In the Hinterland of the Wuling Mountains in Hunan Province's Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, there used to be a "Hualang" who sold colored paper "patterns" with baskets. Most of them come from Tahu Village in Luxi County, Xiangxi Prefecture, and the various "patterns" they sell will soon be embroidered by Miao family girls into beautiful "ornaments" on the Miao family's clothes.
"Stepping on the Tiger Chiseling Flowers" work "Xiangxi Milling Rice" Author: Yang Guijun
These "patterns" are "chiseled" out of a special wax board with a carving knife, because they originated from the village of Tahu, and later had a very vivid name - "Tahu Chisel Flower".
"According to the available data, the 'tiger chiseling flower' originated in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. In the past, because the 'flower langs' walked around and walked through the villages, this craft was only passed on to men and not women. Yang Guijun, a representative inheritor of the provincial level of "Stepping On the Tiger and Chiseling Flowers," said that in the past, half of the people in the village were "flower langs", and they made a living from this.
It was not until the appearance of a tiger village called Huang Relytian, "Hualang", that the "Tiger Chisel flower" gradually moved from "life" to "art", and the official documentation also began with Huang Relying on the sky.
The late Huang Yitian, formerly known as Huang Mingsheng, a Miao, began to learn "stepping on tiger chisel flowers" from the age of 12, and his skills were exquisite. Since the 1980s, a series of his works have been frequently exhibited internationally, attracting attention from the outside world, and since then, the traditional handicraft of the Miao ethnic group unique to Luxi County, which is unique to Luxi County, has truly stepped out of the deep mountains and Miao Village, and is famous at home and abroad.
In 2008, "Stepping on the Tiger Chisel Flower" was selected into the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage expansion project list.
Yang Guijun guides students in their creation. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhao Zhongzhi
Yang Guijun was a disciple of Huang Yitian. In the Luxi County Tiger Chisel Flower Training Institute, he and his disciples used a carving knife, a wax board, and a pile of colored paper to inherit this exquisite and exquisite craftsmanship, and in the confetti, a piece of exquisite "chiseled flower" works were born under the tip of the knife.
"Many people mistakenly think that 'stepping on the tiger chisel flower' is 'paper cutting', but it is not. The entire process is done with a knife, not with scissors. Li Tieqi, a representative inheritor of the state level of "stepping on the tiger chiseling flowers", introduced that "stepping on the tiger chiseling flowers" is also known as "paper-cutting art without scissors".
Huang Yonghong works in the studio. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhao Zhongzhi
Three girls create in the studio of the master of tiger chiseling flowers in the ancient town of Pushi, Luxi County. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhao Zhongzhi
Nowadays, the clamor of "Hualang" can no longer be heard in Miaozhai, and the people of Tiger Village no longer make a living by selling "chiseled flowers", and the former "Hualang" has become a historical relic. The ancient precept of "passing on men to women" has also been completely broken by more and more female students.
In 2009, Luxi County set up the Tiger Chisel Flower Training Institute, in order to further protect and inherit this valuable handicraft, the local intangible cultural heritage "into the organs, into the campus, into the countryside, into the community" activities, to create a profound intangible cultural atmosphere, so far, has been inherited and trained more than 12,000 person-times, helped more than 3,700 people to achieve new ways of employment, increase income.
During the Spring Festival, the reporter came to Tahu Village, the birthplace of "Tahu Chiseling Flowers", and Huang Yonghong, Huang Yonghong, a cousin and grandson of Huang Yitian and a representative inheritor of the county level, was busy in one of his own small "studios".
The carving knife was scratched on the colored paper cushioned with wax plates, rustling... In the end, as Huang Yonghong blew away the remaining fine scraps of paper, a dozen cute red-blue "little tigers" jumped out lightly...
Reporters: Zhang Yujie, Zhao Zhongzhi, Yu Chunsheng