23 seconds 丨 Rizhao Juxian This old craftsman, more than 50 years to do "croak"

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Qilu Network Lightning News September 2, 2019 Since the 1960s and 1970s, a kind of shoe called "Yimeng Sandals" has become popular in the southern part of Luzhong, and the local dialect also calls it "Click, Grass Insoles", etc., which is a kind of sandal made of waste rubber tires into treasure. With the change of the times, there are fewer and fewer people who can do this craft now, and Xie Shiquan, a 76-year-old man in Suozhuang Village, Sangyuan Town, Rizhao Juxian County, is one of them, who still insists on making "Yimeng sandals" by hand.

Recently, at the big market in Sangyuan Town, the sandal stall of the elderly Xie Shiquan has welcomed several waves of customers, and his stalls are all black sandals commonly known as "clicks".

The reporter learned that in 1968, the 24-year-old Xie Shiquan relied on the craft of making shoes to work in the production team, and now that fifty years have passed, he still adheres to the old craft. Don't look at these sandals black and not good-looking, but more durable than ordinary plastic sandals, breathable, before the old and young, men and women wear this kind of sandals, is the most "fashionable" and durable items of that era.

Xie Shiquan said that in the past, when he was busiest, he taught this craft to his two sons, and the grandfather and his wife were busy working together, and every time there was a big gathering, the shoe stall was always crowded and the business was booming. "At that time, I could sell 1,780 pairs a year, I calculated about it, there was no specific number, I could sell 1780 pairs in a circle of sets, at that time, not only I did it, but many people." Xie Shiquan said.

The tire of the waste tire is cut out of the sole, flattened with a heavy object, and then selected a thinner position to cut it, and then according to the different sizes of the shoe face and heel, the rubber strip is fixed in different positions to make a shoe upper, which does not look complicated, but every time you make a pair of sandals, Xie Shiquan is very careful to make the shoes comfortable and beautiful.

An anvil, a hammer, a pair of scissors, a box of nails, that's all the tools you need to make a pair of sandals. The nails knocked into the shoes are soft, and with the passage of time, the steel anvils have been sharpened by the soft nails into many mottled pits, witnessing Xie Shiquan's adherence to this craft for more than 50 years.

Nowadays, the craftsmanship of Yimeng sandals has become an intangible cultural heritage, and the old guys who once made sandals together to catch the market have gone away and scattered, and he is the only one left in the market who is still doing this business, and this craft is also facing loss.

Xie Shiquan told reporters that due to the variety of shoes now, this kind of manual "click" market is getting smaller and smaller, so his two sons have chosen to find another way out.

Not long ago, some enthusiastic people filmed a small video of the process of xie shi quan shoe making and posted it on the Internet, which got the attention of many netizens, and many people came to Sangyuan Town to see this craft in person. Through the Network, Xie Shiquan's handmade sandals have caught fire again, and many people inside and outside the province have ordered customized sandals through the Internet and bought them back as a collection.

Xie Shiquan said that catching up with the market is a fun, shoes do not increase in price, as long as they can still do it, they will stick to this craft, how long they can persist.

Lightning News reporter Zang Yiwen rizhao reported