Dong Brocade Weaving Skills Help Escape Poverty
 2017-06-15 16:01:00   ENGHUNAN  

The Chinese Dong Brocade Inheritance Base regularly holds training courses for villagers to help them escape poverty. The traditional weaving skills have been transformed into a promising cultural industry.

A Dong brocade pattern of spiders means “auspicious and happy” to the Dong people. The patterns can also be landscapes, figures, animals, flowers, the sun, the moon, and the stars.

A curious little girl watches her grandmother weave Dong brocade. In Dong villages, girls start learning Dong brocade weaving skills in childhood.

A young lady weaves Dong brocade. More and more Dong women have mastered Dong brocade weaving skills and opened family workshops. 

Weavers exchange ideas about a Dong brocade quilt cover. Dong brocade used to be only found in Dong homes, but now is a high-end national handicraft. 

Dong brocade is one of China’s famous brocades. It dates back 2000 years. It is mainly prevalent in the Dong minority communities of Hunan, Guizhou, and Guangxi. It was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2008. 

In recent years, Hunan Tongdao Dong Autonomous County Government has taken measures to protect and promote Dong brocade weaving skills. It organized Dong brocade weaving skills training courses, established the Hunan Dong Brocade Museum and the Dong Brocade Institute, set up the Dong Brocade Arts Development Co., Ltd., and encouraged Dong brocade cultural and creative enterprises to assist in poverty alleviation. 

Dong brocade products are increasingly popular in the market, including backpacks, wall hangings, and quilt covers with traditional and trendy patterns.

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang