Reporter Li Hongyan photo report:
Old trade is a general term for all walks of life that are disappearing in society. The division of labor between different occupations in society is more uniformly called "line". What is done in the industry is called "dang".
With the change of the times and the passage of time, many traditional handicrafts have gradually been mechanized and scaled, and some old artists who have mastered traditional skills have either passed away or been forgotten by society; the increasingly serious phenomenon of "old trades" and "people dying" is the last thing anthropologists, folklorists and literary and artistic people want to see.
"Shaving head" is an ancient profession of Chinese folk, with exquisite craftsmanship and a long history. After the reform and opening up, although there are now hair salons and professional beauty salons everywhere, this traditional craft has not been lost in some remote areas of China.
In lei gang market in Dongda Eight Town, Yangdong Province, Guangdong Province, several elderly people are still under the big trees, on the street or in the alleys, serving their old patrons for decades, especially on the Market Day and the New Year's Festival.
However, as the times changed, and seeing that there were fewer and fewer old patrons, the shavers began to feel lonely, and they could not help but worry about the rest of their lives.
Their greatest wish is to be able to live a clean and dignified life with a craft until they leave this world, without disturbing their children or causing them trouble. Most of them learned to shave their heads around the age of twelve, and have been doing it for most of their lives now.
Li Bo, who shaved his head in the old shop, is now seventy-three years old, alone, still not dazzled, his hands are not shaking, his service is thoughtful, and he is deeply loved by the old patrons.
Time passes slowly, and life is calm and quiet, day after day. The shaver goes out early every morning as usual, cutting the hair, shaving the head, shaving the face, cutting the nose, and massaging the arranged old patrons one by one. In my spare time, I chat or play mahjong... In fact, "old trade" is a kind of nostalgia for people, and it is people's eternal memory of urban and rural areas.
Red dust rolls in, and the years go by. How many industries have been brilliant for a while, how many industries have accompanied us to grow, and how many industries have faded from our sight? How to protect and promote development and better enter the era of "cultural well-off"? It is worth the parents and officials to ponder.
(Reporter/Li Hongyan Editor/Fan Changtian Editor/Chen Wenkai Final Review/Wu Desheng Intern/Feng Xiaolin)
Special Thanks:
Leigang Village Committee of Daba Town, Yangdong District, Yangjiang City
Supported by:
School of Urban Culture, South China Normal University- Research Center for Cultural Creativity and New Media
School of Urban Culture, South China Normal University- Research Group on Intangible Cultural Heritage