Elderly craftswoman in south China’s Hainan creates vivid patterns on Li brocade that tell colorful stories

Without having to design the patterns beforehand, Fu Jinhua, an elderly woman of the Li ethnic group in south China’s Hainan Province, is able to turn threads into a work of art with lifelike patterns that can tell a story.

Inscribed on the first batch of China’s national intangible cultural heritage list, the Li brocade epitomizes the country’s earliest textile practices. The threads in the background are mostly black and colorful threads are woven between layers of the background material to create vivid patterns.

Fu Jinhua, an elderly craftswoman, works on a piece of Li brocade. It usually takes two months for her to finish one piece of Li brocade. (Chinanews.com/Luo Yunfei)

Fu, who is nearly 80 years old, has been invited to showcase the Li brocade weaving techniques to people visiting an intangible cultural heritage exhibition hall, which is located in a scenic area in Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County, Hainan.

People who have watched Fu make Li brocade products were all impressed by the lifelike patterns she had created on the artworks with her exquisite skills.

Fu Jinhua shows a section of a piece of Li brocade she has completed. (Chinanews.com/Luo Yunfei)

“I didn’t draw a blueprint beforehand, but wove the piece step by step,” said Fu, who pointed at her head with her finger to indicate that she kept all the design patterns in her mind.

Because she knows no written Chinese and speaks broken Mandarin, when Fu’s clients wanted to have Chinese characters woven onto the Li brocade products they ordered, Fu would often ask other people to print the specific characters and then looked at the reference pictures when she made Li brocade products.

“Fu is a good craftswoman because she can create personalized products that tell stories,” said Chen Guodong, deputy general manager of the scenic area where Fu works. Chen added that although the Li brocade products made by Fu are expensive and the clients will always have to wait for some time before they finally get the products they order, the Li brocade products made by her are still very popular among the customers.

Pictures of Chinese characters are provided for Fu Jinhua when she makes Li brocade products, as the elderly craftswoman of the Li ethnic group knows nothing about written Chinese. (Chinanews.com/Wang Xiaobin)