Wu Shuigen

With their superb beauty, variety and diversity, the decorative Silver Ornaments of the Miao Ethnic Group are unique among the ethnic minorities inhabiting the various regions of China. The Miao Silver Ornaments produced in Taijiang are particularly outstanding, embracing vivid folk and regional characteristics. These ornaments take full advantage of the perfect ductility and malleability of silver, drawing on the important silversmithing skills of making silver sheets, drawing wires, hammering and welding to produce varied ornaments. These ornaments are inscribed on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

Wu Shuigen began producing silver ornaments at an early age, and he is a representative heir of Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage. He has absorbed the essence of traditional silver processing techniques and consistently innovates to produce highly distinct silver ornaments that are at once simple, precious and ingenious. His works are favoured by the public and collectors.

*CRAFT DEMONSTRATIONS 03 / 03 ~ 11 / 03

Liu Zhongchang

EMBROIDERY OF MIAO ETHNIC GROUP
03 / 03 ~ 01 / 04
2012

The embroidery of the Miao ethnic group has a tremendously rich folk style with superb stitching, elegant refinement, beautiful composition, vivid themes and a diversity of colours. The production techniques are very distinctive, including twin-needle lock embroidery, crepe, braid and thread-sticking embroidery. The embroidery is now on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

Beginning in the late 1980s, Liu Zhongchang opened a number of boutiques in Kunming, Dali and Lijiang, selling the clothing of the Miao ethnic group. Aiming to both inherit and develop the clothing culture of this ethnic minority, she promotes the traditional apparel both at home and abroad, displaying its most distinctive features. Her works have won numerous awards.

*CRAFT DEMONSTRATIONS 03 / 03 ~ 11 / 03

Mo Yanxue

LUSHENG REED MOUTH-ORGAN
04 / 04 ~ 06 / 05
2012

The lusheng is a musical instrument that is an integral part of the Miao ethic group’s social life and entertainment culture. Lusheng music is heard in all major festivals and at many gatherings. There are numerous types of lusheng, varying in timbre and size. The skills involved in building the mouthorgan are normally passed down from masters, generation to generation. The lusheng is inscribed on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

A lusheng builder for four decades, Mo Yanxue has accumulated vast experience. In recent years, he developed a small, gift-sized lusheng measuring 20 cm in length, which has received very wide acclaim. Since 2002, Mo has been the recipient of numerous awards and was named ‘One of the Ten Artisans of Guizhou Province’ and a ‘Senior Folk Craftsman of Guizhou Province’. His works are collected by the Guizhou Federation of Literature and Arts as one of the Province’s ‘Ten Refined Folk Arts’.

*CRAFT DEMONSTRATIONS 04 / 04 ~ 15 / 04

Wang Dengshu

HUANGPING CLAY WHISTLES
04 / 04 ~ 06 / 05
2012

The Huangping clay whistle is a toy developed from the traditional clay figurines of the Miao ethnic group. There are air holes on the underside of the whistle, allowing players to produce clear sounds. Beloved by children, there are over 400 varieties. The smoke from the wood-burning firing process gives them a natural black colouring, which is decoratively painted in red, yellow, blue, white, green and purple patterns. This sculptural musical toy instrument is featured on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

A representative heir of Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage, Wang Dengshu mastered this form of art from senior artisan and creator of the Huangping clay whistle Wu Guoqing. He then gradually optimised the production of Miao clay whistles and developed his own unique style by conducting in-depth research into traditional Miao figurine shapes and patterns. As a result, there is now a greater variety of whistles.

*CRAFT DEMONSTRATIONS 04 / 04 ~ 15 / 04

Song Shuixian

HORSEHAIR EMBROIDERY
30/ 06 ~ 31 / 07
 2012

The horsehair embroidery of the Shui ethnic group is a traditional folk handicraft passed down from generation to generation. Traditionally, the skills are orally inherited by the women in the family, leaving no written records. The works have an embossed texture and colourful appearance when viewed from a distance, earning the craft the moniker ‘living fossil of embroidery’. This art form is now inscribed on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

A representative heir of Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage, Song Shuixian is a senior artisan, whose horsehair embroidery is superb and well-respected. Her magnificent skill at entwining threads of horsetail hair of uniform thickness enables her to embroider clear and appealing patterns, and her use of vivid colours creates delicate, elegant and luxurious works. Song promotes and collects horsehair embroidery and has produced over 3,000 works.

*CRAFT DEMONSTRATIONS 30 / 06 ~ 08 / 07

Yang Fang

DANZHAI BATIK
30/ 06 ~ 31 / 07
2012

There are two types of Danzhai batik created by the Miao ethnic group: the ‘dot’ and the ‘paint’ batik. Dot batik uses lines of round dots arranged in decorative patterns. Paint batik constructs patterns of lines and patches. Generally, the patterns fall into two main categories: relatively abstract ‘geometric patterns’ and ‘natural patterns’ featuring flowers, birds, fish and insects.

An heir and senior Danzhai batik artisan, Yang Fang produces batiks of sheer beauty that fully embrace the Miao ethnic group’s cultural background and history. She founded a professional batik co-operative to cultivate numerous inheritors of the art form and to develop new products for sale both at home and abroad.

*CRAFT DEMONSTRATIONS 30 / 06 ~ 08 / 07