What does it look like when selling Korea was rejected by CCTV and Tik Tok was praised for 5.56 million yuan?

Speaking of oil-paper umbrellas, perhaps the first thing people think of is the poem Rain Lane in the primary school textbook, in which a girl as sad as lilac floats before our eyes; Or think of the White Snake and Xu Xian, starting with the beautiful legend of "borrowing and returning an umbrella" by the broken bridge. ......

Modern people have higher and higher requirements for the practicality of daily necessities. Low-cost and portable industrial umbrellas have become people's first choice, and hand-made oil-paper umbrellas that have been passed down for thousands of years have gradually moved away from our daily lives.

In recent years, with the growing subculture of young people such as Hanfu, COS and Guofeng games on social media, people have received some folk things such as oil-paper umbrellas, which seems to be reviving in a new life form.

Most people can't help but sigh "how beautiful!" For those young ladies walking down the street with beautiful oiled paper umbrellas and Hanfu.

Wen Shishan, a master of hand-made umbrellas, said that he would never forget the picture: the college student wearing Hanfu took a photo with my oil-paper umbrella and I watched them holding it. It's really beautiful. He couldn't help feeling: fortunately, he didn't give up that year.

Fuyang Umbrella Village, which was once very prosperous more than half a century ago, is now the only one still making umbrellas. After uploading some pictures of his umbrella to Tik Tok platform, he attracted 600,000 fans and won 5.56 million likes in more than half a year.

Wen Shishan said: "I want to let more young people remember and inherit this' non-legacy' through Tik Tok!" His works are affectionately called "Uncle Wen's umbrella" by fans.

Wen Shishan was born in Daoling Natural Village, Fuyang. There are many bamboos here, and bamboo happens to be the main raw material for making oil-paper umbrellas. Wen Shishan's father used to be a famous local umbrella maker.

In 1970s and 1980s, with the appearance of nylon steel umbrella, oil-paper umbrella gradually withdrew from the market. For a living, Uncle Wen's father also gave up making umbrellas.

Until the old secretary of the village begged him to revive this traditional craft, it had been broken for more than 20 years. Wen Shishan began to learn the craft of making oil-paper umbrellas when he was in high school. There is no complete craft to refer to, so he can only explore and improve it step by step by himself, look it up elsewhere and rediscover the craft that has been lost for more than 20 years. This class is more than 30 years.

Through continuous exploration, Wen Shishan improved his father's 72 processes at that time to the current 106 process, and made more efforts in material selection and production technology.

Sawing bamboo tube, slicing, drilling, slotting, making umbrella tray, threading umbrella frame, color matching, pasting umbrella surface, threading decorative thread, painting, perming, sawing claws, folding umbrella ... after more than 100 processes, it is considered as finished.

He once said: "I set myself a standard of 50 years without moths and promised a lifetime free warranty." Under the premise of strict quality control, the manufacturing process of handmade oil-paper umbrella is complicated, so more than 10 people are invited to help in the factory at ordinary times, but some key processes can only be completed by themselves.

When Typhoon Lichima swept through Zhejiang last time, Uncle Wen specially released a wind resistance test of his umbrella, which was superior to ordinary industrial umbrellas. This video was praised by more than 800,000 netizens in just 2 days.

China oil-paper umbrella has a long history. After Cai Lun improved paper in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there appeared an oil-paper umbrella waterproof with tung oil. Later, in the development, literati wrote poems, painted on umbrellas and expressed their feelings.

Oil-paper umbrellas were introduced to Japan and Korea in the Tang Dynasty. It was called "Tang umbrella" in Japan in the early days, and later renamed "He umbrella". In Japan, oil-paper umbrellas are often used as props in traditional weddings and dances, and are increasingly nationalized, becoming an important symbol of Japanese kabuki music.

1987 There is a friendship project between Hangzhou and Gifu, Japan, which involves paper umbrellas. The Japanese asked Master Wen to make an umbrella. At first, they were not satisfied with China's oil-paper umbrella. They dislike that the craft is too rough and the skeleton is not strong enough, so they specially invite technicians to guide them.

After learning from each other, the Japanese umbrella-making technology was combined with the traditional technology in China, and the quality of umbrellas was recognized, which was well received by Japanese customers and successfully opened the Japanese market.

The Korea Paper Umbrella Association was very excited after seeing Uncle Wen's works on the Internet, and invited the couple to go to Korean TV station for related shooting, but Uncle Wen refused without hesitation.

Uncle Wen said, "After they bought my machinery and equipment, this oiled paper umbrella is theirs, and they are going to apply." A simple and straightforward sentence shows his attitude of sticking to China's traditional culture, and won the praise of 350,000 netizens.

In fact, not only Korean TV stations want to shoot, but even CCTV wanted to shoot Uncle Wen's umbrella more than ten years ago. At that time, Uncle Wen felt that he had many orders, especially overseas orders, and he didn't need much exposure and fame. He was also worried that his key technology would be leaked, so he filmed in Sichuan and Fujian.

Later, Luzhou oil-paper umbrella became famous all over the world and applied for national intangible cultural heritage. In the meantime, Uncle Wen made his own umbrella in obscurity for several years, and it was not until 20 14 that he won the title of provincial intangible cultural heritage. I feel a little regretful when I think about it later.

265438+2008 10, in an invisible event, the founder of video production agency seeking antiquity found Uncle Wen and sought cooperation with short video platform.

Uncle Wen doesn't want to repeat the mistake of refusing CCTV interviews. He felt that he had missed an opportunity to clear his name, and he didn't want to miss it again. In addition, he hoped that more young people in China would pay attention to the beauty of traditional oil-paper umbrellas in China. (Before, as long as Uncle Wen's umbrella was sold to Japan, South Korea, Europe and America, almost no one paid attention to it in the domestic market, which made him very upset. )

From the release of the first video to the present, but in about 8 months, "Uncle Wen's Umbrella" has accumulated 600,000 fans and won 5.56 million likes. According to the platform data, the sales of a single video can reach up to 60,000 yuan, and many people start to buy directly under the short video connection.

"The original list of foreign markets is not available. Now we have to deal with domestic orders, and the orders have been scheduled for next year. " There are too many orders, the production speed can't keep up, the assembly line can't be produced, and buyers and sellers are easy to dispute.

Uncle Wen is also very worried about this: "Too many orders are not a good thing. It takes decades to establish a brand. If it fails, it may take several months. " Too hasty, too market-oriented, may be good intentions to do bad things. A good craftsman does not lack the market, and it is true to do things well. You can't change your original intention of making umbrellas in order to increase your income.

"Many people suggest that I spend more time on aesthetics and not be too practical, which will sell much faster; Actually, it's right Intangible heritage should change with the times, but oil-paper umbrellas used to be practical daily necessities. If this aspect changes, the original taste will be gone.

I'm afraid that after decades and hundreds of years, future generations no longer know its craft, but think that oil-paper umbrellas are just for good-looking photos. "

As the saying goes, "there are many people who are red." In addition to the control of technology and output, some people questioned his motivation to make videos, saying that he made up stories and sold his feelings. Uncle Wen's simple words convinced many people. He said, "If I make it up, my neighbors and friends in my village will laugh at me."

Now, Wen Shishan is still teaching in a university. The first lesson he gave his students, the first question was "Do you know the oiled paper umbrella in China?" He wants more young people to understand and inherit this "non-legacy".

"I am also worried that no one will inherit this skill. I didn't expect young people to take the initiative to learn. " Uncle Wen is very pleased with this. The good things left by our ancestors should be carried forward by more young people.

(Some text sources refer to Fuyang Daily and qianjiang evening news, and some pictures are from Petal Net, which has been deleted. )