EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China

 September 4, 2023
EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Click the photo and watch the video.

 

RONGSHUI, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) — Wuying Village is a Miao ethnic group hamlet that nestles snugly in the towering mountains stretching across the border between Guangxi and Guizhou.

"Liang Bu", named for its glistening appearance, is a kind of traditional hand-made cloth of Miao ethnic group.

Women of Miao ethnic group in Wuying plant woad in spring and harvest it in fall. They soak woad in water for days before mixing it with materials such as lime, to make the dye for "Liang Bu". It usually takes months to make a piece of "Liang Bu" after repeated process of dip-dyeing, drying, pounding, applying egg white and steaming. The cloth gradually becomes glistening owing to tens of thousands of poundings by villagers with traditional wooden hammers. After cutting, sewing, embroidery and ironing, a set of glossy "Liang Bu" clothes is finally done with up to one year spent from the planting of woad in general.

Subject to its complicated producing techniques, "Liang Bu" was once rarely seen. In recent years, it was gradually favored again thanks to the development of local tourism and the improvement in people's awareness of traditional cultural protection.

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Liang Zuying dries the cloth after dip-dyeing in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Aug. 31, 2023. [Xinhua/Hu Xingyu]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Liang Zuying harvests the woad on a mountain in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Aug. 29, 2023. [Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Liang Zuying soaks the newly harvested woad in water in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Aug. 29, 2023. [Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Pan Huami dyes the cloth in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Sept. 2, 2023. [Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Liang Zuying adds lime into the water with woad soaked to make the dye in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Aug. 31, 2023. [Xinhua/Hu Xingyu]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Liang Zuying adds lime into the water with woad soaked to make the dye in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Aug. 31, 2023. [Xinhua/Hu Xingyu]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
This photo shows the water after soaking woad in it for three days in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Aug. 31, 2023. [Xinhua/Hu Xingyu]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Liang Zuying dyes the white cloth in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Aug. 31, 2023. [Xinhua/Hu Xingyu]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Liang Zuying dries the cloth after dip-dyeing in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Aug. 31, 2023. [Xinhua/Hu Xingyu]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Liang Zuying dries the unfinished "Liang Bu" in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Aug. 30, 2023. [Xinhua/Hu Xingyu]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Wei Meili (R) pounds the cloth with the traditional "Liang Bu" hammer in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Sept. 2, 2020. [Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Liang Zuying steams the cloth in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Aug. 30, 2023. [Xinhua/Hu Xingyu]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Liang Zuying (R) pounds the cloth with the traditional "Liang Bu" hammer in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Aug. 31, 2023. [Xinhua/Hu Xingyu]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Liang Zuying takes egg white for applying on the cloth in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Aug. 30, 2023. [Xinhua/Hu Xingyu]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Wei Meili (R) applies egg white on a piece of "Liang Bu" in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Sept. 2, 2020. [Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Wu Meiqiu applies egg white on a piece of "Liang Bu" in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Aug. 31, 2023. [Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Liang Zuying steams the cloth in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Aug. 30, 2023. [Xinhua/Hu Xingyu]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Pieces of "Liang Bu" are dried at a square in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Sept. 2, 2023. [Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Liang Zuying (R) and Wu Meiqiu sew "Liang Bu" costumes in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Aug. 31, 2023. [Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Wu Meiqiu (R) takes Liang Zuying's measurement for making "Liang Bu" costumes in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Aug. 31, 2023. [Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Liang Zuying makes embroidery in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Oct. 19, 2019. [Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Liang Zuying (1st L) makes embroidery in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Oct. 18, 2019. [Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Children watch the making of "Liang Bu" in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Sept. 7, 2022. [Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Children learn to use the traditional "Liang Bu" hammers in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Nov. 14, 2022. [Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Pan Meimei and her husband make the traditional "Liang Bu" hammers in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Jan. 15, 2023. [Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Liang Zuying (3rd L, front) displays "Liang Bu" and traditional costumes with other locals during a "Liang Bu" cultural festival in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Oct. 25, 2020. [Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang]

 

EnchantingGuangxi | From Woad to Cloth: The Make of Glossy 'Liang Bu' of Miao Ethnic Group in S China
Liang Zuying (1st L) displays "Liang Bu" and traditional costumes with other locals during a "Liang Bu" cultural festival in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Oct. 25, 2020. [Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang]

 

(Source: Xinhua)

32.3K

Please understand that womenofchina.cn,a non-profit, information-communication website, cannot reach every writer before using articles and images. For copyright issues, please contact us by emailing: website@womenofchina.cn. The articles published and opinions expressed on this website represent the opinions of writers and are not necessarily shared by womenofchina.cn.


Comments