Published : 2022-03-28
As time evolves, the careers of young people are becoming more and more diversified. Moreover, an increasing number of people, out of their interest in traditional Chinese culture, have turned the inheritance of this culture into their profession.
Six years ago, Liu Wei, a post-90s "guardian of intangible cultural heritage skills", decided to quit his job and return to his hometown.
Together with a group of craftsmen approaching their sixties, they built their "Kingdom of Paper Umbrellas" in a small mountain village.
Giving up high salary to inherit “paper umbrella sentiment”
Yuhang paper umbrellas have a history of over a hundred years and are widely popular due to their exquisite craftsmanship, superior materials, and durability.
In the past, many travelers who passed by Yuhang would specially buy umbrellas as gifts for friends and relatives in their hometown.
In the mid-20th century, with the emergence of steel-framed umbrellas that can be used in both sunny and rainy weather, paper umbrellas were gradually phased out, and the craft of Yuhang oil-paper umbrellas was on the verge of being lost.
Liu Wei, a post-90s boy, originally worked in a high-paying design job in Hangzhou.
However, in 2015, in order to carry forward his grandfather Liu Youquan's craft of making oil-paper umbrellas, he chose to return to his hometown of Tangbu Village, Yuhang, to learn the craft from his grandfather.
Liu Wei has taken over the craft of paper umbrella making and continued the legacy of Yuhang paper umbrellas.
Liu Youquan is the inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of Yuhang paper umbrellas. Thirty years ago, he walked dozens of miles on mountain roads to bring back more than 100 umbrella skeletons.
At the end of 2006, he gathered four umbrella-making artisans, successfully revived the complex umbrella-making skills, and taught them in the village.
In June 2007, Yuhang paper umbrellas were included in the second batch of Zhejiang Province's list of intangible cultural heritage.
Liu Youquan has been accompanying oil-paper umbrellas all year round, and Liu Wei has been watching his grandfather make paper umbrellas since childhood: tall bamboos in the mountains have turned into strong umbrella bones, and peach blossoms pieces fell into a beautiful umbrella surface...
The "paper umbrella sentiment" also took root in their hearts.
A paper umbrella has to go through more than 70 manufacturing processes, which Liu Wei is now quite familiar with splitting bamboo to make the skeleton, pasting the umbrella surface, stretching floral lines, painting flowers, brushing tung oil...using peach blossom paper as the umbrella surface, soaking it in persimmon lacquer, and sticking it to the umbrella skeleton one by one.
Tied with hairline, after the umbrella surface is pasted, a pattern is drawn, and tung oil is applied. After that, it is hung indoors to dry. This is the final process of production.
This is a process that requires patience. The over 70 steps not only show a young person's love for beautiful things, but it also demonstrates a passionate attitude towards the profession.
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Opening online store to increase sales
Giving up work and life in the city and returning to the countryside to face the tedious process of paper umbrella making every day is not an easy task for any young person.
However, Liu Wei not only considers paper umbrella making as a hobby, but he has also opened a different market for Yuhang paper umbrellas.
He applies his academic background to blend design into umbrella surface painting, making the classic paper umbrella look more fashionable, while opening an online store broadening the sales channels for the paper umbrellas.
The revamped Yuhang paper umbrellas successfully entered the market and are well-received by young traditional-style enthusiasts.
Although paper umbrellas are popular, Liu Wei and the old craftsmen insist on preserving the traditional manual production process.
They make a maximum of 1,000 paper umbrellas each year, pricing each umbrella between 300 to 600 CNY. A paper umbrella, from manufacturing to delivery, generally requires seven days to half a month. Some customers told him after receiving their umbrella, they "hope for rain every day".
In Liu Wei's mind, he hopes that more young people can pick up Yuhang paper umbrellas. They are not only rain gear, but also like Han costumes and national style, becoming a sense of ritual in daily life. It is a "traditional yet stylish sense of ritual."
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