Xinhua News Agency, Shijiazhuang, February 9 Title: One needle and one thread, allow you to be a tiger and a tiger
Xinhua News Agency reporter Bai Mingshan
Na soles, embroidered tiger faces, sewing the word "king", tying tiger whiskers, covering the mouth of the shoe... Colorful silk threads shuttled back and forth in Shang Mengqing's hands, and when the upper and sole were completely sewn together, a cute and vivid tiger head shoe was ready.
In a tiger-toe shoe-making workshop in Sanbeizhang Village, Datun Township, Renze District, Xingtai City, Hebei Province, 33-year-old Shang Mengqing is the head of the tiger-toe shoe-making workshop, and they rushed to make a large number of tiger-head shoes, tiger pillows and cloth tigers before the Spring Festival.
Shang Mengqing's tiger-toe shoe-making technique originated from her mother, Yang Xinwei, a skill that has been passed down from generation to generation in the Yang family, and she is the sixth generation of this skill.
Shang Mengqing (right) and her mother make tiger head shoes. Images courtesy of respondents
Tiger head shoes are one of the traditional handicrafts in China, and there is a custom of wearing tiger head shoes for young children to convey auspiciousness and peace. The tiger is the king of the hundred beasts, and people believe that wearing tiger head shoes can drive away diseases, avoid evil spirits, and protect children from healthy growth.
In Sanbei Zhang Village, this old craft has been preserved, and the simple emotions of the artists are contained in one stitch and one thread. Shang Mengqing said that making tiger head shoes is not only skillful, but also to be able to bear hardships and endure temperament. From wearing, wearing soles, making uppers, embroidering tiger faces, covering the mouth, to stitching the upper and sole, there are more than a dozen processes, and a pair of shoes often takes five or six days to complete.
In order to pass on this craft, Shang Mengqing also has no reservations about the neighbors who come to learn. Today, this skill has not only been passed on, but also become a "weapon" for local people to increase income.
Shang Mengqing is making tiger head shoes. Images courtesy of respondents
"We take the 'base + retail' approach, according to the embroidery of the special division of labor, good at the sole of the shoe only do the sole, good at embroidery will be special embroidery." Shang Mengqing said that in the Lunar Year of the Tiger, tiger head shoes have ushered in a peak sales season. Through the way of "dispatching orders", she organized the elderly in the surrounding areas to embroider together, which led to the villagers' income.
In 2021, the making technology of tiger head shoes was included in the list of the seventh batch of municipal intangible cultural heritage representative projects in Xingtai City. Shang Mengqing said that traditional skills are a treasure, and only by keeping this "family business" and passing it on forever can we better inherit and carry forward China's excellent traditional culture.
Source: Xinhua Net