Tangchang cloth shoes is a branch genre of Melaleuca cloth shoes, which originated from raw-edged cloth shoes in Western Sichuan and has a history of more than 700 years.
According to historical records, ordinary people were forbidden to wear boots in the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, mullite-sole cloth shoes became a necessity for thousands of people and became popular among the people.
Pixian County (now Pidu District, Chengdu) has a long history of producing mullet-sole cloth shoes.
Different from the general hemmed cloth shoes, the raw-edge grooved cloth shoes are popular in western Sichuan, and their soles and uppers are made with unique craftsmanship.
The soles of this kind of raw-edged cloth shoes are treated with sand edges, making them more durable.
Recently, Tangchang cloth shoes were selected as the fifth batch of national intangible cultural heritage representative items list.
There are many kinds of Tangchang cloth shoes, including grooved shoes, elastic shoes, 靸 shoes, embroidered shoes, trip shoes, lazy shoes, riding shoes, exercise shoes, wowo shoes, etc. more than 20 kinds.
According to Lai Shufang, the non-genetic inheritor, there are more than 30 major processes and more than 100 small processes in hand-made cloth shoes, and each process must not be sloppy.
(Reporter Wang Jue produced the video of Lu Huiqian, sourced from Rong Media Center, Pidu District, Chengdu)
Editor in charge: [Wang Kai]