China News Network, Hangzhou, June 26th (Reporter Qian Chenfei, intern Gao Shunhuan) "Dragon boat is the most precious thing in Jiangcun. We lived by the water when we were young, and we rowed when we were born. The love for dragon boat is carved in the bones. "Yu Jianliang is a Jiangcun from Hangzhou. The four generations of his family are all boatmen. He is also the main member of the dragon boat team. He has witnessed the rise and fall of Jiangcun dragon boat, and it also proves the inheritance of dragon boat culture from generation to generation.

Dragon Boat Victory in previous years. Photo courtesy of Jiangcun Street

  Jiangcun, located in the core area of ​​Xixi Wetland in Hangzhou, is a place famous for the Dragon Boat Race on the Dragon Boat Festival. Yu Jianliang, 40, is just the youngest boatmaker in the entire Jiang Village for just 5 years. His master is his 63-year-old father Yu Guoyan. Master Yu, who has been a dragon boat for nearly 40 years, inherited his craft from his father.

  As a national intangible cultural heritage, Jiangcun Dragon Boat is complex and elaborate in production, from material selection, chopping board, sanding, splicing, nailing, stuffing, painting, decoration to water test, every step is very elegant.

Yu Guoyan is planning a ship board. Photograph by Qian Chenfei

  "It's hard and tiring to hit a boat. Taking nails, you need to work together with your waist, hips, and hands. The whole body is squeezing the boat board and moving while hitting the nails. The 8 cm long nails need to be hit in one breath. 80 pieces." Yu Jianliang said, "The two of them worked together to build a dragon boat, which took at least half a month and used thousands of nails."

  "My grandfather's generation of artificial dragon boats were all pulled with a saw, and I grew up listening to the sound of'shasha' sawing wood." Yu Jianliang recalled, "Although the tools are more convenient now, the dragon boat still needs to Purely handmade, it relies on the craftsmanship of the boatman."

  "This is the number of people who can make dragon boats in the entire Jiangcun Village." Yu Jianliang extended five fingers and shook his hands. "Too few orders can hardly support the family's life. This year, affected by the epidemic, I only received one dragon boat. An order for two ships to avoid the ship. Now fewer and fewer people are willing to take the hardship. A young man in his 30s came to learn to play boating. He lost 6 pounds a month and could not afford to give up."

Repair Xixi Wetland Cruise. Photograph by Qian Chenfei

  As a new generation of "boat builders", Yu Jianliang also wanted to make new ideas on the dragon boat. He showed a few photos of the oars in his mobile phone, with blue water lines painted on the oars, and the majestic Wolong was opening his mouth to spray water, which was vivid. "These paddles are very different from traditional paddles. The drawing is very beautiful and it is also the direction I want to try."

  Dragon boat is the unique complex of Jiangcun people. From the beginning of the Ming Dynasty to the present hundreds of years, the custom of dragon boating in Dragon Boat Festival in Jiangcun Village has never stopped. In Jiangcun, there is a saying that "the Dragon Boat Festival is as big as the year". Affected by the epidemic this year, Long Zhousheng will be pressed the pause button, Yu Jianliang has no regrets in his heart.

Yu Guoyan is repairing the damaged ship. Photograph by Qian Chenfei

  He introduced that Jiangcun Dragon Boat does not race at speed, looks at tricks, pays attention to skill and beauty, and has its own unique strokes. The position of the stern squat is particularly critical. The squat is often the core figure of the team. Yu Jianliang has been standing in this position for more than ten years. This is something he is particularly proud of. "My dad is the oarsman in the first position of the dragon boat, and the most important task is to take care of the dragon head. We work together head to tail."

  As the aborigines “wash their feet and go ashore”, the enthusiasm of the younger generation for dragon boating is gradually waning, and the inheritance of dragon boat culture has encountered difficulties. "There are many ceremonies on the dragon boat, including beggars, red hats, etc. Every step has been paid attention to, but now there are fewer and fewer young people who really understand Jiangcun dragon boat." Yu Jianliang was worried about the inheritance of Jiangcun dragon boat.

  What makes him happy is that more and more people are now actively participating in the inheritance and protection of the dragon boat culture. Yu Jianliang's son is in the fourth grade of elementary school. Last year, a luxurious "full-fledged dragon boat" that completely restored the old country's national style entered the campus, and his son was full of praise. Local schools often organize children to walk into the Jiangcun Dragon Boat Exhibition Hall, walk into the craft workshop for boatmen, and learn dragon boat knowledge up close.

  It was also the Dragon Boat Festival of the year. Although Yu Jianliang couldn't take his son to participate in the dragon boat race together, Jiangcun Street held activities such as children drawing dragon boats and people reading dragon boats. The four generations' feelings of dragon boat remained undiminished. (Finish)