A local government in
Guizhou Province is spending money to train Shui minority women
to learn horse-tail embroidery, an art form close to
extinction.
Thus far funds have been allocated to train about 600 women to
preserve the 1,000-year-old handicraft.
"We want to make this endangered craft a fast-growing industry
in the county," said Liu Changjiang, a senior official in Sandu
County, the country's only Shui autonomous county in Guizhou.
Despite weak sales in horse-tail embroidery items, 40-year-old
Song Shuixian still believes the handicraft has strong market
potential.
With the support of the Sandu government, she opened a shop 6
months ago.
As a traditional art form of Shui women, it is used as a
decoration on clothes, shoes, wallets and T-shaped bags for
carrying babies on your back.
But the skill is being lost as young Shui women prefer moving to
big cities to work or study.
"It is a complicated procedure," Song said.
A thread for embroidering has to be spun into three thin
threads, which then entwine three to four pieces of horse-tail
hair. The hair is used to create different patterns.
Cross-stitching is also needed to complete a piece.
"Only women in their 50s or 60s still have this skill," the
mother of two sons and one daughter said. "If we don't preserve the
handicraft it will disappear."
It was recently listed as an intangible cultural heritage by the
Ministry of Culture. Born in Bangao village, an area famous for its
horse-tail embroidery, Song learned the craft from her mother. In
1995, she began to collect all sorts of articles and tried to
expand the use of horse-tail embroidery.
"A dress decorated with horse-tail embroidery can be sold for
10,000 yuan (US$1,240)," Song said, adding it may take more than a
month to make such a dress.
In Libo County, another Shui region in Guizhou, many women sell
horse-tail embroidery items at a shopping center.
"Our customers include both local people and tourists," said Yao
Bingtai, a shop owner. "As tourism develops our business will
certainly grow."
If Song's determination is anything to go by, the art form is in
good hands.
"I want to set up a Website to tell the world about horse-tail
embroidery," Song said. "I also want my daughter to learn this
skill when she grows up."
(Xinhua News Agency February 9, 2006)