Tanyangpirouzhigongyi
01 · Historical Records
The use of Tan-sheep fur is directly tied to the climate of the arid pastoral zones of northwest China: winter nights are extremely cold while flocks graze year-round on desert steppe, and sheepskin both wards off the cold and is easy to carry when moving with the water and grass, so a stable annual output took shape locally. From the time a pelt is taken from a lamb until it is worn, a full year of waiting passes; herding households divide the work by family — shearing the fleece, drying the pelts, sewing the garments — with the women of the family mostly taking on the sewing, and pelts accumulating year after year until a craft was built up.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The fur made by hand-finishing the pelts of Tan-sheep lambs is called "ermao fur" (two-wool fur). The Tan-sheep fur tanning craft is the traditional skill by which the people of Ningxia finely process and make ermao fur. This craft is mainly practiced in Wuzhong City, Qingtongxia City, Yongning County of Yinchuan City, and Yanchi County of the Yinan region within the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Ermao-fur vests and overcoats are high-grade winter clothing for the Hui people; finished products include men's and women's ermao-fur overcoats, vests, and fur mattresses, as well as sofa backrests, seat cushions, foot pads, bed covers, shawls, and mufflers, all characterized by resistance to moth damage, deformation, and color fading. The Tan-sheep fur tanning craft has more than fifty process steps, mainly including: material selection — choosing Tan-sheep lambs born locally in Ningxia and taking their pelts at 30 to 40 days old; salting and airing — sprinkling salt on both sides of the pelt and airing it; fleshing — in a prepared water tank, scraping off residual flesh and grease from the leather side; tanning — operated in separate tanks with different formulas; drying — draping the pelt leather-in, fur-out over a ventilated spot to dry; nailing — laying the pelt fur-down, leather-up and stretching it taut on a wooden board on all sides so the fur fully relaxes; hanging-wash — suspending the pelt on a board and patting it with a bamboo or wooden paddle while sprinkling clean water; cutting-and-sewing — using the "walking-knife method," through steps such as material selection, matching, blowing-seams, and machine-sewing, to produce the finished ermao fur. The defining feature of the Tan-sheep fur tanning craft is its insistence on a specific species from a specific region as raw material, processing fur and leather together, using yellow rice in tanning, with intricate procedures — a true "work of skill." The Tan sheep is a fine fur-bearing sheep, and ermao fur is hailed as Ningxia's "white treasure." Sheep husbandry in the Ningxia region has been fairly developed since ancient times, and by the mid-Qing Tan-sheep fur was already renowned worldwide. The "Gazetteer of Ningxia Prefecture" records that people "wear coarse cloth in daily life and sheepskin in winter," and the later-compiled "New General Gazetteer of Gansu" praises that "of furs, Ningxia's are especially fine." The Tan-sheep fur tanning craft carries the aesthetic sensibility and wisdom of the people of Ningxia. After fine hand-processing, ermao fur has a leather base as thin as thick paper, tough yet supple and evenly full; its crystalline tufts curve softly in waves, praised as the "nine bends." The fine processing of Tan-sheep fur is not only an important vehicle for Hui culture, but its associated trading and transport also reflect the traditional commercial spirit of the Ningxia Hui, holding high historical and cultural value.
Process Records
The Tan-sheep fur tanning craft has more than fifty process steps, mainly including: material selection — choosing Tan-sheep lambs born locally in Ningxia and taking their pelts at 30 to 40 days old; salting and airing — sprinkling salt on both sides of the pelt and airing it; fleshing — in a prepared water tank, scraping off residual flesh and grease from the leather side; tanning — operated in separate tanks with different formulas; drying — draping the pelt leather-in, fur-out over a ventilated spot to dry; nailing — laying the pelt fur-down, leather-up and stretching it taut on a wooden board on all sides so the fur fully relaxes; hanging-wash — suspending the pelt on a board and patting it with a bamboo or wooden paddle while sprinkling clean water; cutting-and-sewing — using the "walking-knife method," through steps such as material selection, matching, blowing-seams, and machine-sewing, to produce the finished ermao fur. The defining feature of the Tan-sheep fur tanning craft is its insistence on a specific species from a specific region as raw material, processing fur and leather together, using yellow rice in tanning, with intricate procedures — a true "work of skill."
Selecting and skinning the lamb
Only the full skin of a local lamb thirty to forty days old is taken, intact from head to legs.
Salting and drying
Salt is applied to both faces of the skin before drying to hold its substance.
Fleshing and de-greasing
Residual flesh and fat are scraped off in the prepared bath; a clean plate is the precondition of a finished skin.
Tanning in separate vats
Different parts and thicknesses are tanned in separate vats with different formulae, cereals among them.
Nailing the skin flat
The skin is stretched fur-down on a board and nailed at the edges so the fibres lie full and even.
Hanging and beating
The skin is hung and beaten with water to wash off the remaining salt and grease.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Tan-sheep fur tanning craft is not evenly distributed across Ningxia, but spreads along a line between the Yellow River irrigation districts and the Yinan pastoral zone. The Wuzhong–Qingtongxia area is a transitional zone where farming and herding interleave, while Yongning and Yanchi counties lie closer to the main grazing lands of the Tan sheep. Within a single county there is more than one method: workshops near the pastoral areas take pelts quickly and in large batches; those in irrigation districts stress a smooth, even leather surface and color; and workshops in towns turn toward custom orders and refurbishing old pieces.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Tanyangpirouzhigongyi.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
This craft has always been transmitted within families. In recent years, as people's quality of life has improved, consumers' demands for the variety, styles, and workmanship of traditional ermao fur have grown ever higher, and the traditional craft faces challenges. With the passing of several highly accomplished artisans, the item awaits further transmission and development. Ding Heping (per the official inheritor archival record): Male, Hui ethnicity, born in June 1957, a native of Yinchuan City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the Tan-sheep Fur Tanning Craft (Ermao Fur Making Technique), an item of intangible cultural heritage. The fourth-generation transmitter of the ermao fur making technique. The traditional Ningxia ermao fur making process comprises more than thirty steps, each demanding refinement; only ermao fur products made in strict accordance with the operating procedures will resist moths, deformation, and color fading. Having practiced the art for over forty years, and on the basis of mastering the traditional ermao fur making craft, he continually experimented through production, gradually maturing the Ding family's ermao fur technique. The ermao fur he produces has a leather base as thin as thick paper, tough in texture, with soft, evenly full fur that is very light, resistant to moths and deformation and free of odor; the products can even be hand-washed and recover their original shape after drying in the sun. In recent years he has gradually passed the ermao fur making technique to his sons Ding Jianguo and Ding Jianjun and to more than thirty disciples. Ding Yuecheng (per the official inheritor archival record): Male, Hui ethnicity, born in September 1953, a native of Yongning County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the Tan-sheep Fur Tanning Craft (Ermao Fur Making Technique), an item of intangible cultural heritage. An ermao fur making technician. After the Reform and Opening-up, he learned the ermao fur making technique from his father-in-law Na Hanxin. Hardworking, unafraid of dirt, patient, and gifted, within a few years he mastered the entire process flow of ermao fur making. Over the decades, starting from a small workshop using primitive methods and developing into an advanced production process, through continuous research and experimentation he solved the problems of traditional ermao fur yellowing and carrying a sheepy odor, producing ermao fur garments of snow-white color and free of sheepy smell; the craft achieved further improvement and breakthrough, and output and sales grew steadily. He has taken part many times in intangible-cultural-heritage expos inside and outside the region and won awards. In recent years he has gradually taught the ermao fur making technique to his son-in-law Ma Xueyong and daughter Ding Jingjing, and has also provided free ermao fur processing training to dozens of apprentices in surrounding villages and towns, helping local people start businesses, prosper, and increase their income.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Zhang Xiaochun 05-2808
- Ding Heping 05-2809
- Ding Yuecheng 05-2810
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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