The Ancient Art of Bamboo Drifting

Written by Emma Marler

The art of bamboo drifting is breathtakingly beautiful and original. It is typical of the Guizhou region in South-Western China and it is extremely unique. Before a video of this magical dance was posted by Great Big Story, an account that has 5 million subscribers on Youtube (hyperlink the video), it was an unknown art.

So what is bamboo drifting? Let’s find out!

It originated during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) as a means of transport. In fact, the city of Zunyi in Guizhou was renowned for its production of a very precious and expensive wood and it was greatly demanded by the emperors in the North of China. The problem was that in Guizhou they didn’t have big enough boats to carry the logs, so they rewarded citizens to stand and sail on one log each in order to transport them to the first destination that had adequate boats to continue the journey.

As time passed, riders became more experienced and competitive, challenging each other in balancing games and acrobatic movements. Even when in later years transporting the logs on the river was no longer a necessity, Guizhou residents never gave up their hobby. During the Qing dynasty, wood was then substituted by bamboo due to its cheaper costs and bamboo drifting competitions became extremely popular. During the Dragon Boat Festival, communities from all over Guizhou reunite to assist to different competitions, including bamboo drifting.

The biggest challenge with bamboo drifting is that the surface of the water is in constant movement so keeping your body balanced requires double the effort. For every movement you make your body shakes so you have to be able to control it, otherwise you’ll fall in the river!

Bamboo drifting started as an individual practice, one person only stood on the log to transport it. Nowadays there is not just single bamboo drifting but couple drifting as well. The Zunyi Bamboo Drifting Association started a new performance called ‘Ballet on Water’. Two dancers share one single piece of bamboo, it’s double the difficulty!

Bamboo drifting was listed in the National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities, an event which takes place every four years and showcases traditional games of every one of the 56 ethnic minorities in China.

Guizhou is the most multicultural region in China, therefore bamboo drifting is not typical of just one ethnic group. The Miao Hmong people are one of the minorities that have taken part in this tradition for a long time and love to wear their silver jewelry when performing!

Since at Interact China we are very passionate about keeping traditions alive, we really hope that the amazing art of bamboo drifting does not disappear. The women that manage the Zunyi Bamboo Drifting Association and train newcomers are now over 70. If young people lose interest, there is a chance that this beautiful and unique performance art will stop being practiced. Let’s spread the word and keep bamboo drifting going!

About Interact China

“A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide!”

Aileen & Norman co-founded Interact China in 2004 with specialization in fine Oriental Aesthetic products handmade by ethnic minorities & Han Chinese. Having direct partnerships with artisans, designers, craft masters and tailors, along with 13 years of solid experience in e-commerce via InteractChina.com, we are well positioned to bridge talented artisans in the East with the rest of the world, and directly bring you finely selected products that are of good quality and aesthetic taste.

So far we carry 3000+ goods covering Ladies Fashion via ChineseFashionStyle.com, Kungfu Fashion, Home Furnishings, Babies & Kids, Painting Arts, Textile Arts, Carving Arts, Tribal Jewelry Art, Wall Masks and Musical Instruments. Our team speak English, French, German, Spanish and Italian, and serve customers worldwide with passion and hearts.

P.S. We Need People with Similar Passion to Join Our Blogging Team!
If you have passion to write about Oriental Aesthetic in Fashion, Home Decor, Art & Crafts, Culture, Music, Books, and Charity, please contact us at bloggers@interactchina.com, we would love to hear from you!

Liu Xiaodong and Chinese Neorealist painting

By Emma Marler

The Neorealism movement lies on the need of artists to represent reality as it is, without embellishments or abstractions. As Zhang Xiaoming, head of Chinese contemporary art at Sotheby’s New York, puts it: “Neorealists look at everyday life subjects, but glorify them.”

Xuzi at Home (2010), oil on canvas – Liu Xiaodong

In Italy for example, Neorealism was a response to the huge changes the two World Wars brought about in daily life and society. In China, Neorealist painters tried to capture reality as everything in the country was changing drastically and developing at high speed. During the Cultural revolution, a realistic style of painting served propaganda purposes and political agendas.

Cultural Revolution Propaganda Poster (1966-1976)

Since the 1980s, Chinese Neorealist painters chose to depict urban and rural snippets of daily life without any filter, they just depicted exactly what they saw and felt.

Liu Xiaodong is one of the most talented and famous artists in the Neorealist scene. According to world-renowned artist Ai Weiwei, Liu Xiaodong “presents the wounds” of China. He always works on large scale canvases, perhaps to give even more reality to his subjects. His paintings are always carefully constructed and he often uses sitters to pose for his scenes.

Out of Beichuan, into Taihu (2010) – Liu Xiaodong

One of his most significant series of paintings was The Hotan project. He decided to go to the town Hotan in Xinjiang where jade has been extracted and produced for centuries. The environment has completely changed due to human intervention. He spent a month there, talking to locals and learning the backstories of the place before starting to paint. In the next two pictures you can see his process of en plein air painting, from the backstage to the finished product.

Another subject that is often represented in his paintings is the condition of migrant workers. Disobeying the Rules is a crude image of naked workers on a truck, expressing the artist’s concern for working conditions since China’s development and industrialisation. The workers are looking straight at the viewer and smiling, showing their optimism even in such a humiliating condition.

Disobeying the Rules (1963), oil on canvas

This painting sold at auction for 6 million euros! Liu shot this picture in Beijing and then added his own spin to the narrative to make the scene more impactful and shock viewers, forcing them to think about this pressing social issue.

As his works became internationally appreciated, he focused on new subjects and places. His method is always the same: he talks to locals and then starts painting. His Half street series had Londoners as protagonists.

What makes him so unique is his ability to paint people in a sincere and touching way. The subjects of his works always seem to come to life while you stare at them.

The way Vinci Chang, head of sales for 20th-century Chinese art and Asian contemporary art at Christie’s Hong Kong, sums up Neorealism is truly to the point. He describes Neorealist works as “rich, moving depictions of the feel of daily life and they examine with a humanitarian eye the unaffected simplicity and beauty of local scenes”.

About Interact China

“A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide!”

Top 5 Ethnic Minorities’ Festivals You Need to Know About

In China, the 55 ethnic minorities comprise approximately 8.5% of the whole population and have rich cultural customs that celebrate their diversity and tradition. Despite being such a small percentage of the Chinese population, they usually live in smaller communities and place much importance in maintaining their cultural heritage and customs alive. This means that they have many fascinating and meaningful celebrations that bring the community together.

One of the main ways of celebrating and promoting tradition is through festivals. This blog talks about some of the most renown festivals that some ethnic minorities celebrate. They inevitably attract many tourists as it is a privilege to experience them in person and are charged with tradition, cultural heritage and customs. However, even reading about these festivals can help you understand and learn a bit about the rich cultures of some of these ethnic minorities.

Ethnic Miao Group’s New Year Festival

First on the list is the most important festival of the year for the ethnic Miao people. This is the celebration of the beginning of a new year and unlike most Western cultures, where New Year’s day is always celebrated on the same day, this festival varies depending on the year and region. The exact dates are only disclosed a few months before so if you are interested in experiencing the festival yourself you may celebrate New Year’s day twice that year as the festival is usually celebrated around November! This festival is remarkable to see, so if you’re up for it, the grandest celebration occurs in the Leishan County in the Guizhou Province where it is recommended for tourists.

The Miao people dedicate this festival to celebrate the harvest of rice and so the star drink in this festival is traditional rice wine made from the harvest. A key element of the festival is to worship the ancestors by offering them fruit and meat in sign of remembrance and respect. One of the most characteristic customs is the traditional dances and music of the Miao people. These dances and parades are usually accompanied by a traditional musical instrument made from bamboo, the Lusheng, and young children dance to this music whilst dressed in their traditional magnificent costumes all covered in grand silver ornamentation. One of the most significant activities of the festival is bullfighting as it is a traditional event for Miao people.

Tibetan Shoton Festival

Another completely different festival is the Shoton festival in Tibet, being most known for celebrating by eating yogurt. Yogurt? Yes, you read that right, Shoton literally means yogurt banquet in Tibetan. During the festival, Tibetan artists perform traditional operas, and important monasteries display large Thangkas which are Buddha paintings. The main events during this festival are opera and exhibitions which give this festival its other two known names: “Tibetan Opera Festival” or “Thangka Exhibition Festival”. The festival is held annually in the month of August, or late in the sixth month or early in the seventh month of the Tibetan calendar. On the first day you can see the large Thangka display in Drepung and Sera monastery, as well as Opera dance in Norbulingka park.

Tibetan New Year Festival

This festival is the most famous in the Tibetan calendar as it marks the new year and is normally celebrated for 15 days with the first three days having the main celebrations. It consists of ancient ceremonies representing the struggle between good and evil, which are characterized by chanting, and by passing fire torches through the crowds. On New Year’s Eve, people visit the monasteries and donate money to the monks. On New Year’s Day, Tibetans get up early, early and start a praying ceremony in their home where they worship the gods by placing offerings in the front of their household shrines. After that, they have a reunion dinner with traditional cake called Kapse and chang, an alcoholic beverage, and family members exchange gifts.

Water Splashing Festival of the Dai Ethnic people

This festival also celebrates the New Year for the Dai people who live in the DeShong area of Xishuangbana in the Yunnan Province in southwest China. It is called the water-splashing festival since it is characterized by splashing water onto one another as a symbol of holiness and religious purity but also goodwill among people.

The Dai people use the New Year to send off the old or past and invite the new year and future to come. It involves three days of celebrations that include light-hearted religious rituals, the main one being water-splashing. Water splashing is central to all because water, the symbol of holiness, goodness and purity, is the most precious thing to the Dai. Men and women gather in the roads or public parks to take part in a group spree of water with buckets and basins of water. When splashing another this wishes them good luck and a happy new year.

Sisters’ Meal Festival of the Miao ethnic people

The Sisters’ Meal Festival is celebrated by the Miao people especially in Taijing and Jianhe counties. This festival is regarded as the oldest Asian Valentine’s Day since it also celebrates Spring and this is a time where young singles are hopeful to meet their partner. The festival consists of a Sister’s Meal that young women have prepared with a traditional “sister’s rice” they have dyed with natural colors from wildflowers and leaves collected in the mountains. During the festival, the Miao girls dress up in their finest, beautifully elaborate silver celebration headdresses, neck chains and crowns. They then gather by the riverbanks and prepare the special “sister’s rice” which they will offer the young men soon to arrive. The men will sing to those women they are interested in marrying and the women will offer them the “Sister’s Meal” in response to their chants which consists of a drink of rice wine and the sister’s rice which is usually wrapped in a handkerchief decorated with symbols. When the young men arrive they begin to single out the women they hope to marry someday and begin to sing for them. The young women respond to their songs by giving them a drink of rice wine and the sisters’ rice wrapped in handkerchiefs with different symbols.

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“A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide!”

Calming Chinese Calligraphy

Written by Sean Callahan

Calligraphy has been a central part of Chinese art for thousands of years. Emperors treasured it and those who wrote the most exceptional pieces were often rewarded with high-ranking positions and riches. However, despite the external pressure calligraphers must have felt, they had to stay centred and let their emotions flow through their brush.

The sereneness contained in the brush strokes of calligraphy is not only of great value to an admirer of calligraphy but also hold great promise for serving as a form of meditative relief for the calligraphers themselves.

Emotion in Calligraphy

One of the most highly treasured Chinese calligraphic pieces is Yan Zhenqing’s Requiem to My Nephew. Yan Zhenqing wrote the piece upon hearing of his nephew’s death at the hands of enemy soldiers. In the throes of passion, Yan channelled his passion into ink and wrote the now-famous ode to his nephew.

Yan’s artistic running script seems to mirror the man’s emotions. An observer can see his script starts out measured and orderly before devolving into a blur of rapid, almost fanatical, strokes. The evolution of Yan’s calligraphy within this one piece gives us insight into the depths of his bereavement. His inability to stay composed for a single sitting shows that writing calligraphy is not a process devoid of emotion; rather, it is a visible, permanent, testament to emotion.

What the Science Says

Multiple scientific studies back up the idea that calligraphy is highly intertwined with emotion. Practitioners of calligraphy often see their heart rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure fall while writing: all effects also seen in the calming practice of meditation. The writing of calligraphy has also been shown to have positive effects on the concentration abilities of young children.

While calligraphy is by no means a catch-all antidote to the stresses of life, there is little doubt of its positive effects on our bodies and minds.

How People are Using Calligraphy to Calm

Companies and organizations are starting to catch on to the revitalized interest in calligraphy and have begun to offer classes in which participants can learn calligraphy techniques and how to use them in a meditative setting.

These classes are undoubtedly useful and convenient for many beginner-level calligraphers, but one need only to walk through a park in China to see that these companies are behind the curve in many respects. Calligraphy is a popular pastime of retired people in China—they take a bucket of water and a mop-like writing instrument outside and display their calligraphic talents on the sidewalk. These sidewalk artists often spend hours enjoying the motions and aesthetic of their writing.

Maybe we should all follow their lead during this stressful time and turn to Chinese calligraphy to calm ourselves.

About Interact China

“A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide!”

Aileen & Norman co-founded Interact China in 2004 with specialization in fine Oriental Aesthetic products handmade by ethnic minorities & Han Chinese. Having direct partnerships with artisans, designers, craft masters and tailors, along with 13 years of solid experience in e-commerce via InteractChina.com, we are well-positioned to bridge talented artisans in the East with the rest of the world, and directly bring you finely selected products that are of good quality and aesthetic taste.

Cutting Through the Commercialization of Culture

Written by Sean Callahan

Tourists often spend thousands of dollars to explore China and the culture of its many ethnic groups. However, the more inexperienced travelers sometimes fall prey to the increasing commercialization of culture tourism. Nowadays, smiling ladies dressed in brightly colored costumes standing outside of stores and menus with more expensive prices for foreigners are commonplace. It is part of a trend whereby businesses and even whole towns use traditions to upsell their product and charge foreigners a premium.

What Is the Commercialization of Culture?

Often, people from outside a minority culture see it as an opportunity to make money instead of an opportunity to spread the traditions of the people. As a result, visitors get an experience which centers around things like souvenirs and performances that are designed to sell, not to teach. Visitors may leave a place like the Yunnan Ethnic Village with an understanding of minority culture which has been adjusted to make it more ‘touristy’.

While there are people who benefit from this commercialization, it is usually not the minority groups which do so. They are put in the unfortunate situation of having to choose between their culture and a livelihood which could help them support their families. As a result, they participate in this realm of increasingly financially-based tourism without reaping most of the benefits it produces.

Why Should You Care About Getting Authentic Cultural Experiences?

One of the most captivating aspects of cultural items and experiences is their ability to provide the consumer with a window into another person’s life. Authentic culture transports people across large distances and often back in time to experience a unique way of life. When cultural items are produced for economic reasons however, it stops telling the true story of the culture.

How Can You Get the Most Out of Culture?

The reality of the matter is most people don’t know how to distinguish between authentic culture and commercialized culture which means they risk spending money with deceitful corporations instead of real people. One way to avoid this problem is to work with a knowledgeable company which can navigate you through the minefield of commodified culture. A company which is well versed in culture can set up meaningful experiences like a homestay with a Tibetan family or ensure the art pieces you buy are made in the same tradition they were hundreds of years ago.

A Pool of Experts Who Care for Culture, and People too.

Here at Interact China, we work hand-in-hand with craftspeople from ethnic minority communities to bring their traditional crafts directly to you. Many of our partners come from families with centuries of experience creating cultural artifacts and others are respected masters of their craft. When you purchase from Interact China, you not only support these artisans and their culture but also guarantee that the product you are receiving is not tainted by unnecessary commercialization. We deal in authenticity and tradition so you can be free to connect with the piece and experience its allure without worrying about extraneous concerns.

About Interact China

“A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide!”

4 Lessons From a Master Silversmith in Yunnan

Written by Sean Callahan

In 2017, I spent a month apprenticing under a master silversmith in a small Bai village in Yunnan, China. I expected to simply learn the techniques used to craft silver jewelry, but my master and teacher, Li Shifu, showed me that in order to truly appreciate a piece of silver, one must understand all that it represents.

Master silversmiths such as Li Shifu believe the art of silversmithing is more of a mindset than a set of skills. Their work embodies their life philosophy which in turn means each piece has its own unique story. This is not just my story or Li Shifu’s story, but rather the story of centuries of craftsmen and craftswomen in China, a story that Interact China carries around the world.

Lesson #1: The Master can only open the door. The apprentice must learn to walk through it.

Throughout my apprenticeship, Li Shifu emphasized the idea that he could only give me so much and my success ultimately depended on myself. He told me stories of his own apprenticeship where he and his fellow apprentice “brothers” would be made to do menial chores for months before the master would allow them to touch silver. This arduous process was not meant to take advantage of them or to punish them, but rather to select for the most important traits a silversmith can have: work ethic and dedication. Learning to be a silversmith, like most other things in life, takes hard work and repetition. Whether you want to become a silversmith or a poet, your teacher can only give you the tools to succeed. You must strive to use those tools to better yourself; only then will you truly improve.

Lesson #2: In our rush to finish, we often lose sight of our goal.

The first piece Li Shifu taught me how to make was a shiny silver bracelet. He instructed me to first hammer a rectangular piece of silver into a round one suitable for shaping into a bracelet. I proceeded with this task with great speed, hoping to quickly move on to the next part. After about 90 minutes, I proudly showed him my perfectly round silver rod. However, he frowned and handed it back to me saying, “it is too long.” As I spent the next few hours restarting from scratch, Li Shifu cautioned me that in my rush to shape my rod I had neglected to consider the end goal of my work. Similarly, in life, we need to consider the context which surrounds our actions and make decisions with the larger picture in mind.

Lesson #3: Small details matter just as much as large steps.

Undoubtedly the loudest and most noticeable step in silversmithing is the initial shaping of the item where a blowtorch and hammer are used to pound the silver into the correct shape. Silversmiths put enormous amounts of time and effort into this process as it creates the base for their product. Engraving, on the other hand, is a process which involves a chisel and tiny movements. The engraving of minuscule lines and figures may seem unimportant compared to the shaping process, but Li Shifu assured me that was not the case. A bracelet can be deemed unworthy due to one erroneous engraved dot just as it can be due to an entirely misshapen piece of silver. In our lives, we must keep in mind that seemingly trivial details can often prove to be just as meaningful as large events.

Lesson #4: Handmade goods appeal to the human spirit.

The rise of silver factories has flooded the market with cheap mass-produced silver jewelry. Li Shifu, however, says that people still seek out handmade items like those that he makes for both practical and sentimental reasons. Not only is handmade silver stronger and more flexible, but Li Shifu believes each piece shares a connection with its maker which makes it unique. When someone opts to buy a handmade piece instead of a factory-produced one, each time they look at the piece they can admire the skill and dedication of the craftsman. One can’t put a price tag on this human element of handmade silver and that is the reason why it remains popular today.

Oftentimes, when consumers look at the incredible pieces created by ethnic craftsmen, they recognize the beauty and allure but they miss out on the culture, philosophy, and process behind them. So next time you admire an art piece, whether it be silver jewelry or an embroidered bag, think of Li Shifu and other artisans and what their work means to them. This knowledge will allow you to appreciate and connect with handmade art more fully.

About Interact China

“A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide!”

So far we carry 3000+ goods covering Ladies Fashion via ChineseFashio nStyle.com, Kungfu Fashion, Home Furnishings, Babies & Kids, Painting Arts, Textile Arts, Carving Arts, Tribal Jewelry Art, Wall Masks and Musical Instruments. Our team speak English, French, German, Spanish and Italian, and serve customers worldwide with passion and hearts.

A Journey Through Chinese Ethnic Minorities’ Festivals

By Emma Marler

The beauty of Chinese ethnic minorities is the variety of their culture. Each of the 56 Chinese ethnic minorities have their own unique traditions and customs. As a visitor, one of the best ways to experience each group’s culture is attending one of their festivals, there are so many of them! Let’s have a look at a few so you can get an idea of how colourful and fun these celebrations are!

Water Splashing Festival

The Dai ethnic people reside in Xishuangbanna, an autonomous province located in Yunnan. According to their own calendar, they celebrate New Year in mid-April for three days. Because the weather is already very warm at that time of year, it is tradition to accompany religious rituals with light-hearted and fun activities.

The first two days of celebration are on the Lancang river. People enjoy watching boat race competitions during the day and make floating lanterns fly in the evening, an old Chinese tradition that sends bad luck away.

On the third day, water splashing actually happens! The Dai put on their best clothes and listen to monks chanting Buddhist scriptures at their local temple. Afterward, the most important ritual of the festival takes place, ‘Bathing the Buddha’, since in Dai culture water symbolises religious purification. After the statue has been soaked with water, everyone else starts splashing each other.

Splashing each other with water is not just good fun, but it is also a way to send good luck and prosperity for the next year.

Sisters’ Meal Festival

The Sisters’ Meal Festival is celebrated by the Miao Hmong ethnic minority in Guizhou province, China. This festival takes place in March and lasts for 3 days. It is considered the oldest Valentine’s day in China. It originated from an old matchmaking legend, according to which a god advised girls to dye rice and offer it to young men in order to find their marriage partners. Girls wear their best embroidered dresses and silver ornaments for the occasion, since the light of the polished material wards off evil spirits.

To this day women still go to the mountains to collect wild flowers in order to dye rice. They wrap the glutinous rice in handkerchiefs or baskets.

When a man approaches them, the girls choose which packet of rice to gift in order to communicate their interest or lack of. If there is a pair of chopsticks or red petal with the rice, it means that the girl wants to marry him. If there is pepper or garlic, it means that the girl is not interested.

Torch Festival

The Torch festival is of prime importance for the Yi people. The origin of this festival is not clear. Some scholars believe it was one of the two annual New Year celebrations according to their ten month calendar. Another school of thought traces its origin back to the ancient worship of the Yi towards fire because of its power to repel insects and protect crops.

During the three days of celebrations, if you walk around a Yi village you will see that in front of every house there is a lit up torch, illuminating the streets and creating a magical atmosphere. Young men and women also walk around the fields and place the torches at the four corners of the crops. In the main square a huge bonfire is lit and everyone contributes to igniting it.

Many other activities are also carried out in the daytime. Girls parade in their traditional outfits and yellow umbrellas, whereas men engage in competitions of horse racing, bullfighting, and wrestling.

All these beautiful festivals strengthen the cultural traits of the ethnic minorities and maintains their centenary traditions alive. They are the perfect chance to showcase their identity to the rest of the world!

About Interact China

“A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide!”

How is China increasing its focus on sustainable fashion?

Written by Julia Ruston

Who has not heard about the concept of sustainable fashion yet? It is certainly a buzz word in the fashion industry, becoming more and more important as people question their choice of clothing and where it is sourced. In particular, sustainable fashion is rapidly gaining attention and influence in the Chinese fashion industry as more people, especially the younger generations, are contributing to addressing the concerns and downsides of fast fashion and want to provide a sustainable alternative.

Why is China making these changes?

Whilst a rapid economic development has been very positive for Chinese people to advance in the direction of a more harmonious and wealthy society it has also brought some safety, health and environmental issues. Since the relocation of most Western fashion giant’s production lines to China, Chinese people have been the ones to personally suffer the health, safety and environmental disasters in the textile industry. The ultimate goal to balance the economy, environment and society is one that the Chinese have realised needs a heavier focus on sustainability. This is why the Chinese government has taken action in the past years, committing to the Paris Agreement, proposing a range of carbon, energy and pollution targets in its 12^th five-year plan and launching the new Made in China 2025 strategy which focuses on pursuing green development and upgrading China to be a manufacturer of quality over quantity.

The recipe for sustainability

So, if sustainable fashion is an important part of being more environmentally and socially conscious, what exactly does it englobe? Well, many people are not aware of the extensive area sustainability applies to. Here are the three overarching themes that strive for sustainability and directly apply to eco-fashion:

Being respectful towards the environment, the producers, the end product’s lifecycle and the consumer.
Contributing to the preservation of the cultural heritage and tradition of the product.
Optimising resources by making quality, lasting products with the most natural methods and materials possible

“Made in China” reformed

China has a great opportunity to develop many sustainable fashion brands as it has an efficient and well-developed infrastructure and a skilled workforce. Fortunately, more and more Chinese fashion brands are investing in making sustainable fashion especially Gen Z designers. With the new Made in China 2025 strategy and many Chinese designers taking an interest in becoming more sustainable, it has been a growing force in Shanghai’s Fashion Week (SFW) for the past few years with many emblematic fashion designers having a go at sustainable fashion. For example, Ffixxed Studios was featured in a past edition of SFW for their focus on reducing wastage from manufacturing, using recycled materials and using natural fibres. This label’s commitment to being more sustainable has been acknowledged by winning the Yoox.com Asian Sustainable Fashion award in 2015.

Other Chinese designers that are focusing on this emerging sustainable “Made in China” label are Vega Zaishi Wang who is combining ancient craftsmanship with a modern touch in her clothing line and Angel Chang who is actively involved with local communities, in order to promote and help keep Chinese traditional designs and textiles alive.

In Interact China, we are doing our best to contribute to these sustainable goals and strongly strive to achieve the recipe for sustainability. We help promote the cultural heritage and tradition of our products which are handmade with sustainable materials. Moreover, we respect our producers who are ethnic minorities by providing fair pay and helping to keep their traditional and aboriginal designs and materials alive.

About Interact China

“A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide!”

A Day in the Life of Miao People

By Emma Marler

Miao people are one the 56 ethnic groups in China. Their vibrant culture attracts visitors from all over the world. They are well renowned for their silver crafting and embroidery skills. Let’s now try to imagine to spend a day in the life of the Miao community. It’s going to be an exciting journey!

The majority of Miao people lives in Guizhou province in Southern China. There is an old saying that describes their homeland this way: “No three days are clear, no three feet of land are level, and no one has three ounces of silver”. Guizhou is therefore known for its mountainous sceneries, long rainy seasons and for not being very prosperous economically.

Their houses are built on steep hillsides and use stilts for support. Their tradition to plant bamboo and trees around their homes makes the wooden buildings blend in beautifully with the natural surroundings. But it’s at night that magic happens. When it gets dark and each family turns the lights on, the mountains seem to be lit up.

The cultivation of rice has been their main means of subsistence, especially before tourism started to spring up. As many Chinese liquors, Miao’s mijiu (米酒) is also rice-based. Hospitality is a big part of their culture. Guest are welcomed with this rice wine to toast while dancing and singing takes place to greet visitors. Miao are great cooks and they love sour and spicy food. There is even an ancient saying that states that “without eating a sour dish for three days, people will stagger with weak legs”! Fish soup is Miao’s staple dish. Fresh carps from the rice fields are cooked in a boiling soup with chili pepper, garlic and tomatoes.

If you go and visit, you might be lucky enough to participate in one of their Long Table banquets! During special occasions like New Year or weddings, every household brings a home cooked dish and shares it with the rest of the extended family and their guests.

Apart from agriculture, Miao people have cultivated several artistic skills along the years. Men are exceptional at silver work. At festivals or special occasions girl accessorize their dresses with head to toe silver jewelry, it can weigh up to 10 kilograms! Silver is believed to symbolize light and it can scare away evil spirits. Silver is therefore a recurring element in the most important milestones of their life. When a new born baby takes his first bath, parents put a piece of silver into the water to wish for a happy future. Families start collecting silver jewelry for their daughter’s wedding since the day they are born.

The traditional costume is a perfect representation of Miao culture and history because it combines both silver work and embroidery. Women are extremely talented artists and produce the most stunning embroidery pieces. The techniques they use are very elaborate and to finish a set of traditional clothes can take up to two years. To recognize a Miao embroidery pattern you have to look out for natural and geometric shapes in beautiful bold colours.

Their embroidery techniques are passed on for generations and girls start learning how to weave, embroider and cross-stitch at the age of 6. When a girl finishes her first embroidered dress all on her own it shows that she is ready to get married.

Miao people have also mastered the art of batik. According to a Miao traditional song, a young girl dreamt of some bees landing on her blue skirt one night and when she woke up she found some wax on it. After washing it a few times she realised that those spots were flowered shaped and had adorned her simple skirt.

Batik and embroidery are an essential way for Miao people to express themselves because they don’t have their own written language. Those patterns are a visual language to transmit their culture, religion and history to the rest of the world.

With the passing of time and the rise of globalisation, rich culture and traditions like those of the Miao are even more unique but are also at risk of dying out. Our mission is to preserve their heritage and pet people know how much these ethnic minorities have to offer. We hope you enjoyed this journey into the wonders of the Miao world!

About Interact China

“A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide!”

Wu Guanzhong: a Fusion of Western and Oriental Painting

By Emma Marler

Wu Guanzhong is one of the most well renowned contemporary Chinese artists in the world. His paintings are now sold by prestigious auction houses such as Christie’s for hundreds of thousands of dollars. What makes him so special compared to other talented artists of his time is his use of colour, deeply influenced by European modernism. His works combine traditional Chinese ink techniques with Western oil painting. He liked to describe himself as ‘a snake swallowing an elephant,’ — the snake symbolising the Chinese artist in him, the elephant representing Western influence.

Wu Guanzhong photographed by Chua Soo Bin in 1988

Wu Guanzhong’s life was in many ways fascinating. He was born in 1919 in Jiangsu province in a modest but educated family. His father was a school teacher and hoped that Wu would follow his steps. But fate had something else planned for him. He dropped out of his engineering course at university to attend the National Hangzhou Academy of Art. He studied under the guidance of important artists such as Lin Fengmian, often considered the father of Chinese modern painting.

Lin Fengmian, Willow Scenery, ink and colour on paper, 1960s

The years that defined the most his later career and success were those spent in Paris. He studied for 3 years at one of the most prestigious academies in France. He greatly admired Post-Impressionists such as Van Gogh, Pissarro and Cézanne. His study abroad trip also made him appreciate formalism, an style of expression that favours the purely visual aspects of an artwork rather than its narrative or accuracy to the real world. Wu would later apply this principle to his art and push the boundaries of form and colour.

The Hua mountains at sunset, ink and colour on paper, 1997

When he came back from France, he taught at several Beijing universities and academies until his life changed drastically in 1966. Because of the Cultural Revolution, his wife and him were sent to the countryside to work in the fields. He could not paint during this time and had to destroy most of the oil paintings he had done after his trip to Europe.

But when ten years later Wu went back to painting, he did not immediately start using oil colours again, instead he used ink wash painting. Wu was ready to revolutionize this ancient technique. As he put it “brush-and-ink is misunderstood as being the only choice for life and the future path of Chinese painting, and the standards of brush-and-ink painting are used to judge whether any work is good or bad.” He mixes black ink with colours.

Guo Xi, Early Spring, ink on paper, 1072

He takes inspiration from famous traditional painters like Guo Xi. Let’s take a look at the following artwork. Even though Wu depicts a mountainous setting and a waterfall like in “Early Spring”, the results are completely different. Wu dilutes ink to make it grey and uses black just for some details, and leaves plenty of space to play with colour. With just a few visible brush strokes he skilfully paints the scene, just like Impressionists.

Plunge waterfall at Tiantai mountain, inkn and colour on paper

In later work, his Western studies and oil-painting background show through even more. He distances himself from traditional Chinese painting in two ways. Firstly, his subjects become more and more abstract. His portrayal of the Lion Grove Garden in Hangzhou has been compared to Pollock’s work, his use of colour and form can be assimilated to Abstract Expressionism. Unlike Chinese painting, colours here are used in a non-referential way, i.e. they do not reflect reality. The splotches of colour in this and other paintings are an example of this.

Lion Woods, ink and colour on paper, 1983

Jackson Pollock, Number 1, oil on canvas, 1949

The second way he differs from traditional Chinese painters is the choice of the subjects of his painting. Inspired by the geometrical lines of Mondrian, architecture becomes central in his works. To a Western eye this probably does not seem like such an experimental move. However, in traditional compositions elements of architecture were always just small details in a vast natural landscape.

Twin Swallows, ink and colour on paper, 1981

The minimalism and attention to perspective of “Twin Swallows” were ground-breaking at the time. The only detail that provides an idea of the scale are the two birds flying over the houses.

His style of painting is in continuous evolution. When it comes to architecture, he loves experimenting. He can be a realist and paint Zhouzhuang village exactly as it is or he can immerse himself into abstraction, like in “Chinatown”.

Chinatown, ink and colour on paper, 1993

As the tenth year of Wu Guanzhong’s death approaches in June, it is important to celebrate one of the greatest painters of our time. He did not only push the boundaries of Chinese traditional painting, but also had a significant impact on the way the Western art world viewed Chinese painting.

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