Neilianshengqiancengdibuxie Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The Neiliansheng boot-and-shoe shop was founded in the third year of the Xianfeng reign of the Qing dynasty (1853). At first it made thousand-layer-sole court boots exclusively for the imperial family and officials of all ranks; its earliest site was in Dongjiangmi Lane (today's Taijichang) in Beijing, and its founder was Zhao Ting. In the shop's name, "Nei" refers to the imperial palace (the "inner" court), while "Liansheng" conveys the wish that the court boots it makes will let officials "rise three ranks in succession" upon wearing them.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
After the fall of the Qing dynasty, Neiliansheng applied the craft of making official boots to the making of thousand-layer-sole cloth shoes; its products were of excellent quality and widely praised, soon becoming famous throughout the capital. The Neiliansheng thousand-layer-sole cloth-shoe making craft has always used traditional hand-making methods, with strict craftsmanship, distinctive technique, carefully chosen materials, and fine workmanship. Its craft characteristics can be summed up as "one high and four manys": "one high" means high craft requirements; the "four manys" are many process steps, many sole-stitching patterns, many shoe-lasting methods, and many cloth-shoe varieties. Making a pair of thousand-layer-sole cloth shoes often takes four or five days and requires more than ninety process steps to complete; every step has strict requirements, emphasizing accurate dimensions, skillful technique, appropriate force, and careful attention. Among these, the shoe-lasting technique alone has three different methods — forward lasting, reverse lasting, and exposed lasting — and nearly forty kinds of tools are used throughout the shoemaking process. Beyond relentlessly refining its making craft, Neiliansheng also sets very high quality requirements for raw materials, auxiliary materials, and fittings. Its thousand-layer-sole cloth shoes mainly comprise four product lines — men's, women's, children's, and slippers — and, with such advantages as being foot-nourishing and comfortable, are hugely popular with consumers.
Process Records
Its craft characteristics can be summed up as "one high and four manys": "one high" means high craft requirements; the "four manys" are many process steps, many sole-stitching patterns, many shoe-lasting methods, and many cloth-shoe varieties. Making a pair of thousand-layer-sole cloth shoes often takes four or five days and requires more than ninety process steps to complete; every step has strict requirements, emphasizing accurate dimensions, skillful technique, appropriate force, and careful attention.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Neiliansheng's roots are in Dongjiangmi Lane, the area around today's Taijichang, where Zhao Ting founded the shop in the third year of Xianfeng; at first it made only thousand-layer-sole court boots. After the fall of the Qing dynasty, artisans shifted the skills of sole-stitching and shoe-lasting onto cloth shoes, unexpectedly opening a path into the common marketplace. A single pair of shoes goes through more than ninety process steps, and shoe-lasting divides into three routes — forward, reverse, and exposed. He Kaiying is the fourth-generation transmitter of this branch, who since 2005 has successively taken on four disciples: Chenyang, Cai Wenke, Xu Wenhao, and Budi.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Shougongzhixiejiyi · Shougongzhixiejiyi.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Based on differences of season, age, gender, and custom, Neiliansheng has created more than 1,500 varieties and styles of cloth shoes, carrying out a comprehensive and effective excavation and systematization of the folk traditional shoe culture of northern China. The Neiliansheng thousand-layer-sole cloth-shoe making craft is transmitted through the traditional master-apprentice model, but because the craft is intricate and profound, difficult to learn, and long in training — apprentices need more than three years before they can qualify — fewer and fewer people study it, and its transmission faces a serious crisis that demands attention from the relevant quarters. He Kaiying (per the official inheritor archival record): Male, Han ethnicity, born in May 1956, a native of Beijing. Representative inheritor of the third national-level batch of the Neiliansheng Thousand-Layer-Sole Cloth-Shoe Making Craft, an item of intangible cultural heritage. The fourth-generation transmitter of the Neiliansheng thousand-layer-sole cloth-shoe making craft. He has fully mastered the traditional process flow and excels at combining forward lasting, exposed lasting, reverse lasting, and various sewn-lasting techniques; his lasting is clean, crisp, and accurate, and his products are smooth, close-fitting, and finely made. He has innovated the raw materials for handmade cloth shoes, developed various cloth-shoe styles and lasts, and applied the craft to more than a thousand products across multiple series — men's, women's, children's, and slippers. Since 2005 he has successively taken Ren Chenyang, Cai Wenke, Xu Wenhao, and Budi as apprentices. In 2010 he participated in drafting the industry standard text for handmade cloth shoes in China.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- He Kaiying 03-1373
- Xing Jun 04-1881
- Lai Shufang
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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