一只无所不能的小背篓：“小背篓，晃悠悠，笑声中妈妈把我背下了吊脚楼......”| Xiangxi bamboo weaving

As an old Chinese saying goes, "Futile as drawing water with a sieve." In Hunan Province's Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, however, the work is feasible as someone makes bamboo baskets that can hold water. It is Hu Tingxian, inheritor of Xiangxi bamboo weaving.

中国有句俗话，“竹篮打水一场空”。但湘西土家族苗族自治州竹编传承人胡廷贤却凭借高超的手艺，做出了能打水的竹编背篓。

Xiangxi region has a humid climate that is suitable for growing bamboo. As the roads are mostly narrow in the mountainous area, baskets became the locals' favorite tool rather than the carrying pole. It is indispensable in the fields and the markets – presumably everywhere.

湘西地区气候潮湿，非常适合竹子生长。又因为该地多山路窄，携带东西不方便手挑肩扛。渐渐地，背篓成为人们出行时最爱的工具。无论是在地里收粮食，还是赶集做买卖，背篓、箩筐都是必备之物。

The baskets are made of bamboo, which is the most common material in the area. As time passes, making bamboo baskets has become an important local custom. Up to now, the delicate bamboo basket is still considered an essential dowry.

于是，人们就地取材，制作竹编背篓。久而久之，这成为了湘西的一种习俗。精致的细条背篓还成为女子出嫁必备的嫁妆。直到今天，这个习俗还保留着。

"You can say that the local people are raised in the basket. We call ourselves 'the Xiangxi basket people'," says Hu. "When I was little, grandma used to take me to the country fairs in her basket. And when she was bargaining with the vendor, I sneaked some snacks from the stall. She didn't know it until she saw me eating in the basket. The elders have been telling this story for years."

“可以说我们小孩出生都是在背篓里背大的。所以俗话说，我们湘西是背篓上的民族。”胡廷贤说，“我记得我小时候听长辈说，赶集的时候，我坐在我奶奶的背篓里面，在摊位上用手抓别人的东西吃。我奶奶忙着看东西买东西也没注意，后来才发觉，你偷吃了别人的东西了。他们现在还笑我。”

The process for making a bamboo basket starts with the selection of bamboo. "The ideal bamboos should have long sections, flat joints and good elasticity," says Hu. The selected bamboo must be dehydrated naturally before being sliced into fine strips. The thickness and elasticity of the strips greatly affect the quality of the final product. A well-woven bamboo basket can last for over a decade.

制作竹编背篓的过程，从挑选竹子开始。“竹子要选节子长、比较平的，韧性好的。”胡廷贤说。采回来的竹子要自然脱水变成黄色，之后就可以将竹子剖成竹条，也就是竹篾。竹篾的厚薄和韧性决定了成品的质量。好的背篓，可以使用十余年而不损坏。

As the best weaver in the village, Hu can peel strips that go through the eye of a needle. A master of the technique, Hu is considered to be the person who helped apply the method to artistic crafts. 

作为村里最好的篾匠，胡廷贤制作的竹篾可以从针眼里像棉线一样穿过去。在技术上登峰造极之后，胡廷贤就想着把背篓做成工艺品。

"The finest bamboo strips are mainly used for making art collections," he says. His original idea of the water-holding basket is actually to make something different, something innovative.

“我们做得最细的那种，超过实用范围了，主要是收藏的。”他说。他制作能装水的背篓的初衷，也是想突破传统、在工艺上进行创新。

Hu tried for more than half a year before it stopped leaking. "At first, all the water leaked out in less than a minute. After some improvement, it stayed more than three minutes. You see exactly where it's leaking, and you improve the design. Problems were gradually solved."

为了制作能装水的背篓，胡廷贤实验了大半年。“一开始打水，不到一分钟全部漏完了。慢慢地，做出来的背篓两三分钟还没漏完，你就知道哪个地方漏，哪个地方不漏，漏的地方再怎么改进，这个难题慢慢就解决了。”

Among the many techniques, the most important one is that the very thin strips must be woven as tightly as possible. Also, the three facets of the basket must be woven at the same time to ensure the same thickness.

编织不漏水的背篓有很多技巧，其中最重要的就是竹篾做成的编织条要足够的细、足够的紧凑，还有采用“三面织”的方法，同时编织背篓的三个面，保证每个面的厚度。

Other than the water-holding baskets, Hu also focuses on making grander and more complicated bamboo works. He once led the project of an ink and wash painting, "Beautiful Xizhou Area," which was actually woven with bamboo and broke the Guinness World Record. The painting was eight meters long and two meters high, consisting of 4,100,000 bamboo strips. 

除了不漏水的背篓这种“神器”，胡廷贤还专注于更大型、更复杂的竹编工艺品设计。他主持设计和编成的竹编水墨画《锦绣溪州》打破了吉尼斯世界纪录。这幅图长8米，高2米，共用了410万根竹丝。

Highly praised for his craftsmanship, Hu is often invited to give lectures at art schools, and to supervise major bamboo weaving projects. "As the inheritors of the Xiangxi bamboo weaving, we did make a difference, and people respect us for that. Yet for me, it's far from a glory, but a recognition of your lifework."

如今，胡廷贤的手艺广受赞誉，经常受邀去美术学院讲课，还带队做大型的竹编工程。“像湘西这边的话，我们作为传承人，做了这么多事。在当地，人家对你还是很尊敬。这个我觉得，谈不上荣耀，但是它也是对你人生的一个肯定。”

Hu has more greater plans: "I'm going to promote it to first-tier cities. I want to collaborate with the professional designers and combine the ethnic element with their decorative works in star-rated hotels and restaurants." At the China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair, the bamboo lampshade in the shape of a bird's nest earned him quite a lot of orders.

他还有更宏观的计划：“像设计这一块，我就是想把它搞到北上广深那边去，跟那些专业做设计合作，把这些民族的元素，做成星级宾馆或者酒吧的装饰。”他之前把做成鸟巢形状的灯罩拿去深圳文博会展出，就收获了一大批签单。

"I'm willing to teach anyone who wants to learn. It'll be a shame that we wouldn't pass it on. And I'm not afraid of competing with other peers, because I'm always innovating, always improving. I always think ahead and do things that nobody has ever done before." 

 “任何人来跟我学我都愿意教。因为这个东西你不传承下去太可惜了。再就是我不怕别人抢我饭碗。因为我一直在创新，我一直在进步。我有超前意识，想的都是别人没做过的。”凭着份坦率与信心，胡廷贤将继续在自己的竹编事业中耕耘。

Director：Cheng Shengnan

Editor：Cheng Shengnan, Gao Xingzi

Filmed by: Zhang Han

Designer：Qu Bo

Article Written by: Zhu Siqi

Copy Editor： Xuyen Nguyen

Producer：Wen Yaru

Chief Editor：Zhao Jianfu

Supervisor：Pang Xinhua

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