China News Agency, Changsha, February 23rd:
Why does the intangible cultural heritage of Dong brocade make the world "listen to Dong"?
——Interview with Ji Tie, Dean of School of Design and Art, Hunan University
Author Bai Zukai Zhang Xueying
Dong brocade weaving technique is a national intangible cultural heritage, which can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
Today, Dong brocade, once "hidden in the mountains", frequently appears on the international stage, using weaving and design as a medium to set up a channel for cultural exchanges between the East and the West.
What is the charm of intangible cultural heritage Dong brocade that makes the world "listen to Dong"?
Ji Tie, dean of the School of Design and Art of Hunan University, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East and West Questions" to talk about the weaving skills and protection and inheritance of Dong brocade.
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
China News Agency reporter: How did the weaving skills and unique style of Dong brocade come into being? What is the current status of inheritance protection?
Ji Tie: Dong brocade is a symbol of the wisdom of the Dong people. Its weaving skills and style have gone through a long process, reflecting the "use-oriented" creation wisdom of the Dong people in the process of adapting to cultural and ecological changes.
Photo courtesy of Dong brocade hand-weaver interviewees
Photo courtesy of Dong brocade hand-weaver interviewees
The Dong nationality originated from Baiyue. As early as the pre-Qin period, there were records of Yue people weaving kudzu and hemp products.
"Huainanzi·Yuan Dao Xun" records, "Yu Yue gave birth to Ge Zhen".
"Textile History" believes that during the Three Kingdoms period, Shu brocade and its weaving technology were spread to the Dong settlements, which promoted the development of Dong brocade weaving.
The Ming Dynasty "Guizhou Tujing Xinzhi" records that the brocade on the clothing of the "Dongren" (the old name of the Dong people) at that time was already very exquisite, "the weaving flowers are as fine as brocade".
By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the textile craftsmanship of the ancestors of the Dong nationality had formed a unique style, and the patterns and themes were all-encompassing.
During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, "Dongjin" was recorded in "Qianji" compiled by Li Zongfang, which refers to it being woven with five-color ribbons, with various patterns of flowers, trees, animals and animals.
Since the 21st century, the economic level of Dong cultural areas has developed rapidly in the wave of industrialization. In Tongdao Dong Autonomous County of Hunan Province, the craftsmanship of Dong brocade weaving still survives in the strong ethnic customs and traditional customs.
Photo courtesy of the interviewees of the Dongjin Digital Museum
China News Agency reporter: Dong brocade records the history, legends, customs and regional development and changes of the Dong people. What social functions has it carried in the course of more than 2,000 years of development?
Ji Tie: The social functions of Dong brocade are mainly manifested in historical attributes and social attributes.
The Dong people were mainly engaged in farming culture in the early days, and have never formed their own characters. Therefore, the production of Dong brocade basically adopts natural methods and local materials, and most of the graphics are pictographic animal and plant patterns.
With the proliferation of the Dong people, more and more living customs and cultural beliefs have been integrated into the weaving of Dong brocade, forming unique patterns of Dong brocade. The "password" of Dong culture.
The Dong people often use Dong brocade to express their care for the elders and children, and convey the values of hard work and simplicity.
For example, Zhiniang embroidered "spider pattern" on children's straps, implying to protect the healthy growth of children and grandchildren, and hope that children will have perseverance; Condolences and prayers for the deceased; when Dong young men and women make love, the men often present finely carved brocade tools as tokens of marriage proposal, while the women often give embroidered purses, insoles, belts and other items in return.
Photo provided by interviewees of the "Dong Brocade·Watching" series of video works
Reporter from China News Agency: Dong brocade patterns are rich in themes and all-inclusive. How is it different from other weaving techniques? What kind of cultural value does Dong brocade embody?
Ji Tie: Brocade weaving is like delicacies, and each region has its own unique "cuisine".
Yun brocade is bright in color; Shu brocade has gorgeous patterns; Dong brocade is simple and natural, with abstract patterns as the mainstay, mostly arranged in arrays of geometric shapes, which are more suitable for modern design transformation of vectorization and abstraction.
Dong brocade has distinctive features, firstly, the process is complicated; secondly, the color is simple, plain and elegant, mostly blue or black yarns, the brocade is bright and colorful, and weaving weaving into multiple colors; thirdly, the themes are all-encompassing, with hundreds of pattern sources In daily life, such as bamboo root flower, bamboo leaf pattern, cedar tree pattern, etc., are mainly simple and practical.
Photo courtesy of interviewees of traditional Dong brocade and Su brocade
Photo courtesy of interviewees of traditional Dong brocade and Su brocade
Another distinctive feature of Dong brocade patterns is the implied cultural metaphor.
The unique "spider pattern" of Dong brocade originates from the "Dong Ancestor Song", which says that the Dong nationality was conceived by the ancestor "Satianba" whose body was a spider.
Therefore, the spider is a symbol of wisdom, auspiciousness, life, and reproduction in the hearts of the Dong people, and it is also a guardian deity who reassures the soul; embroidering the spider pattern into the Dong brocade has the auspicious meaning of ancestors' protection, many children and many blessings.
These Dong brocade patterns, which deduce the history and culture of the Dong people, deeply reflect the totem worship, religious beliefs, and national cultural psychology of the Dong people to avoid evil and seek good fortune, eliminate disasters and welcome blessings, and coexist harmoniously with nature. They have unique cultural and artistic values.
China News Agency reporter: In recent years, Dong brocade products have frequently appeared on international stages such as Milan World Expo and Paris Expo, and established cooperative relations with Mercedes-Benz, BMW and other brands. What charm does it make the world "listen"?
Ji Tie: In the process of external promotion of regional and national products, we should not only show their visual characteristics, but also show their overall ecological and cultural system with systematic thinking and innovative expressions, so that people around the world can reach cultural identity in resonance .
The abstract pattern of Dong brocade matches the simple and delicate design concept of international brands. It is very suitable for modern design transformation, and can be integrated into modern bags, cushions, home furnishing, etc., and is easily accepted by the market.
"Shuo Shuo" Dong brocade cultural and creative product collection photo courtesy of interviewees
Photo provided by interviewees of "Shuo Shuo" Dong brocade cultural and creative products
The "New Channel" project team of Hunan University used the National Art Fund to create the "New Life-Red Loom" installation, which was invited to tour exhibitions in 12 countries and regions around the world, successfully attracting the attention of a number of international first-line brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW .
We also carry out design cooperation in the promotion of intangible cultural heritage, and help the protection and inheritance of Dong brocade by planning intangible cultural heritage cultural tours, intangible cultural heritage cultural and creative exhibitions, and visits to Dong brocade bases.
"Red Loom" Dong brocade culture installation art design interviewee photo provided
With the deepening of rural revitalization and various intangible cultural heritage protection policies, the subjects who pay attention to and participate in the innovation of Dong brocade intangible cultural heritage protection have become more and more diverse, and have completed the construction of "intangible cultural heritage new ecology" in different stages such as manual production, industrial production, and digital intelligence. It will activate the creativity of multiple subjects, so that the intangible cultural heritage of Dong brocade can ensure continuous vitality in the globalized cultural identity and market communication system.
Photo provided by the interviewees of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Dong Brocade Inheritance Base
China News Agency reporter: "What belongs to the nation is what belongs to the world." How should Dong brocade be innovated and developed to play a unique role in the exchanges and mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations?
Ji Tie: Intangible cultural heritage such as Dong brocade requires different cultural expression and artistic recording methods to spread the cultural and artistic value of rural traditional handicrafts with "localized stories and globalized language".
Photos provided by interviewees of Dong brocade culture tour around the world
First, we must dig out the value connotation and innovate cultural forms.
When the intangible cultural heritage is disseminated to the outside world, it should be driven by design innovation to explore attractive and appealing cultural stories.
For example, when Dong brocade participated in design exhibitions in Milan, Paris and other places, the display device integrated multiple intangible cultural heritage elements such as traditional Dong architecture, paper-cutting, reeds, and big songs, and presented the Dong nationality as a whole in the form of interactive images and other comprehensive art forms. The beauty of intangible cultural heritage.
Second, we must integrate resources from all walks of life, build an innovation network, and use technological innovation to activate cultural communication.
Through design and social innovation methods such as Dong brocade database and online design platform, people can walk into intangible cultural heritage, experience intangible cultural heritage and understand its core cultural value.
Today, the "New Channel" project team of Hunan University has established a network-based international design and social innovation alliance, providing production resource guidance and market channels for participating designers and volunteers, and promoting cross-regional, cross-cultural, interdisciplinary, Cross-field personnel exchanges and cooperation have formed a sustainable "on-site, on-site, online" working mechanism, thereby promoting cross-cultural knowledge sharing and interaction in the era of globalization.
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Respondent profile:
Ji Tie, Dean of the School of Design and Art, Hunan University, the Industrial Design Sub-teaching Committee of the Ministry of Education, and the Secretary-General of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (Cultural and Creative) Assistance Alliance.
He has published 7 monographs including "Community Research and Social Innovation Design", "Digital Communication-Interaction and Image Design", and his works have won professional awards such as Red Dot Award and Gmark.
Since 2009, he has initiated the establishment of the "New Channel" design and social innovation alliance, organized more than 400 designers and artists from 15 countries, and participated in Tongdao Dong Autonomous County in Huaihua City, Hunan Province, Longhui County in Shaoyang City, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, etc. The minority intangible cultural heritage community is the research object, and the design intervention is used to promote the balanced development of local intangible cultural heritage protection and rural revitalization.