Maofangzhijiganzhijiyi
01 · Historical Records
The Uyghur flower felt, also called kegezi, is a unique and ancient handicraft of the Keping (Kalpin) County area of Xinjiang, clearly distinct from felting practices elsewhere in the autonomous region: the patterned felt belongs to the category of patterned rolled felt, using only natural wool as the main material and adding no other ingredients in its making, being dyed solely with natural plant dyes. It has been passed down by the industrious people of Keping from generation to generation. Between 1958 and 1960, Abliz Tursun studied the craft under his master Yusup Emira, mastering the full set of process steps, and afterward organized more than fifty training sessions and took on over three hundred apprentices. In recent years, fewer and fewer artisans make felt, and only a few inheritors still keep up the making; the protection work urgently needs strengthening.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Uyghur flower felt (kegezi) making craft is a unique and ancient handicraft of Keping County, Xinjiang. The Uyghur flower felt making craft of Keping County is clearly distinct from felting crafts elsewhere in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The patterned felt belongs to the category of patterned rolled felt, its main component being natural wool; no other ingredients are added in the making, and it is dyed only with natural plant dyes, making it a purely natural handmade product. It is an everyday article in the domestic life of Uyghur families, and the patterned felt also has a role in treating endemic diseases in traditional ethnic medicine.
Sorting and laying the wool
Only natural wool is used; it is combed clean and laid out before the felt is formed.
Fulling the felt
Water and a rolling pin work the fibres together; pressure decides whether the sheet stays soft or falls apart.
Dyeing with plants
Plant dyes give vivid colour without chemical smell, on motifs that are flexible, clearly laid out and finely worked.
The felt makers of Xiamuli village
The craft now survives at Xiamuli village, where the felt is daily household gear and is also used against local ailments.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
This craft has been passed down by the industrious people of Keping from generation to generation and bears distinct local characteristics.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Maofangzhijiganzhijiyi · Maofangzhijiganzhijiyi · Maofangzhijiganzhijiyi · Maofangzhijiganzhijiyi.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Uyghur flower felt (kegezi) making craft is now mainly preserved in Kumuli Village, Yurqi Township, Keping County, Xinjiang. In recent years, fewer and fewer artisans are engaged in felting, and now only a few inheritors still keep up the making; the protection work urgently needs strengthening. The Uyghur flower felt (kegezi) making craft is a hallmark cultural crystallization left by diligent and ingenious ancestors for later generations. The Keping flower felt has a wide range of uses and is an indispensable household article in the daily life of the Uyghur people, possessing certain cultural, academic, and practical value. Abliz Tursun (per the official record of the associated inheritor): Male, Uyghur ethnicity, born May 1944, from Keping County, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Representative inheritor of the fourth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item "Wool Textile and Felting Craft (Uyghur Flower Felt Making Craft)." A Uyghur flower-felt making technician. Between 1958 and 1960, he studied the flower-felt making craft under his master Yusup Emira. He has thoroughly mastered the full set of process steps of Uyghur flower-felt making. The flower felts he makes draw on broad subjects, with flexible and varied forms, reasonable composition, clear lines, delicate expression, and brilliant colors. He has taken part many times in national-level and autonomous-region-level intangible cultural heritage exhibition and demonstration events. Devoted to teaching apprentices and passing on the craft, he has organized more than fifty training sessions and trained over three hundred apprentices.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Mashelei 03-1360
- Abulizi Tuerxun 04-1879
- Shuogerequ 05-2801
- Dongcuo 05-2802
- Basang
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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