Field Investigation Tour of Liuyang Xiabu (Grass Cloth) Intangible Cultural Heritage

今天我们来到的是湖南浏阳，中国著名的花炮之乡。然而，鲜为人知的是，这里有一款宝藏被誉为“天然纤维之王”。2021年，浏阳夏布织造技艺被列入湖南省非物质文化遗产代表性项目名录。

Today, we are in Liuyang, Hunan Province, the famous hometown of firecrackers in China. However, it is not well recognized that there is a treasure here known as “the King of Natural Fibers”. In 2021, Liuyang Xiabu (Grass Cloth) weaving technique was inscribed on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage Projects of Hunan Province.

所以它的前世今生有哪些故事？我们一起去看看！

So what's the story of its past and present life? Let's go and see!

夏布早在明代就是朝廷贡品，具有精巧细腻、防霉防菌、通风透气、吸湿性强的特点。它越洗越柔，不易腐烂，在国际面料届被誉为“中国草”。

Liuyang Xiabu has been an imperial tribute since Ming Dynasty, which is exquisite and delicate, of anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties with high air permeability and moisture permeability.

It becomes softer with each wash, thus uneasy to be broken, and is known as “Chinese grass” in the global textile industry.

浏阳夏布制作有十大工序: 一是剥麻；二是刮麻；三是漂麻；四是绩茨；五是绕麻团；六是整经；七是插筘；八是浆纱；九是纺织；十是晾布。

The production of Liuyang Xiabu involves 10 major processes: The first step is stripping; the second is scraping; the third step is bleaching; the fourth step called “Jici”in Chinese is wetting, tearing, and twisting the processed ramie fiber together to form threads; the fifth is winding ramie threads into balls; the sixth is warping; the seventh is sleying the reed; the eighth is sizing ramie yarns; the ninth is weaving cloth; the tenth is drying cloth.

现在，手中的夏布成品刚刚经过十道工序完成。传统手工制作过程尚且考究复杂，那在工业化、机械化的时代背景中，这项非遗手艺传承是否也曾遭遇困境？

Now in my hand is a finished piece of Xiabu that has just gone through ten procedures. Considering meticulous and complex processes of the traditional craft, in the context of the era of industrialization and mechanization, has the intangible cultural heritage ever been on the verge of collapse?

省级非物质文化遗产代表性传承人、浏阳夏布第四代传承人梁长进

省级非物质文化遗产代表性传承人、浏阳夏布第四代传承人梁长进今年68岁，他从20岁开始做夏布。夏布是一种传统的手工艺，也是一种古老的布料。80年代的时候，它兴旺了一段时间。到90年代，它已经开始走下坡路。最困难的时候是2000年的时候，这个时候夏布没有人要，也没有人做。

Liang Changjin, a provincial representative inheritor of intangible cultural heritage and the fourth-generation inheritor of Liuyang Xiabu, is 68 years old. He started making Xiabu at the age of 20. This grass cloth is both a traditional handicraft, and an ancient kind of fabric. In the 1980s, it flourished for a period of time. By the 1990s, it begun to decline. The most difficult time was in 2000. At that time, no one wanted or made Xiabu.

“所以，这个东西在我的手上，我不想让它被‘丢掉’。”到现在梁长进做夏布已经四十余年，“我是这样想，如果不传承，就没有保护。夏布要有它的前途、要再创辉煌。所以我们就要创新、研发、发展。才有它的生命力。”

“So, I preserved the craft, I don't want to see it ‘thrown away’.” Liang Changjin has been making Xiabu for over forty years up to now. “This is what I think, if there is no inheritance, there will be no protection. The future of Xiabu should be promising to achieve new glories.So we need innovation as well as research and development. Only in this way can it burst with vitality.”

浏阳夏布文创中心负责人鲁松元

走进夏布文化创意空间，扑面而来能感受到它绿色生态的生命力。我们可以看到超400余款创意产品，包括服饰、包具、家居美学、茶艺空间等，展现着浏阳夏布传统工艺与现代时尚的完美结合。

Walking into this Xiabu cultural and creative space, we can immediately feel its green energy. We can see over 400 creative products used in clothing, bags, home aesthetics, and tea spaces, which display the perfect mix of traditional craftsmanship and modern fashion.

浏阳夏布文创中心负责人鲁松元介绍：“全球变暖等气候问题的让人们开始重视绿色，随着追求原生态浪潮的兴起，如何让夏布在保持本身特性，维持美学价值的前提下，建立高标准、可持续的方法，是夏布行业需要持续努力的方向。”

Lu Songyuan, the person in charge of Liuyang Grass Cloth Cultural and Creative Center, introduced: "The global warming and other climate issues have made people start to pay attention to green. With the rise of the trend of pursuing original ecology, how to establish a high-standard and sustainable method for Grass Cloth while maintaining its own characteristics and aesthetic value is the direction that the Grass Cloth industry needs to continuously strive for."

这场田野调查之旅来到尾声。浏阳夏布值得被世界看见！

This field investigation journey is coming to an end. Liuyang Xiabu deserves global popularity！

采访/文案/视频：黄思婷

摄像：谢彬清（实习生 ）

翻译审核：欧阳凤

责编：黄思婷

一审：黄思婷

二审：王柯沣

三审：冒蕞

来源：湖南日报·新湖南客户端