Intangible Cultural Heritage: Innovative inheritance injecting new vitality into Hainan Li brocade
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In Hainan, the southernmost province of China, there is a treasure boasting a history of thousands of years - "Li Brocade," created by the Li ethnic group. As a "living fossil" in Chinese textile history, this ancient art has been passed down from mothers to daughters for generations. In 2009, the Li Brocade was listed by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. 

The production process of Li Brocade includes spinning, dyeing, weaving, and embroidering. Spinning is the first step in the production, during which plant fibers are stretched and twisted into slender yarns. Covered with lush vegetation, Hainan Island has many natural plants and mineral dyes. White cotton thread needs to be dyed multiple times to achieve the desired and long-lasting color. These colorful threads will be woven into the memories and stories of the Li ethnic group in the hands of Liu Xianglan, a national representative inheritor of the Li Brocade techniques. 

LIU XIANGLAN National Representative Inheritor, Traditional Brocade Artisanship of the Li Ethnic Group "I am currently using warps to make jacquard patterns. With the aid of a stick, the warps are raised to the surface and gradually turn into a pattern."

In Li culture, when a girl gets married, or a new bride joins the family, her mother or mother-in-law will use Li Brocade to make a Li ethnic costume for her. Therefore, Li Brocade has become very important for connecting emotional bonds between family members. To make such a Li ethnic costume, embroidering, a key process of embellishing the woven Li Brocade, is required. 

LIU XIANGLAN National Representative Inheritor, Traditional Brocade Artisanship of the Li Ethnic Group "What I'm holding now is the pattern we have already woven, and then we'll embroider the color on the contour to reflect the three-dimensional sense of a pattern."

In recent years, with the increasing protection of intangible cultural heritage, people's understanding of ethnic culture has deepened, and the ancient textile art of Li Brocade has gradually shown new vitality. Li ethnic girl Chen Mengli has had a deep emotional attachment to Li Brocade since childhood. After graduating from college, she chose to return to her hometown. In addition to organizing Li Brocade production on her own, Chen's store has established close cooperation with intangible cultural heritage workshops and weaving cooperatives throughout the island, connecting the industrial chain links of design, production, and sales. 

CHEN MENGLI Inheritor of Traditional Costumes of the Li Ethnic Group "I started this collection store to conveniently showcase and sell some of our craftspeople's works. They are responsible for production, while our company is responsible for sales."

The inheritance and development of intangible cultural heritage require inheritors to continuously learn and grow. In 2023, the city of Wuzhishan in Hainan signed a talent training agreement with the Shenzhen school of Italy's top art school, Istituto Marangoni, to cultivate Li Brocade talents and help the art go global. 

TAN CHAOYAN Representative Inheritor, Traditional Costumes of the Li Ethnic Group "I have been attending the training for over a year, and it is the third phase now. I have learned a lot, including the use of colors and the enhancement of inspiration. I think I have achieved a lot."

Regardless of age differences, each inheritor is continuing the development of Li Brocade with great passion, allowing the traditional art that has been passed down for over 3,000 years to write a new touching chapter in Hainan. 

Gao Han, Sansha satellite TV in hainan for CGTN.