“Xilankapu”, also known as Tujia brocade, appeared at the 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE) held from November 5 to 10, allowing the world to appreciate the beauty of intangible cultural heritage in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture with its exquisite craftsmanship, long history, and rich cultural connotations.
“In Tujia language, Xilankapu refers to the flowered quilt covers of the Tujia people. It was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects in 2006,” said Ye Liping, the third-generation inheritor of Tujia brocade.
In the exhibition area of the Hunan Pavilion at CIIE, Ye Liping showed the visitors Xilankapu with different patterns, which are mainly natural object patterns, geometric patterns, and text patterns. They are woven with five-colored silk thread, with blue or black yarn forming a base color.
Xilankapu, woven by an ancient pure wood waist type oblique weaving machine, goes through 12 processes such as spinning, twisting, dyeing, rewinding, and pulling. In addition, its reverse side is embroidered with cross-stitch patterns manually. Compared to modern craftsmanship, although it is time-consuming and labor-intensive, the beauty it presents cannot be reproduced by industrial equipment.
Ye Liping has made continuous innovation in developing Tujia brocade products. She disassembles patterns to make handbags, extends brocade to make table flags, and rearranges patterns to make scarves, eye masks, and pillows, which are more in line with modern usage scenarios. During the CIIE, she sold a lot of creative daily necessities of Xilankapu. She said, “We can enhance the visibility of the enterprise and spread traditional culture through the CIIE.”
Ye’s Tujia brocade has a history of over a hundred years. In 2020, Ye’s Tujia brocade was awarded the title of a “time-honored brand in Hunan” by the Hunan Provincial Department of Commerce. In 2024, Ye’s Tujia brocade is the only one selected as a Chinese time-honored brand in Hunan’s Tujia brocade industry .
Chinese source: hunantoday
