1. The awakening of the grass soul – selecting materials like choosing jade
“Whole straw braid” and “expanded straw braid” are twins
The soul of Laizhou straw weaving begins with the strict selection of wheat fields –
Extraordinary wheat straw can enter the eyes of craftsmen, only “wheat” and “red wheat” that are upright and flexible can be called “pinch braided grass”.
Grass selection quartet:
1. Breaking through the grass: the guillotine rises and falls, the wheat ears fall to the ground, and thousands of stalks break through like a military formation;
2. Picking grass: fingertips fly and take off the grass pants, the bare stalks are like jade out of the rough stone;
3. Picking grass: divided into three, six, nine grades according to thickness, the thick ones support the bones, and the thin ones embroider the patterns;
4. Protecting grass: the expanding grass knife gently splits the wheat stalks, and the width and narrowness are like strings waiting to be plucked.
2. Symphony poem on fingertips – braiding is like weaving dreams
The number of roots is the score:
Three roots play a minor tune, seven roots play a fugue, and twelve roots compose an epic.
The craftsman’s thumb is a bow, the index finger is a string, press one and pick two –
The wheat straw turns into notes on the five-line score, and is reborn after the rest of “renewing the grass”.
The myth of the dark night:
The old woman of Ye County sits cross-legged on the kang, and can still point to the dragons and snakes with her eyes closed.
Seven wheat stalks flutter in the dark night, weaving a code not included in “Qimin Yaoshu”:
Press, pick, continue, and knot, the thousand-year-old skills flow in the palm of the hand like a galaxy.
3. Time Tempering Field – Post-art is like alchemy
Liuhuang tempers bones:
The straw braid is put into the urn, sulfur smoke is steaming,
The wheat straw fades from green in the chaos and tempers out the warm luster of ivory.
Dyeing workshop:
Indigo is taken from the interaction between the sea and the sky, and vermilion is collected from the rising morning glow.
The five colors are not dyed with straw braids, but the fireworks of the world in the eyes of the people of Ye County.
Fourth, the six laws verify the authenticity – quality inspection is like appraising treasures
“Six Looks” Iron Law:
1. The edges are as neat as Qin bricks and Han tiles;
2. The patterns are as if copied, and the patterns are like bronze inscriptions;
3. The colors are as if the same, and they are uniform like official kiln celadon;
4. The thickness is appropriate, comparable to Wu Dai Dang Feng;
5. The expansion and contraction are the same, which is in line with the Yin and Yang;
6. The patterns are clear, better than Huizhou wood carvings.
Only those with all six laws can be stamped with the “Shahe Yellow” wax seal.
5. Thousands of years of warp and weft – the historical rings of Laizhou straw weaving
– Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period: Laiyi people used straw to weave fishing nets, weaving the legend of “the benefits of fish and salt”;
– Tang and Song Dynasty: Ye County straw mats were tributed to Chang’an, and Li Bai wrote “I think it’s the Milky Way” while drunk on it;
– 1915: At the Panama Expo in San Francisco, the “Shahe Yellow” straw braid broke the myth of Western machinery;
– “Yong’an Family” records: “Ye County girls learn to braid at the age of three, and can close their eyes and pinch out the “Eighty-Seven Immortals Scroll” when they reach the age of 15.”
Conclusion
This is not a skill, but a love letter written by the Yellow River Delta to the earth –
Wheat straw has gone through “breaking, picking, picking, protecting, pinching, fumigating, and dyeing” at the fingertips of Ye County people,
Finally, it turned into a straw braid that can carry 12kg of weight,
But it can’t compare to the 1500 years of time it carries.
When the straw bags in the windows of Paris reflect the light and shadow of Monet’s garden,
the world does not know that
the longitude and latitude lines contain the breathing of the people of Ye County when they braid their hair in the dark night.