The local specialty of Liye town

In the long-term practice of production and life, Tujia people have created unique national arts and crafts from generation to generation with their own wisdom, which makes them full of magical artistic charm in their lives.

Tujia arts and crafts include Tujia brocade, embroidery, pottery making, printing and dyeing, carving and weaving. They were created and enjoyed by Tujia people from generation to generation. Therefore, it is deeply rooted in the customs and habits of Tujia people, living quietly with Tujia people, and truly expressing the aesthetic and artistic interests of unearthed family members.

In areas where Tujia people live in compact communities, when a girl gets married, her family will give her a set of wooden dowry and bedding. The most precious of these bedclothes is Tujia brocade quilt. These tapestries are accompanied by relatives of the elders, and some are created and accumulated by the girls themselves on the loom after learning tapestries. The tapestry quilt made by this girl herself is not only a sign of material wealth, but also a sign for Tujia people to measure whether a girl is smart and hardworking, and a measure of personality value. Therefore, weaving Tujia brocade has become a common habit of Tujia girls. In some areas, new progress has been made in the situation that women are diligent in hand-knitting and many families are noisy long ago.

Tujia brocade is woven on a wooden oblique waist loom. This loom consists of main parts such as frame, loom, roller and seat plate. Miss Jin is sitting on a chair with a knife in her hand, such as cow bone or silver copper, and a hemp basket next to it. The colored thread was put in the hemp basket and she began to knit. Tujia brocade pays attention to color matching. Generally, red, blue and cyan cotton yarns are used as warp yarns, and cotton, silk or wool yarns of various colors can be freely selected as weft yarns. It is woven by warp and weft breaking and reverse weaving.

At the age of twelve or thirteen, Tujia girls sat on the loom seat, fastened their belts and began to learn brocade under the guidance of adults. From three to five months to more than a year, the little girl became a little weaver who basically mastered brocade skills and could get on the plane alone. As for the exquisite craftsmanship, the mastery of traditional patterns, and the embodiment of one's creativity and imagination, all depend on the sensitivity and hard-working spirit of the Weaver Girl.

Brocade girls have accumulated more than 200 kinds of traditional patterns through hard work and generations of elutriation. Its outstanding feature is that Tujia brocade is closely related to Tujia life customs, and almost all aspects of Tujia lifestyle have become the subject area of Tujia brocade.

First of all, the theme of animals

Tujia people have lived in mountainous areas for generations, so they are almost as familiar with birds and animals living in mountainous areas as their poultry and livestock. Therefore, the patterns representing various animals have become an important part of Tujia brocade patterns. For example: stone cliff (small animal) flower, monkey hand flower, pheasant tail flower, sparrow flower, big dog tooth flower, cat foot flower, horse (pony) flower, tiger head flower and so on.

Second, the theme of plants

Tujia people love beautiful, natural and green life, planting and harvesting, and integrate their own creations with the masterpieces of nature in their work. In the traditional pattern of Tujia brocade, there are a large number of frames to display plants, which is the embodiment of Tujia habits. Such as plum blossom, rattan flower, leek flower, rose, moon red, golden hook lotus, stinky peony flower, various chrysanthemums, star anise fragrant flower, thorn flower, thoreau tree, rouge flower, etc. It was so beautiful and bright that butterfly lovers was puzzled by brocade girl's skillful hands.

Third, the theme of daily necessities.

Tujia people love life and are good at it. Walking into Tujia wooden house, I saw a piece of common and practical furniture, which was wonderful and intriguing in Tujia brocade patterns. Such as table flowers, chair flowers, baba flowers, chessboard flowers, barrel cover flowers, box flowers, tofu flowers and so on. Everything is woven into a brocade pattern.

Fourth, the theme of Tujia customs.

For example, after the autumn harvest, Tujia villages often see the bride's sedan chair, officials, Fujian, flag-bearers, stringed instrument players, horseback riders and dowry givers (boxes, cabinets, tables, chairs, quilts, vases and dressing tables) walking in the procession.

Five, Tujia historical and political themes.

Historically, Tujia people have been ruled by the chieftain system for a long time, and the feudal chieftain was also graded. Tujia people regard Tusi Wang as the center of power and rule, so there are patterns such as "Four Phoenix for Seal" and "Tusi Wang Wu Yin" in Tujia brocade. India is a symbol of the ruling power, and the recognition and awe of India is a cultural heart of Tujia people. "Four Phoenix Seals" are four vibrant phoenix arches with a square seal on them. "Five seals of the king of the earth" is a big seal in the middle of the king of the earth connecting four small seals in all directions, which means that the core of power is the king of the earth, which governs the small toast in all directions. This sense of hierarchy is manifested in many Tujia customs. For example, orderly habits, emphasis on family and so on.

6. Deeply influenced and inspired by China culture.

No matter from the psychological state or living habits, Tujia is an open nation, so it was quickly influenced by China culture. For example, Tujia people like good luck and fame consciousness, which is the same as China culture. So "Happy Birthday", "Long Life", "Carp yue longmen", "Two Dragons Grab the Treasure", "Palace One Product", "Morning Phoenix", "Lion Rolling Embroidery Ball", "Dragon Boat Flower" and "Dragon Rhyme Map" entered the traditional pattern of Tujia Brocade.