"My sister should be diligent, and diligent should be diligent. Three days full of sap baskets, four days collapsed. The sister hurriedly pulled the taro and asked the mechanic to weave hemp. Ask a mechanic to be lame, long and short and slippery. It takes a few days to weave the hemp, and only after weaving can the pulp be brushed. Dyed linen cloth to make clothes, blue and white have a match. The sister dressed like a celestial fairy, twisting her waist and happy haha. Babbling, sister, uh, dressed like a fairy, love brother he is boasting..."
"Shabu Divine Song" singer Yan Kunji
Yan Kunji, a national non-genetic inheritor, sang his own "Shabu Divine Song" while pulling taro or brushing cloth. Now almost 90 years old, Mr. Yan Kunji is becoming more and more inconvenient to move, and has long retired from the loom, but he is still reluctant to be idle, as long as he has time, he will habitually go to the summer cloth factory to take a look. Although it is only a few hundred meters from home to the factory, but at this distance of several hundred meters, Yan Kunji has walked all his life, and has also witnessed the prosperity and decline of Shabu in Panlong, in Rongchang, and even in the whole country.
In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, the weaving skills of Xia Bu were introduced to Rongchang with the migration of Huguang to Yan Kunji's generation, which has been passed down for 27 generations. "I started holding taro at the age of 8, weaving cloth at the age of 12, and making and selling myself at the age of 15." In the forties and fifties, a shabu could be exchanged for a bag of rice, a basket of eggs, or a piece of meat, which was enough to feed a family. At that time, when the freshly woven shabu was brought to the city, there were people rushing to ask for it, and there was no worry about selling. In order to let everyone have enough to eat, Yan Kunji taught Shabu weaving skills free of charge, and from village to town, more and more people devoted themselves to the Shabu weaving industry.
Rongchang Xia cloth weaving skills
"In the early years, every household in Panlong Town would weave shabu. Many people are pulling taro, dough balls, and combing hemp at their doorstep. By the 90s, the Chabu market was booming like never before. The twine was still on the loom, and the merchant paid the money in advance and slowly waited for delivery. At that time, Panlong Town could be said to be a step-by-step factory, and thousands of looms were running, all of which were woven summer cloth, and demand exceeded demand. From Rongchang to Chongqing, then to Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and finally to South Korea and Japan. "This is the most popular era of Shabu in Yan Kunji's memory.
In the past few years, the heat of the Chabu market has gradually faded, many factories have closed, and many young technicians have also gone out to work. But that didn't stop him from moving forward. In order to inherit this skill left by his ancestors, his eldest son Yan Taigui is the same as him, starting to learn to hold taro at the age of 8 and becoming his father's right-hand man when he was young. But for the moment, Yan Kunji is mixed, happy that his granddaughter Yan Xianying also joined the Chabu industry, and took Shabu to the international stage; The worry is that Yan Xianying is his only grandchild engaged in the shabu industry.
The achievement of Rongchang summer cloth weaving skills
It is gratifying that in recent years, Rongchang Shabu has once again entered public life, cooperating with first-class designers, making clothing bags, opening specialty stores, walking on the international catwalk, and even many people around him have begun to wear Chabu clothes, and some people use it as a fashion. As a handicraft skill that went out of Panlong Town, no matter how the outside world changes, no matter how far it goes or how close it is to the big one, Shabu's handmade skills have never changed. If one day, someone sees an old man with white hair and strong spirits in Panlong Town, holding taro while humming "Shabu Divine Song", it must be Yan Kunji.
Today, his "Shabu Divine Song" has been included in the list of representative inheritance items of intangible cultural heritage at the district level, and is collected by the China Shabu Museum and displayed on the wall for visitors to chant and admire.
Enjoy the guide on site
(1) Transportation routes
1. High-speed rail: Chongqing (Chengdu) Station to Rongchang North Station, and then take public transportation in Rongchang District to reach the destination; 2. Bus: Chongqing (Chengdu) Tourism Distribution Center (long-distance bus station) to Rongchang, and then take public transportation in Rongchang District to reach the destination; 3. By car: Chongqing (Chengdu) central city via Yukun Expressway (or Yurong Expressway) and get off at Rongchang Exit to reach your destination.
(2) Enjoy the landscape
Shabu Town, Shabu Museum, Shabu Calligraphy and Painting Research Institute, Yiqiu Tang Shabu, Jiahe Shabu, Yimeng Covered Bridge, Shabu Hall, Panlong Shabu Square, Panlong Shabu Entrepreneurship Base; Rongfeng River Scenic Area, Changzhou Hometown, Changzhou Bajing Garden, Yudaihe Ecological Park, Haitang Park, Xiangguo Park, Sexihe Sports Park, Yuxi Botanical Garden, Wanling Ancient Town, Antao Town, Ancient Buddha Mountain Scenic Area, Qingjiang River Island, Renyi Sanqi Lake / Baiguo Play, Hebao White Pagoda / Zhenyuan Tang, etc.
(3) Special cuisine:
Braised white goose, yellow cold powder, lamb soup, covered noodles, fried sauce noodles, lard bubbles, dry steamed beef, halal whole beef, shaved pork soup, roast suckling pig, tempeh fish, chutney powder, back pot meat, nine big bowls, gray water dumplings and other special delicacies, unique flavor. Among them, the braised white goose, yellow cold powder and mutton soup have been awarded the titles of "Chinese Famous Cuisine" and "Chongqing Famous Special Snacks", which have become fragrant and well-known classic foods in Shenzhou.
(4) Native products:
Shabu fabrics (clothing, shoes and socks, bags, etc.), Shabu handicrafts (Shabu calligraphy and painting, Shabu folding fans, Shabu ornaments, etc.), exquisite pottery, Rongchang pork, braised white goose, roast suckling pig, folding fan, vermicelli, tea, hemp bamboo shoots, Panlong ginger, etc.