Many people know that you can get sweet honey by scraping off the yellow-white beeswax on the outermost layer of the honeycomb.
But few people know that the layer of beeswax that has been scraped off can still "paint" beautiful patterns.
There are three major printing techniques in my country: clip, twist, and wax.
Among them, "Jia Valerian" and "Jiao Valerian" correspond to printing and tie-dyeing techniques respectively.
Waxie refers to the ancient Miao batik technique of painting with beeswax.
In 2009, the second batch of intangible cultural heritage list of Sichuan Province was announced, and Miao batik was among them.
In Xuyong County, Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, under the influence of her parents, Yang Lei, a Miao girl, embarked on the road of inheriting Miao batik.
Natural painting ice pattern with beeswax pen adds mystery and uniqueness
Miao batik is divided into eight steps: boiling wax, grinding cloth, painting wax, dyeing, dewaxing, rinsing, drying, and sewing.
First, the yellow wax, that is, beeswax, is heated in a wax melting furnace until it melts, and then the yellow wax is dipped with a wax knife to outline the pattern, "just like painting with a brush dipped in ink."
Yang Lei introduced that the special wax knife is a feature of Miao batik.
This wax knife is made of brass that retains heat.
"We use melted yellow wax to outline the pattern on the cloth, and it is necessary to maintain a certain temperature so that we can paint for a long time, so the wax knife pays attention to heat preservation." Yang Lei said.
At the same time, there are also requirements for the colored cloth: "We usually choose pure cotton, cotton linen or silk. These materials are easy to color, and the dyeing effect is also better."
Once the pattern is drawn, dip the cloth in the dye you prepared in advance.
The dye is made from Isatidis leaves.
The specific method is that after placing the leaves of Isatidis in the fermentation tank for 2-3 days, a blue liquid can be obtained, which can be made into indigo mud in about a week, and then the indigo mud can be fermented to dye the cloth.
Yellow wax is hydrophobic, which is the basis for Hmong batik to use yellow wax for dyeing.
When the cloth is dipped into the dye, the blue dye attaches to the cloth other than the pattern, dyeing the cloth blue.
If you like dark blue, you can dye it multiple times and increase the dyeing time. If you like light blue, you can dye it less frequently and for less time.
After the dyeing step is completed, the fabric is dewaxed at high temperature after adding water, and then rinsed.
After the rinsed fabric is dry, it can be used to sew clothes, sachets, and more.
"In the past, the fabric was usually used to make the pleated skirts of Miao girls, and now it can also be used to make household items such as bed sheets and curtains. The use of Miao batik is very wide." Yang Lei said.
The pleated skirts of the Miao people are not only used for wearing, but also hang in front of and behind houses to ward off evil spirits, eliminate diseases, and bless peace.
Yang Lei said that the clothes made of batik are usually worn by Miao people on important Miao festivals such as the Mountain Treading Festival, as well as when they get married and greet important guests, "to express joy, welcome, and respect." Held from the first to the seventh day of the first lunar month, for the Miao family, this is a festival as important as the Spring Festival.
On the day of the festival, men and women who have friendship with each other will also send each other sachets as tokens of love. Such sachets are either hand-sewn or made of batik.
Among the products developed by Yang Lei's studio, the most popular are the sachets of the Zodiac series.
"A feature of batik items is that each product is unique because of the different patterns of ice cracks," Yang Lei said.
Ice pattern is one of the most attractive features of Miao batik.
When the yellow wax on the fabric gradually dries, it will create strips of cracks.
After dipping the fabric into the dye, the dye will drill into the cracks and outline the cracks on the fabric. This is the ice pattern.
"This is unique and mysterious that everyone will like." Yang Lei defines ice patterns in this way.
The art of batik has been handed down from generation to generation by the Miao family and has a history of thousands of years.
Yang Lei said that his family moved to Sichuan from other places and brought along the Miao batik craftsmanship.
In the Miao family, almost every household has objects made of Miao batik.
Some families also keep batik clothes as treasures.
In Yang Lei's memory, his mother also made pleated skirts made of batik.
As a child, Yang Lei liked these skirts very much and felt that "the patterns are rich and very beautiful".
This also planted a small seed in her heart for her to go home to inherit this skill.
Understanding and inheriting the national culture makes more people like Miao batik
The process of liking turning into motivation is slow.
Yang Lei started working with batik at the end of 2018, when her parents decided to return to their hometown for development.
But it was not until she went to study in Guizhou that she was allowed to
I came up with the idea of making my own, "Girls like pretty things, and so do I. I saw that the local Miao families in Guizhou can make many things with batik, in addition to Miao costumes, they also make handbags and other items. I was very interested and wanted to do it myself.”
Studying in Guizhou not only inspired Yang Lei's idea of making batik, but also broadened her horizons.
"Guizhou's Miao batik is very famous, and it started to develop more than ten years earlier than us. I think it will be very meaningful if we can integrate the things we like and let everyone use the new products we developed. "
Yang Lei's parents had hoped that their daughter would go out to find a job and experience it, and Yang Lei agreed.
"At the end of 2020, the family received a relatively large order during that time. My parents were completely overwhelmed, so they asked me if I could come back to help, and I came back. Once I stayed, I stayed until now." Yang Lei recalled.
Learning batik from scratch is hard.
In the process of learning, the step of applying wax with a wax knife dipped in yellow wax is the most difficult step for Yang Lei.
"If you don't master the strength, the waxing will be uneven, and the effect of the painting will be very poor. But if you make a relatively satisfactory work, such as a short sleeve, you will be very proud when you wear it." Yang Lei Think back to learning batik skills.
The first work that Yang Lei made independently and was recognized was a wall hanging of pomegranate flowers.
The four patterns of pomegranate flower, heart flower, butterfly and chicken are the most popular patterns in Miao batik.
"There are many styles of butterflies, all of which symbolize beautiful meanings, such as sweet love, happy marriage, etc. Pomegranates have many seeds, so pomegranate flowers mean many children and grandchildren." Yang Lei said, "Chicken In our Miao ethnic group, it is a mascot, which means auspiciousness and bravery, and is also a symbol of dispelling disasters and warding off evil spirits. Another pattern, the heart-connected flower, symbolizes the heart-to-heart connection of a family and there is no estrangement. The main flower in the middle of our Miao’s waist is, It’s just heart-connected flowers.” Some of the patterns and meanings of these patterns were collected by Yang Lei during interviews with older Miao people.
"After we made batik, we found that we needed to have a deep understanding of the culture of our nation. But when we visited elderly people in their 70s and 80s, many of them didn't remember or knew the meaning of some batik patterns. We have no way of knowing many ancient patterns. Knowing its name and meaning, it is difficult to sort it out. This is a point I feel very regretful." From the end of last year to the present, Yang Lei and other partners have been insisting on visiting the elderly and exploring the national culture.
Yang Lei was born in 1995. In her studio, several young people are learning Miao batik with her.
"Most of the people who do batik around me are between 40 and 60 years old. There are fewer people over 60 years old, and there are fewer young people. We hope that more people will see it." Yang Lei went on to add that he and other partners It is hoped that in the past two or three years, the primary task is to expand the styles and types of Miao batik and solve the problem of market promotion.
"Recently, there is a very popular TV series called "Canglan Jue", which contains headwear made of intangible cultural heritage techniques. I think this is a good example of cross-industry empowerment. If there are opportunities in the future, we also want to strive for Collaborate and innovate in film and television works." Yang Lei said, "Let more people like Miao batik naturally, just like I liked Miao batik at the beginning." Cover reporter Liu Kexin