The inheritance and prancing of the folk "Tiger" art of Shanxi Shidetang

"Shidetang" cloth tiger toy (data picture)

"Shidetang", Jinnan made a family of Buhu. After more than a hundred years, it is still step by step, innovating and adapting.

"Hey! There are cloth tigers here, very cute!" Looking at the hand-stitched folk art that is rarely seen on the market, the young people sighed with novelty. The cloth tiger is refreshing and bright in the dazzling array of modern toys.

With the development of the economy, the advancement of science and technology, and the improvement of living standards, the era of cloth tigers has passed, replaced by modern toys such as Altman, Transformers and remote control cars. But for those born before the 1970s, Buhu is not only a toy, a handicraft, but more importantly, it conveys a spirit and a culture.

Located in Houma City, Shidetang has a reputation in the Jinnan area and is a family of Buhu. The "Shidetang" cloth tiger has also become a representative of similar handicrafts.

The old name of the tiger is enduring - great popularity

Wang Chengzhi, the fourth generation descendant of Shidetang, told reporters: "In the hearts of Chinese people, tigers are a symbol of exorcism and avoidance of disasters, peace and good fortune. People in Shanxi Jinnan have a folk custom of 'family, lions, tigers, and happiness" since ancient times. Popular in the market, especially in the past year of the Tiger, the cloth tiger is more popular, and orders from all over the world are coming."

Since ancient times, Buhu has been widely circulated in Chinese folklore. It is a folk craft with great local flavor. Whether it is in the corner of the door and the door, or in the wall of the door, whether it is in the curtains or the pillows, Children must be equipped with a lion and a beast. It is the crystallization of the wisdom of the working people and expresses the good wishes of the working people for their natural life. The centuries-old “Shidetang” Buhu is a witness to the specific regional culture and spiritual sustenance of the Jinnan people.

Since the birth of this font, it has been more than 100 years old. The cloth tiger craft has been inherited by many generations of old artists, and it has been perfected, especially the fourth generation descendant Wang Chengzhi, which makes Buhu shine in the inheritance and development. Wang Chengzhi was influenced by the family, especially his mother Cui Yuxian, and had a special liking for the production of Buhu. In his hands, the cloth tiger seems to have life, thick but not cute, exaggerated but vivid.

"Shidetang" has a variety of forms, including single-headed tigers, double-headed tigers, pillow tigers, lions and tigers, etc., or bold and unconstrained, or small and exquisite. Tiger's creative design is carried forward in the generation of Wang Chengzhi. More than 70 kinds of tigers such as Pocket Tiger, Jinyang Tiger, Flying Tiger, Qilin and Ruyi Hufu are his efforts.

Combining modern decoration with traditional culture is the "secret" of the "Shidetang" cloth tiger. It is under the guidance of this concept that Wang Chengzhi created "Dragon Teng Yue", "Return to the Moon" and "Auspiciousness". "Ruyi" and other series of tiger jewelry, and won the silver medal in the 6th Chinese folk art "10,000 pieces of folk art treasures", "Shidetang" Buhu craft room was also listed as "teaching practice base" by "Shanxi Engineering College Art Department" . He was also named “Outstanding Inheritor of Folk Art in Shanxi Province” by the Provincial Folk Literature and Art Association in 2007, and the Buhu of Shidetang was listed as the Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Project of Shanxi Province.

Fine production into a development "bottleneck" - only persistence

Jinnan "Shidetang" Buhu Studio was established in 1993. It was established by Wang Chengzhi to rescue and protect the folk fabric art of Jinnan and to reproduce the ancestral family name "Shidetang". He specializes in the research, excavation, arrangement, creation and propaganda of the folk traditional Buhu culture, carefully creating the “Shidetang” Buhu brand, and provokes the burden of carrying forward the “Shidetang” cloth and folk crafts.

“The 'Shidetang' cloth tiger is made of silk, and each tiger body decoration adopts the traditional expression technique of 'plate gold, round gold, buckle gold', with a variety of silk, pearl, gold thread, cinnabar, spices, Combined with embroidery decoration, there are many manual craftsmanships.” The artist of “Shidetang” told reporters that a piece of cloth tiger must be cut, sewn, filled, dug, embroidered, edging, embellished, shaped and shaped from design to completion. Waiting for more than one process, it is quite stressful when it is made. It must be sizing, ironing, proofing, piping, and nanowires.

Their cloth tigers pay attention to the production of pure fabrics. Even small parts such as eyes, eyebrows, nose, ears, mouth, and whiskers must be made of cloth. Only one pair of eyes can be produced in more than a dozen processes, even if it is a The 1 cm pocket tiger's eyebrows and noses, the "Shidetang" artists must also be stitched together to ensure that each part of the tiger is full of three-dimensionality. When embroidering, it uses a needle, a needle lock, a slewing needle, a needle, etc.

However, pure hand-stitching and fine-made production make the cloth tiger more precious, and at the same time it has become a bottleneck restricting the development of the “Shidetang”. "Take the flying tiger, the whole body is made by hand, the process is 17 times, the time takes 15 days, the production cycle is long, it takes manpower and energy. This kind of sewing machine can not be completed, the market supply and demand Contradictions also restrict development, and the situation is not optimistic." When it comes to this, Wang Chengzhi is guilty.

“Shidetang” Buhu has a long production cycle and low output, which cannot meet the needs of the market. Moreover, most young people are reluctant to engage in this work, so the production mode of small family workshops is difficult to change at the moment, and the cloth tigers are gradually becoming endangered.

In the face of such a dilemma, Wang Chengzhi is not discouraged. He said that the things that are popular among the people are spiritually fascinating, especially cloth tigers. It has become a representative of cloth toys because it has folk folk customs in China. Very close relationship. Moreover, the "Shidetang" cloth tiger craft was uploaded by its ancestors. In the future, no matter what the situation, he will continue to carry forward and carry forward the Chinese folk culture.