Xining, 5 May (Xinhua) -- Tu Dingjiang used his legs to tightly clamp the carving plate that held the silver piece fixed, and he kept his eyes fixed and concentrated, and the hammer in his hand kept tapping the carving knife, accompanied by the crisp sound of "ding-ding", and the pattern of the auspicious eight treasures jumped on the silver surface.
The picture shows the handicraft of "Sulu Metal Making Technique". Photo by Yang Xiudazhen, Xinhua News Agency
Tudingjiangcai, a 50-year-old from Shanrong Village, Sulu Township, Zaduo County, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, began learning the "Sulu Metal Making Technique" at the age of 19 and is the sixth generation of inheritors of this skill. In 2021, the "Sulu Metal Making Technique" of Zaduo County was included in the list of representative items of intangible cultural heritage at the state level in Yushu Prefecture, Qinghai Province.
After more than 30 years of skill inheritance, Tudingjiang has recruited more than a dozen local apprentices, most of whom are the children of poverty-alleviated households, and these apprentices earn between 200 and 300 yuan per day. Nowadays, more and more young Tibetans are slowly discovering the charm of this craft, believing that metal making is not only a means of making a living, but also an art handed down from the production and life of the Tibetan masses. Inheritance requires a younger generation. Tu Ding Jiang said.
Tu Ding Jiang Cai (right) is teaching apprentices to make ornaments. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Han Fangfang
"Before I learned metal making, I had been herding, and I had 7 children in the family, and my life was very poor." Bu Seduo, a 22-year-old villager in Shaqing Village, Sahuteng Town, Zaduo County, Yushu Prefecture, began to learn the "Sulu Metal Making Technique" with Tudingjiang in 2018.
"The first time I saw the master making jewelry, I fell in love with this craft. Now that I can earn seven or eight thousand yuan a month, I didn't expect to be able to live a happy life with my craft one day. Bousedo smiled and said that he wanted to pass on this craft through his own efforts and become a person like a teacher.
Walking into the workshop of the heritage base, jewelry, belts, Tibetan knives and other metal products are neatly arranged, some carved with birds and animals and auspicious eight treasures, and some inlaid with red coral and turquoise. Seven or eight young apprentices rhythmically pounded on the silver plates.
Apprentice Aza is making ornaments. Photo by Yang Xiudazhen, Xinhua News Agency
Tu Ding Jiang Cai said that from the initial pattern drawing to the final pattern molding, a hook and a draw, a hammer and a knock, although it sounds simple, but it has to go through several tedious processes. "Making a metal product can be as short as a few days or as long as several months, which is a long and boring process that requires not only enough patience, but also love and dedication." He carefully examined the semi-finished products made by the apprentices while explaining.
Tu Ding JiangCai introduced that unlike the "express" crafts produced by the machine, the original handicrafts embody the painstaking efforts of the craftsmen, and each product is unique. Therefore, it has both decorative functions and collectible value. With the continuous improvement of the living standards and consumption capacity of the masses in pastoral areas, such products are often in short supply. Now, their handicrafts are also combined with market demand, upgrading molds, innovative patterns, improving products, and providing private customization for more people.
Nowadays, with the help of the local government, these exquisite metal products have been sold out of Qinghai and sold to Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan, Tibet and other places, and some products are also exported to Nepal and other countries.
Apprentice Bu Sedor shows the Hidden Knife. Photo by Yang Xiudazhen, Xinhua News Agency
"The state provides many policies and material guarantees for the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage. I hope that more young people will learn this craft, inject fresh blood into the inheritance of this skill, and bring creative national handicrafts to more places. Tu Ding Jiang said.
(Video reporters: Han Fangfang, Yang Xiudazhen, Tong Hao)