Ye Shuiyun demonstrates how to weave Tujia ethnic brocade. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Duan Xuelian]

Weave time into the brocade

Ye Shuiyun said it takes a whole day to weave two centimeters of a complicated brocade pattern. She and her husband Fu Yuanqing run a fabric store in the scenic old town area of Phoenix. Ye, who is of the Tujia ethnic minority, weaves brocade while her husband, who is Miao, draws wax paintings. The two handcrafters are typical in southwestern China, but nowadays, as machines have replaced manual work, handmade brocade and wax paintings are gradually disappearing.

However, Ye said many people still seek handmade brocade, although it takes longer to make and is comparatively expensive. It is easy to distinguish machine-made brocade from handmade ones - the patterns on handmade brocade are more lively and unique compared to those off the production line.

Ye knows about 200 brocade patterns, most of which portray the daily life of Tujia or Miao people. She is now working on sorting out the patterns and plans to write them into a book. She is also a guest lecturer at Jishou University in Hunan, where she introduces the origin and features of Tujia brocade to her students.

Along with many other ethnic artists of Hunan, Ye brought her brocade to the 2009 Intangible Culture Heritage Exhibition in Beijing. The event has greatly helped advertise Tujia brocade, Ye said.