Primary school students are learning Yuzhang embroidery under the teaching of Yu Zhenglian, the eighth generation inheritor of Jiangxi Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Yuzhang Embroidery. Photo by Liu Lixin
(New Year grassroots) Yuzhang embroidery meets "ice pier": three hundred years of intangible cultural heritage skills "exhibition of new look"
Zhongxin Network Nanchang, February 12 Title: Yuzhang embroidery meets "ice pier": three hundred years of intangible cultural heritage skills "exhibition of new look"
Author Li Yunhan Jiang Tao Ma Jiawei
Painting with needles, polishing with threads, and threading needles, the mascot of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which is difficult to find, "ice pier" jumps on the "Yuzhang embroidery" with a history of 300 years, and the old craft also shows a new look.
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics is being held, and the mascot "Ice Pier" is attracting attention with its cute image, what kind of spark will collide between intangible cultural heritage and "Ice Pier"? On the 11th, the reporter visited the Yuzhang embroidery skills personnel training base located in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province.
The picture shows the embroidered "ice pier". Photo by Liu Lixin
Walking into the training base, dozens of children are wearing needles and threads with their heads bowed under the teaching of Yu Zhenglian and Zhou Nanying, the eighth generation inheritors of Yuzhang embroidery, the intangible cultural heritage of Jiangxi Province. Or cute, or round and cute, one by one "ice piers" and "snow melting", just presented on the fan or pendant.
"This 'ice pier' is not difficult to embroider, after I learn, I will teach my table mates, and I want to continue to learn in the future." Lan Yifei, 11 years old this year, said that he very much wants to have an "ice pier", but it is more difficult to buy at present, and he can give himself a unique "ice pier" through the form of Yuzhang embroidery.
The picture shows primary school students learning Yuzhang embroidery. Photo by Liu Lixin
According to Yu Zhenglian, Yuzhang embroidery is an important type of Gan embroidery, its history can be traced back to the early Qing Dynasty, the first generation of inheritors is Ji Xiaolan's mentor Qiu Yuexiu's wife Xiong Yueying, originated from Nanchang, Jiangxi, known as "Yuzhang Old County", and has developed for eight generations.
"Yuzhang embroidery originated from the folk, the earliest is to sew daily necessities, with cotton cotton thread can be woven, with the characteristics of folk original taste, but also contains folk wisdom." Yu Zhenglian said that Yuzhang embroidery uses special stitches such as flat needles, hairpin needles, and flutter needles, so that the front and back of the embroidery look the same.
The reporter saw in the exhibition of works that the content of Yuzhang embroidery is mostly Chinese ink paintings, and it is realistic and conveys the gods, which adds a three-dimensional sense and layering sense compared with the original painting. Yu Zhenglian said that Yuzhang embroidery is good at processing the five levels of focus, thickness, weight, lightness and clarity of ink paintings, and at the same time uses the depth and shallow transition of silk threads to present the light and elegant elegance of Yuzhang embroidery.
Would it be against the harmony to present a slightly cartoonish "ice pier" with Yuzhang embroidery, which is good at expressing ink painting? In Yu Zhenglian's view, if a skill is blindly passed on without innovation, it will gradually enter the narrow world. In fact, Yu Zhenglian, who has been embroidering for more than 40 years, has also been insisting on inheritance and innovation, upgrading the material to more easily preserved silk and silk thread, and Yuzhang embroidery has gradually changed from daily necessities to handicrafts.
"Teaching children to embroider 'ice piers' this time is more likely to stimulate their interest in traditional skills, and it is also a form of cheering for the Winter Olympics." Yu Zhenglian said that for some simple line embroidery, one or two hours can be completed, hoping to continue to explore new paths of inheritance through this way, insisting on free teaching for many years, but also to let more people know about Yuzhang embroidery.
"Yuzhang embroidery is an intangible cultural heritage, and allowing children to contact traditional Chinese culture from an early age is also conducive to establishing her cultural self-confidence, and at the same time, it can also cultivate herself well." Tu Yan, a parent of the child, said that his children embroidered an "ice pier" by hand, which can better feel the elements of the Winter Olympics and increase their sense of achievement.
In the training base, which is not a large area, there are exquisite works that have accumulated more than 40 years of craftsmanship, as well as the immaturity and exploration of the beginner, and between the needles and threads, the intangible cultural heritage crafts are renewed. (End)