Rattan weaving in Nanhai has a long history that can be traced back more than 1000 years. Eight villages in Huangqi, as a whole, are known as the "land of rattan weaving". Rattan weaving workshops also scatter in Lishui and Pingzhou.
Rattan weaving in Nanhai has been listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage. Whats the history of it? Has it changed a lot in modern times? Liang Canyao(梁灿尧), an inheritor of rattan weaving in Nanhai, gives some answers.
The cradle of rattan weaving in China
According to some experts research, Nanhai is the cradle of rattan weaving in China.
Rattan weaving is mentioned in the book "New Book of Tang: Geography" which was edited by Ouyang Xiu, a famous scholar in the Northern Song Dynasty. Its written that "Dudufu(governor of a prefecture), Nanhai Prefecture, Guangzhou. Tributes: Silver, Teng Dian, bamboo mats, lychee." Teng Dian(藤簟) was rattan mat which was warm in winter and cool in summer. These words indicated that the technique of rattan weaving in the Tang Dynasty had reached a high level and the rattan works were offered to the royal family.
Its mentioned in the book "History of Rattan weaving in Nanhai" that by the end of the Ming Dynasty, people in Shabei Village in Nanhai had begun rattan weaving works. After the Opium War, rattan weaving workshops spread to eight villages (Shabei, Fenggang, Baisha, Chongkou, Chenxi, Yongcheng, Michong and Hengsha) in Huangqi, Nanhai. Some stretched to Pingzhou, Lishui and Yanbu. People gradually developed new patterns of rattan works such as rattan mats and rattan chairs. Nowadays, most of the elderly in these villages still master the weaving technique.
The production process of rattan weaving includes several parts. Workers have to choose wicker rattan stems based on their thickness. If the thickness is not exact, wicker rattan stems are cut into the perfect diameter. Rattan canes must be sorted before they can be hanged. Afterwards the rattan canes are processed in various ways depending on their ultimate functions.
The once "kingdom of rattan weaving"
In the 1950s, over a hundred small rattan weaving workshops in Nanhai merged into a large-scale factory called "Nanhai rattan-weaving factory". According to Liang Canyao, Nanhai rattan-weaving factory was dubbed the "kingdom of rattan weaving" due to its scale and high-level weaving techniques. At its peak, Nanhai rattan-weaving factory had over 3,000 workers and its products were sold to Europe, East Asia and North America.
When Nanhai rattan-weaving factory received too many orders, part of these orders would be outsourced to the workshops nearby. "Almost 200,000 people in Nanhai made a living on rattan weaving at the time." said Liang Canyao.
Liang Canyao
Liang was born in this golden period of rattan weaving in Nanhai. Both his mother and grandmother worked for rattan-weaving factories. At the age of 5, Liang Canyao began to learn rattan weaving from his mother. "At the beginning, I learned rattan weaving for fun. My fingers were often cut by wickers so mother replaced wickers with banana leaves when she taught me." said Liang. When he gradually mastered some basic skills, his mother let him pitch in to make a little pocket money. After graduating from a secondary school, Liang worked in Baisha rattan processing factory, formally starting his long journey of rattan weaving.
The nightmare of rattan weaving in Nanhai
In the early 1990s, the industry of rattan weaving in Nanhai witnessed a nightmare. At the time, the rattan-weaving factories and workshops could hardly catch up with the large number of orders. Many experienced workers quit their jobs and established family workshops to produce rattan works. The market was flooded with low quality rattan products and price wars broke out, dramatically eroding the advantage of Nanhai rattan-weaving factory. In 2006, Nanhai rattan-weaving factory closed down, the kingdom of rattan weaving collapsed.
"Besides the vicious competition, the cause of a waning rattan-weaving industry may be that nowadays the rattan products have been replaced by many substitutes and markets demand for traditional rattan products is getting lower and lower." Liang Canyao noted.
There are only a few old people in Huangqi still operating some small rattan-weaving workshops. However, most young people refuse to pitch in the rattan-weaving industry due to the low income.
Revive a traditional industry
In order to change rattan products into high-end products, Liang Canyao bought some costly machines to produce high-end rattan chairs to meet market demand. He designed new patterns of rattan chairs and used some wood material when making rattan products. In 2005, Liang Canyao established an indigenous brand "KINGS PALACE" and managed to promote the made-in-Nanhai rattan furniture across Foshan.
In 2010, rattan weaving in Nanhai was listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage and Liang Canyao was chosen as its inheritor.
To make more people know rattan weaving, Liang set up a rattan-weaving training school and collected many old items related to rattan weaving, including rattan boxes in the Qing Dynasty and rattan weaving machines. "Students of primary schools come to visit this school." said Liang. Tourists can experience rattan weaving in school, which may arouse their interest in rattan weaving.
To better pass down the weaving techniques to the next generations, Liang Canyao hoped that an industrial park for Nanhai rattan weaving culture could be set up, promoting the intensive development of rattan weaving industry in Nanhai. Liang also wished that a Nanhai rattan weaving museum would be built in the industrial park and developed as a landmark of Nanhai.
Written by Morly
Source: Foshan Daily, Pearl River Times