, skis, baby rockers and bark canoes are all made here, sized to use and rider, with lightness for hunting in the forest deciding the form.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Geographically, the Ewenki hunters of the Aoluguya area are the main bearers of this craft; objects such as deer saddles, skis, and infant cradles all come from the hands of the hunter households, with practicality placed before ornament. Wu Xusheng successively apprenticed himself to the hunters Gerilesike and Lajimi to learn making, and to the hunter Wei Jia to learn carving; the more than ten process steps of cutting-peeling, braiding, matching-joining, prick-patterning, and edge-pressing were thereby established. His students can now independently make birch-bark boxes, baskets, tubes, and shoulder bags.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Huashupi Making Craftsmanship · Huashupi Making Craftsmanship · Huashupi Making Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Wu Xusheng (per the official archive of the associated inheritor): male, Ewenki, born in December 1974, a native of Genhe City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. A representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the birch-bark making craft (Ewenki birch-bark making craft) intangible cultural heritage item. A birch-bark boat-making technician. He successively apprenticed himself to the Aoluguya Ewenki hunters Gerilesike and Lajimi to learn the Ewenki birch-bark craft, and studied carving with the hunter Wei Jia. During his apprenticeship he mastered the characteristics of birch-bark craft such as cutting-peeling, braiding, matching-joining, prick-patterning, and edge-pressing, and learned to make various birch-bark products such as birch-bark boxes, deer saddles, skis, and infant cradles. He often leads students in giving on-site demonstrations of birch-bark craft and carving skills to Chinese and foreign tourists visiting Aoluguya, and has held several personal exhibitions of birch-bark products and carvings. He has run birch-bark craft training classes. His students have all become able to skillfully master the traditional birch-bark craft, and each can independently make birch-bark products such as birch-bark boxes, birch-bark baskets, birch-bark tubes, and shoulder bags.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Fuzhanxiang 01-0195
- Guobaolin 04-1865
- Wuxusheng 05-2778
- Ajilun
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。