Xi'an tiger head shoe craftsman Wang Haiyan is making tiger head shoes. Party field photo
(New Year grassroots) Xi'an handicraft people's tiger head shoes: a needle and a thread are love
Xi'an, February 14 (China News Network) -- This year is the Year of the Tiger, and elements related to the "tiger" can always attract people's attention. Because of its cute appearance and auspicious meaning, the tiger head shoes that were popular in the folk more than a decade ago have now returned to the public's vision again. Recently, Xi'an tiger head shoe craftsman Wang Haiyan 'stalls' "schedule" is very full, in addition to the surge in tiger head shoe orders, local scenic spots and shopping malls also invited her to demonstrate the tiger head shoe making skills on the spot.
"Tiger head shoes are one of the traditional Chinese handicrafts, and when I was a child, I often saw old people sewing tiger head shoes in my hometown in northern Shaanxi, and I became very interested in it." Wang Haiyan told reporters that in the past three decades, she has made thousands of pairs of tiger head shoes of different materials and shapes.
Wang Haiyan shows off her handmade tiger head shoes. Party field photo
Wang Haiyan said that in the early stage of making tiger head shoes, it is necessary to draw drawings, then select suitable materials, and finally cut the fabric by hand, stitch and thread the sole, and then sew. Pure cotton cloth to make the sole, gold velvet to make the upper, high-quality cotton to fill the inside, to make a good pair of qualified tiger head shoes, like Wang Haiyan such a skilled craftsman, it also takes four or five days.
"With the continuous improvement of living conditions, the aesthetics of many young parents have also changed, and they feel that tiger head shoes are a bit 'soil', and they also buy brand children's shoes for their children." The shrinking market, combined with the time-consuming and laborious process, has led to fewer and fewer craftsmen willing to make tiger shoes. Wang Haiyan believes that handmade tiger head shoes are more "vivid" and have the characteristics of warmth, breathability and environmental protection, which are difficult to replace by machines.
Wang Haiyan is making tiger head shoes. Party field photo
In order to promote the making skills of tiger head shoes, Wang Haiyan often goes to the campus and the community to teach. Her teaching style is more free, not demanding that students know the procedures and details of tiger head shoes, but let more people experience the care of the older generation for the younger generation through contact with tiger head shoes.
Different styles of tiger head shoes patterns. Party field photo
"A lot of folk art disappears often because it has lost the 'soil' of existence, and people don't know what the purpose of learning it is. So when I teach tiger head shoes to make, I don't have any requirements for the inheritance of skills, but I hope that more people will like this way of expressing love by hand. Wang Haiyan laughed and said that many of her students often made a sachet or pendant when learning to make tiger head shoes. For her, this impulse to make objects for the people she loves is the original meaning of the tiger head shoe technique. (End)