Tread on the snow to find the trail and approach the cloth tiger
- The protection and development of folk culture is perfectly compatible with the road of rural revitalization
Author Kong Yawei
Cloth tiger is a traditional Chinese folk art that is widely spread in Chinese folklore. The worship of tigers in the mainland can be traced back to the Fuxi period, Liu Yaohan in the "Source of Chinese Civilization" believes: "Fuxi was originally a primitive tiger totem, and historians after the Qin and Han Dynasties had the idea of taking the dragon as the true destiny of the heavenly son." The tiger culture of Qufu was influenced by Confucius to add to the color of human nature. Legend has it that Confucius was born in NishanFuzi Cave, and his mother went out to look for water. Confucius cried. A tiger sniffed and came to feed, and an eagle fanned it with its wings. Then Confucius was born with the saying that "Fengsheng Tiger Raises Eagle fan". Later, nearby villagers sewed a cloth into the shape of a tiger and placed it in their homes to avoid evil and ensure safety. In recent years, the Qufu government has excavated and protected folk art, and bu tigers are also applying for intangible cultural heritage, of which the Fulin bu tigers produced by the Fulin Folk Art Workshop in Zhangqu Village, Xiqian Town, are displayed as representatives in the intangible cultural heritage exhibition room of the Municipal Cultural Center.
The first snow of 2022 came not sooner or later, just as we traced the culture of the Year of the Tiger and walked into a Village of Zhangqu in Xiqian Town. It can be said that the snow is falling outside the window, and the fire inside the house is warm. Flicking the snowflakes on the body, walking into the workshop of the Fu Lin Bu Tiger, a table of presbyopia coarse cloth is particularly eye-catching, and more than a dozen old craftsmen are focusing on the cloth tiger in their hands, or sewing or sticking, or cutting or pasting. It is exceptionally quiet, and the atmosphere of folk culture is permeated with quaintness. Perhaps it is this kind of atmosphere that can pour out all of it, creating a cloth tiger with exquisite workmanship and vivid appearance.
Niu Chenglu, who sat on the south end of the wooden table, was the master of these tigers, and although he was a big old man, his kung fu of threading needles was no worse than that of women. After decades of studying and improving the cloth tiger, he has taken the cloth tiger as his family, and he said that he cannot do without it for the rest of his life. I couldn't help but wonder when I had an unusual affection for Bu Tiger. Boss Niu said: "When I was a child, I grew up with my grandmother, and every day when the sky was just dark, I always saw my grandmother boiling batter and cutting various shapes. Our brothers and sisters grew up wearing tiger head shoes and tiger head hats made by my grandmother. Later, life is better, the younger generation wears less and less, I always look at these shoes and hats when I was a child, the more I look at the more exquisite, the more I look at the more I like, if these things are gone at once, it is still strange and painful. I simply began to learn to do it with such a mood. ”
This is 13 years, he traveled south through the north, in Beijing to sell cloth tigers those days are the most memorable for him. In the five years in Beijing, he studied the cloth tigers he had seen in different styles and different meanings, and finally innovated 27 kinds of folk crafts with the inheritance of traditional pure handicrafts. Among them, there are 12 kinds of cloth tigers, including the spirited peace tiger, the well-behaved tiger with a cute attitude, and the enthusiastic happy tiger, etc., in addition to auspicious elephants, hanging fish, tiger heads, shoes and hats, etc. He said that intangible cultural heritage also needs to be innovated in combination with the original characteristics of the times, so that intangible cultural heritage products can have a way out.
The production of each work must be carefully selected with folk flavor of the fabric, there are old flower series, there are blue print series, even the cotton filled inside also has high requirements, both to choose environmentally friendly and harmless materials, but also to pay attention to the beauty of the work. The filled tiger must be tough and not soft, so as to reflect the majesty of the tiger itself. The decoration of the appearance can be painted, embroidered, cut-and-pasted, digging and other techniques to depict the facial features and patterns of the tiger. The tiger's head needs to be carefully portrayed, such as the brave tiger who repels evil spirits should have a big mouth and a cinnabar inside, in order to ward off evil towns. The gold-sucking two-headed rich tiger has an eyebrow spirit, and its body is printed with two large peony flowers and four green leaves, representing the evergreen cause of prosperity and prosperity. Such intentions not only make BuHu a source of income for him, but also make this folk handicraft an intangible cultural heritage of Jining City, a symbolic image of folk art, and the protection and inheritance of traditional Chinese folk customs.
Grandma Wang, who wears reading glasses, is the oldest here, and she has been working with the cow boss for eight or nine years at 76. She said: "When I am older, I don't work in the field, as soon as I heard that the village has started to make this cloth tiger, I will follow it, I will do it since I was a child, I can get started quickly, and I can earn some money by killing time." "These cloth tigers on Niucheng Road have indeed driven the economy of the village, and there are more than 70 qiao women in the ten miles and eight townships who will work needlework, and now the per capita income is two or three thousand." The pre-production process of cloth tiger is relatively simple and can be taken home to do, which is also convenient for villagers. With the cloth tiger received more and more attention, niu cheng road business is also getting better and better, a month's output of more than 20,000, especially in this period, the upcoming year of the tiger increased a lot of cloth tiger orders, because the cloth tiger production process is exquisite, the pure manual production process consumes time, Niu Cheng lu pushed off more than 100 orders, he said that the dry folk customs, can not only change the process for economic benefits, to take into account the uniqueness of intangible cultural heritage handmade, with the "workshop + farmer" model to slowly increase production, Involving more non-heritage heirs is the best way out for Buhu.
"The countryside is a regional complex with natural, social and economic characteristics, with multiple functions such as life, ecology and culture." At present, intangible cultural heritage is mainly concentrated in rural areas, and rural revitalization is inseparable from the development of intangible cultural heritage. Relying on the pride of intangible cultural heritage craftsmen, and then driving the active participation of rural subjects, mobilizing the initiative and creativity of villagers, and combining the protection of intangible cultural heritage with common prosperity, this road has continuously enhanced the sense of gain and happiness of rural people. The protection and development of folk culture is perfectly in line with the road of rural revitalization, and we look forward to more folk skills going out of the countryside to the world!
About author:Kong Yawei, Zi Ruowei, a native of Qufu, Shandong. He currently works in the Township Publicity Office and has been a lecturer on entrepreneurship for many years. He loves photography, short video shooting and production, and likes literary creation close to life. His works have been published in China Youth Daily, Learning Powerhouse, Mass Network, Qilu Evening News and other media.
One point number Qufu literature and art