Non-hereditary inheritors of Ningxia: turning finger embroidery into "living fossils of art"

Qiao Yaru's embroidery work. Photo by Yu Jing

Ningxia non-hereditary inheritors: turning finger embroidery into "living fossils of art"

Ningxia Haiyuan, China News Network, January 19 Title: Ningxia Non-hereditary Inheritors: Turning Finger Embroidery into "Living Fossils of Art"

China News Network reporter Yu Jing

"Using cloth as paper, thread as ink, and needles as pens", using fine stitches to preserve folk memories, inherit precious handicrafts, and interpret colorful life. On January 19, the reporter walked into the studio of Qiao Yaru, the non-hereditary inheritor of the Zhongwei Municipal Embroidery Project in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and felt the nickname of "embroidery", a "living fossil" of ancient Chinese handicrafts with a history of more than 2,000 years.

In Qiao Yaru's studio, the reporter of China News Network saw that she was concentrating on making lifelike embroidery works such as cute tigers and auspicious tigers with the theme of "tiger" to welcome the arrival of the New Year. The tiger on the picture, the whole is based on yellow, with a peony flower blooming on the body, and the whole embroidery is composed of traditional patterns that are popular Chinese and represent auspicious and happy, and the shape is ancient and thick, which makes people feel happy.

Qiao Yaru's studio is like a small embroidery exhibition hall: there are belly pockets worn by children, tiger head shoes, small and chic sachets, twenty-four knotted embroidery bags... Each embroidery is her painstaking work, and also embodies the strong craftsman spirit of folk craftsmen.

"When I was a child, I saw that my grandmother and mother could use a needle and a thread to embroider flowers, grass, and small animals like magic on pillowcases and quilts. Qiao Yaru said.

Stitching is the soul of embroidery, clever composition, reasonable collocation of colors, thickness and fit of thread, we must pay attention to the flexibility of needle transportation. Qiao Yaru's embroidery has a strong sense of three-dimensionality, strong color contrast, and the visual effect is full and thick. She sent the "tiger cat" to the toe of the shoe to let the infants kick away the cow ghost snake god, she spread the "flower bird" into the insoles so that people could not bear to step on the feet, she "played with the needlework and techniques", outlining a wonderful and wonderful world.

Ningxia Zhongwei City Haiyuan County is a famous hometown of Hui embroidery, folk since ancient times there is a tradition of embroidery, skillful women to the flowers and birds, natural beauty stitch and thread embroidery on a variety of colored flower cloth, sustenance for a better life of yearning. Unlike the four famous embroideries, Ningxia's embroidery is named for its integration of distinct northwest culture and ethnic minority characteristics, and is a folk handicraft with local characteristics.

Developing traditional skills into cultural industries, so that traditional skills can be revitalized and loved by more people, this is the goal that Qiao Yaru has been pursuing.

In order to achieve this goal, Qiao Yaru opened sales channels through platforms such as Taobao and Douyin, so that hui embroidery works can go out through the network and let more people realize the beauty of hui embroidery works. While controlling the quality of the production link, we will gradually explore and master the unique laws of network marketing in live sales, and win the trust and continuous attention of netizens ' fans".

Back embroidery has been deeply burned in Qiao Yaru's heart, a stitch is love and inheritance, Qiao Yaru said, before everyone saw my back embroidery works have very few opportunities, but after entering the e-commerce more people can see my works through the network, everyone knows more, my works go out of the opportunity is more.

"Craftsmanship requires continuous innovation and development, and the integration of tradition and fashion is the best way out for intangible cultural heritage." Qiao Yaru said. Nowadays, embroidery is no longer a simple hobby for Qiao Yaru, but more of a kind of inheritance, she hopes that China's intangible cultural heritage can be remembered by the world as long as the history of 5,000 years, and also hopes that the spirit of craftsmanship will always take root in the hearts of every successor. (End)

Source: China News Network