Production Of Zhangtu Cloth In Debao'Ai, Guangxi: Loom Flying Shuttle Inheriting National Culture

In Aizhangtun, Siying Village, Zurong Town, Debao County, Baise City, Guangxi, the traditional cotton weaving skills of the Zhuang nationality are fully preserved and inherited. Recently, the reporter interviewed Xu Meipang, the successor of Debao Aizhang homespun production technology, to understand the story behind this technology.

The picture shows Xu Meipang, the successor of the local cloth making technique of Debao Pass. Photographed by Lu Chunyao

Xu Meibian was born in Zurong Town, Debao County. Her mother made a living by selling some of her own textiles. Due to lack of hands, the three brothers and sisters of Xu Meipang had to learn weaving from their mother. At that time, 11 year old Xu Meipang was short, so she could not sit on the seat board when weaving, but could only stand on the pedal and weave.

"There is a saying in Aizhang that all women in Aizhang do not weave. At that time, learning to weave was not for art, but to fill their stomachs." Xu Meibian recalled her childhood. Because she was influenced by her mother when she was young, she often exchanged experiences with her neighbors in order to weave the cloth fine and sell it at a good price.

Nowadays, the selection of color lines, the deployment of warp and weft density, and the inspection of pure cotton have to be taught face to face by hand. The homespun fabrics woven by the apprentices are even and flat, even comparable to the products produced by factories and companies.

The picture shows a child who is very interested in cotton weaving. Photographed by Lu Chunyao

With the changes of the times and the rapid development of social science and technology, handmade textiles were once lonely. In order to do a good job in the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage, local relevant departments have dug into intangible cultural heritage such as folk art, handicrafts, folk activities, and organically combined protection, inheritance, development and utilization. At the same time, Zurong Town has also built a village history museum in Aizhang Village, which displays propaganda pictures of various intangible cultural heritage activities, as well as the most distinctive local ethnic costumes, cloth, scarves, bags and shoes made of Aizhang homespun, and also displays textile homespun appliances.

Information picture: Aizhang homespun was displayed on the "Cultural and Natural Heritage Day". Photographed by Lu Chunyao

In 2018, at the 15th China ASEAN Expo, Aizhang homespun scarf was favored by Thai dignitaries and went abroad for the first time. In 2020, the production technique of Debao Aizhang homespun was included in the eighth batch of representative projects of intangible cultural heritage at the autonomous region level in Guangxi. Through a series of activities and appearances on many platforms, the production technology of Debao Aizhang homespun becomes more and more vigorous, and more and more people recognize and like this technology.

Xu Meibian often said, "Now life is getting better and better, but I will not forget, nor can I forget, the skills handed down by the ancestors. I must carry it forward, so that the next generation will know how the older generation lived. This is our valuable ethnic cultural heritage."

(Source: China News Network)