As an excellent artistic tradition with regional characteristics, Pujiang wheat straw cutting and pasting is well known as a national intangible cultural heritage and has attracted many outstanding folk artists. Jiang Yunhua is a folk artist who grew up in the countryside and became the representative inheritor of Pujiang wheat straw cutting and pasting and the master of arts and crafts in Zhejiang.

Inheritance: Pujiang Wheat Straw Cutting and Pasting

Pujiang wheat straw cutting and pasting, also known as wheat straw painting, originated in the Ming Dynasty and developed into an independent craft in the Qing Dynasty. It needs to undergo more than 20 manual processes and has a very high collection value.

In 1981, Jiang Yunhua established Pujiang Arts and Crafts Co. (now Pujiang Yunhua Arts and Crafts Co.) and devoted herself to the research and creation of wheat straw cutting and pasting technology. In 1982, she founded “Yunhua,” her own brand of wheat straw cutting and pasting art which further promotes the innovation and development of Pujiang wheat straw cutting and pasting. However, with the diversification of modern cultural forms and the impact of the international market, most manufacturers have closed or changed their business. Now Pujiang Yunhua Arts and Crafts Co. has become the only manufacturer in the county that still produces wheat straw cutting and pasting in the traditional manner.

Development: Technological Innovation in the Old Craftsmanship

Since the 1990s, the Yunhua brand of wheat straw cutting and pasting has won many prizes in national and provincial handicraft exhibitions. In 2005, Pujiang wheat straw cutting and pasting was included in the list of intangible cultural heritage items in Zhejiang Province. In 2008, it was approved by the State Council to be included in the second batch of representative projects of national intangible cultural heritage.

In June 2010, the wheat straw cutting and pasting work Along the River During the Qingming Festival from Pujiang was selected to exhibit at the World Expo. It stunned the world when it appeared in Shanghai.

After 5900 days and nights, Jiang Yunhua finally finished this work with her group members. This 23.8-meter-long and 1.2-meter-wide work of wheat straw vividly imitated the masterpiece Along the River During the Qingming Festival by Zhang Zeduan, a famous painter in the Northern Song Dynasty. As a piece of art, its technique and style are breathtaking.

Promising Outlook: Admire Art in the Mundane World

For more than 50 years, Jiang has accepted hundreds of apprentices. Her daughter and daughter-in-law are among her inheritors. She has founded Mingzhu Vocational Training School and the Pujiang Folk Craft Museum. She has also compiled teaching materials that introduce wheat straw cutting and pasting to the classroom.

Nevertheless, there are fewer and fewer people in the older generation who can do wheat straw cutting and pasting, and there are also very few people born in the 1990s and 2000s who would like to learn this art. Huang Huan, Director of the Investigation and Research Department of Zhejiang Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center, believes that people have natural emotional links with intangible cultural heritage products. To prevent the wheat straw cutting and pasting art from withering away in today’s world, we need to hire professional workers who design  traditional handicrafts and establish an online platform to promote the products in the market. (Text and photo by Huang Binting, translated by Wei Han, edited by Daniel Haws)