Chapter 381 - 314: Fengxiang Dyeing

"I heard that this craft was once on the verge of being lost?"

While the outside world was in an uproar, Ni Bingyan had quietly brought her film crew to a Buyi Tribe village deep in the mountains of Huishui County, Guizhou Province.

The old man before her was named Yang. It was said that he was one of only two artisans in the world who had mastered the craft of Fengxiang Dyeing.

"That’s right! Fengxiang Dyeing is time-consuming and demands a high level of skill from the artisan. After all that hard work, the final product is much more expensive than factory-printed fabrics, not to mention it has fewer patterns and colors. People stopped buying it, so we couldn’t make any money. The younger generation couldn’t support a family with this craft, so they’d rather go work on an assembly line in a factory than learn it. Of course it was nearly lost~"

At the entrance of the main hall of the Yang Family’s Hanging House, the old man sat on a long bench, chuckling cheerfully at the camera. He spoke to her in a friendly manner, showing none of the awkwardness common among elderly people from the deep mountains.

This was because ever since Fengxiang Dyeing was designated an intangible cultural heritage, it wasn’t the first time he had been on camera for a show.

Ni Bingyan sat on another long bench. With a slight turn of her head, she could see the cluster of brilliant golden camellia flowers below the house.

A strong floral fragrance filled the air. Looking up again, through the gap under the eaves, she could see the distant, overlapping mountain ranges.

It was a warm winter this year.

Just a few days past New Year’s Day, the north was still bleak, but Guizhou Province already had a touch of spring.

Between two mountains, there were patches of brilliant golden rapeseed flower fields.

The flowers had bloomed early this year. These rapeseed flowers were already beginning to open up, but they probably wouldn’t reach their full bloom until around the Lantern Festival.

"Nowadays, with advanced industry, we save a lot of manual labor and have abundant resources. People’s lives are actually getting better and better. In the past, people couldn’t afford new clothes all year round. Now, you can buy a pure cotton T-shirt for the price of two bowls of rice noodles, and it’ll last you several years without wearing out."

’With ready-made clothes that are cheap, durable, and come in a wider variety of styles and colors, who would bother buying fabric to make their own clothes anymore?’

It was only natural, then, for traditional handicrafts to be left behind by the times.

How could the old man not understand this?

But while he could be self-deprecating about his craft, he felt embarrassed when someone else pointed it out.

Seeing the old man was a little displeased, Ni Bingyan chuckled.

"But now, you’ve found a new path forward, haven’t you? There’s a reason these wonderful things passed down by our ancestors have survived for hundreds, even thousands of years."

The old man’s expression softened. Her words had struck a chord.

"A new path? I suppose so! It’s not a wide one, but it’s better than taking the skill to my grave."

"To be honest, before I came, I read online that the tradition of Fengxiang Dyeing was nearly extinct. So when I got here and saw that it’s actually developing quite well, I was a little surprised!"

"Hehe, that’s just because we haven’t promoted it enough. The tradition being nearly extinct, that was many years ago, haha! I’ve already taught dozens of apprentices in my workshop! Now that this craft is recognized as an intangible cultural heritage and has state protection, and with people who genuinely love it, I believe it won’t be lost again in the future."

"Grandpa Yang, I really admire you. It must have taken great resolve to teach your family’s craft to others for free."

Mr. Yang waved his hand. "Ah, don’t put me on such a pedestal. I was just trying to find a way out when things got tough. Now that word of Fengxiang Dyeing has spread, we can sell our products. Not only has my family’s life improved, but others in this trade can support their families too. For ordinary folks like us, that’s what matters most."

This little old man was just too adorable. Ni Bingyan couldn’t help but chat with him for a long time.

In the end, when she was about to go to the workshop to experience the Fengxiang Dyeing process, the old man even stood up unsteadily to see them to the courtyard gate.

"Our biggest difficulty now isn’t whether the tradition will survive. It’s about expanding its influence, getting more people to know it, love it, and be willing to buy and use it!"

The old man cherished this opportunity. At the very end, he held Ni Bingyan’s hand and thanked her profusely.

"Good child, I know you’re very famous. Please, you must help us promote this. If the young people can make a living here at home, they won’t have to leave to find work! Sigh, when you get old, you miss your children the most. There are mountains after mountains, and I don’t even know which one he’s on the other side of."

Finally, after Ni Bingyan had walked a good distance away, she looked back and could still see Mr. Yang standing under the camellia tree, wiping his eyes.

Ni Bingyan sighed, her heart feeling a little heavy.

"I admire Sister Guo more and more now. Being able to integrate traditional things into fashion and give old objects new life... it’s truly amazing."

The mountain path was difficult to walk. Ni Bingyan, carrying a travel backpack, looked for someone to talk to as she walked.

She felt so stifled inside that she desperately needed to talk to someone.

"Ahem, you’re supposed to be traveling alone right now. You have to pretend we don’t exist."

Seeing she was in a bad mood, Pei Jin made a witty remark.

Ni Bingyan was instantly so angry that she stopped, put her hands on her hips, and stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"What, did the camera grow legs? Any normal person can see I have a team with me, right? Huh? Brother Biao, Sister Li, he’s not talking, but you two can’t just ignore me, can you?"

’Good grief,’ she thought. ’A solo trip with at least four guardians standing by.’

She wondered what the audience would think when they saw this scene.

Duanmu Li said helplessly, "According to the rules, we’re just part of the crew. We follow you to prevent any accidents, but we’re not supposed to interfere with your journey or provide any non-essential help."

"Sigh, I feel so suffocated inside. You have to talk with me!"

"What’s there to feel suffocated about? Everything’s getting better, isn’t it?"

The group walked along a narrow path between fields, flanked by newly bloomed rapeseed flowers. Pei Jin piloted the drone to capture many beautiful shots, then moved in for a close-up on her.

And it had to be said, even in a windbreaker designed for hiking, the great beauty just standing there made the entire mountain landscape seem more graceful.

The group walked past the small path and finally reached their car. After a long, bumpy ride, they arrived in the county town and went straight to the Fengxiang Dyeing intangible cultural heritage workshop.

"You can experience traditional Fengxiang Dyeing making here, and they also support all kinds of DIY projects. I plan on painting a picture on a white cloth later. I wonder how the finished product will turn out?"

Because they had made an appointment in advance, the local officials knew she was coming to film her show. Thinking of the miracle in Wutong County, they had already made all the arrangements.

Not only did they send out the best-looking and most articulate artisan to explain things to her, but they also set up scenes for each stage of the production process for the crew to film.

The most exaggerated part was that the county even sent a cadre over to be on standby, ready to meet any of the film crew’s needs, all in the hope that she would do a good job promoting the area.

Under these circumstances, after the artisan finished explaining the techniques, Ni Bingyan picked up a brush, dipped it in the Fengxiang-mixed oil, and painted a landscape of a mountain village with rapeseed flowers in full bloom.

"Earlier in the mountains, I saw a huge sea of rapeseed flowers that I still can’t forget. I also have to paint the unique hanging houses from the village. I’ll take it home as a souvenir."

’When this episode airs, many people will probably come to see the rapeseed flowers and the hanging houses.’

The artisan teaching her smiled until her eyes crinkled when she heard this.

"The construction technique for our hanging houses here was in the very first batch of intangible cultural heritage listings, you know! Even earlier than Fengxiang Dyeing. You have such skilled hands, your painting looks so realistic!"

Ni Bingyan actually didn’t know that, but then again, there are many intangible cultural heritage skills.