The rush weaving technique in Yuanli was first seen in the literature of the fifth year of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty. The unique climate and environment gave birth to Taiwan's unique variety "triangular rush" as raw material, and the local hand-knitting industry was formed after a hundred years of cultural blending with the local Pingpu, Daokas, Fujian, and Hakka ethnic groups. The Lin weaving technique inherited from mother to daughter achieved a sales miracle and became Taiwan's third largest export product after sugar and rice during the Japanese occupation period. In order to maintain their family income, the women in the local courtyard are almost engaged in the weaving of straw hat mats, and the fragrance of rush grass permeated in every household has become the common memory of the children of the garden to their hometown.
But with the rise of industrialization, cheap plastic products gradually replaced the traditional handicraft industry, and most of the Lin weaving women gradually turned to factories or other industries to work for their livelihood, and the Lin weaving industry gradually withered and declined. More than ten years ago, in order to preserve this precious lin weaving craft, the local residents of Yuanli organized the "Taiwan Rush Grass Society", which is mainly dedicated to preserving and promoting the lin weaving craft. After years of hard work, there are now Dozens of Lin weaving craftsmen have regained the skills of the past!
In order to attract more consumers, the "Taiwan Rush Society" hopes to create a new style of rush weaving technology through the innovative design of the weaving process combined with the interactive hand experience of consumers. And established the handicraft brand "Taiwan Shoulin". The main core value of the brand is "feel experience, continuation of tradition, and innovative design". From the perspective of consumers, it uses composite materials and introduces design elements to give traditional craftsmanship a new look!
Lin weaving craft is the display of maternal love
Economic activity is one of the important factors affecting the prosperity and decline of Taiwan's rural areas. Located in Yuanli Township, Miaoli County, there is a craft that has been handed down for a long time—Lin weaving craft. Linbian in the garden first came to Ms. Hongyang in the late Qing Dynasty. Because her youngest son had sores and festering on his head, which was dirty and smelly, he was often bitten by flies and could not bear it. So Ms. Hongyang racked her brains in order to protect her youngest son, driven by her mother's love, and finally Weaved the first straw hat in Taiwan; for a hundred years, the women in the garden have never been idle with their skillful hands, and they have been weaving unique straw mats and straw hats, contributing to the family's livelihood. A lot, earn a lot of income. The early tuition fees of the residents in the garden came from the mother's pair of Lin weaving skills, so the Lin weaving craftsmanship in the Yuanli has long been a glorious display of maternal love.
The daughters and daughters-in-law in the garden weave their lives with rushes
In every family, regardless of being a daughter, daughter-in-law, mother or mother-in-law, everyone is always weaving the grass branches in their hands, one after another. It is often seen that the mother-in-law leads the daughter-in-law, sister-in-law or neighborhood women to weave mats together. During the process, everyone always cheers and encourages each other. Therefore, the relationship between the sisters is particularly good. This situation of relying on weaving to make a living has created Yuan The special cultural customs of the local area.
Rooted craftsmanship will grow
If you ask the people in the garden about straw mats, they will definitely tell you, "My mother and grandma...are doing this... and I will also do a little..." Most of the people in the garden are very familiar with Lin weaving craft Familiarity comes from their life, past memories, and family taste, which is the root of life and culture. If you ask them who taught you Linbian, they will say: "You don't need someone to teach you, you can see it...." For the people in the garden, the learning of Linbian is naturally formed through the lives of people. No one is called a master and no one is an apprentice for the skills that have been molded. Everyone learns from each other and guides each other. This is the essence of life craftsmanship.
Rush industry embodies local sentiment
The rush industry has formed a special industrial ecological chain at the local level, and has become an interlocking rush culture system. There are people who specialize in growing rush, those who purchase and organize rush, craftsmen who weave and produce, and dealers who pass it along. The people who process and refine the products, the shop that specializes in sales, and the production and sales network of the entire Lin weaving industry are constructed by these different links. common memory. Residents here have developed different ways of making a living through the rush industry, and they depend on each other. Men, women, old and young are all attached to a branch of grass and convey care to each other; Their cooperation and competition, the mother burns the lamp to make straw mats for the children's tuition fees, and the wife keeps her hands on the grass to weave products one by one in order to reduce the burden on her husband. The women spend their lives weaving mats day and night, in exchange for sons and daughters who are successful in their careers, and also weave their own status and respect in the family.
Once a source of income for every household, it has become a sunset industry in Taiwan
During the Qing Dynasty in Taiwan, rush products produced in the Yuanli area had been directly sold to mainland China; and during the Japanese occupation period, all hat mats produced in the Yuanli area were only sold to Japan. At that time, rush products accounted for Taiwan's special products The third export, after sugar and rice. Yuanli closely integrates local residents and local industries through Lin weaving technology, and has long supported the prosperity and development of the local area. However, with the advancement of science and technology and changes in tastes, the traditional technique of Lin weaving has fallen behind the trend of the times, especially the single material and color of rush products make it difficult to win the favor of young people. People's love is not as good as before, and as a result of the decline in demand, the Lin weaving industry in the garden has gradually withered... Until now, cheap straw weaving handicrafts from Southeast Asia, mainland China and South Korea have been dumped into Taiwan, and the prosperity of the hat and mat industry is no longer there. "Lin weaving" was once a sunset industry in Taiwan....
The rush industry is recovering, and traditional crafts can also create infinite value
Feeling that the rush industry has been swallowed by the torrent of time, the local residents organize the Taiwan Rush Society to preserve the culture of rush weaving, hold many competitions and promotional activities, and allow women who have the skills of weaving to restore the old work style of weaving as a profession. Maintain the tradition of Lin weaving industry. It not only restores the deep local memory of traditional crafts, but also provides opportunities for Linbian women to inherit and study. For the people in Yuanli, the dense and delicate texture of Lin weaving is the attitude to life, and the soft and resilient feel is the persistence in life. Appreciating the craftsmanship of Lin weaving can not only feel the kindness and love of creation of the ancestors of Taiwan in the past, but also see the gratitude from the ancestors from the elemental design of the appearance of each utensil. These have the characteristics of Taiwan's local culture. Under the impact of multiculturalism, not only did it not disappear, but in the life pattern of different ethnic groups working together, this unique ancestor tradition and life cognition were gradually expressed in the crafts and utensils of daily life.
"Taiwan Shoulin" takes "touch experience, continuation of tradition, and innovative design" as the core concept of developing the weaving brand, so that modern people can appreciate the beauty of natural materials exuded by traditional crafts, thus bringing the weaving craftsmanship into modern life. simple culture. And further, through the innovative transformation and marketing of the rush culture, convey the support and expectation for the vitality of the rush grassland with the most local characteristics in Taiwan, so as to re-establish the industrial ecosystem of rush grass, so that the rush grass industry can have new opportunities for development.
unique growing environment
According to the investigation of Mr. Shimada Yaichi, a botanical expert who came to Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period, between the north of Da'an River and the south of Yuanli River, it is about 24°13' to 32' north latitude and 120°33' to 43' east longitude ( About today's Yuanli Town), in order to produce the best quality rush.
Compared with other fiber weaving materials, triangular rush has the following characteristics:
1. The outer skin is tough, protected by biological wax, and not easy to break.
2. The pores and intercellular spaces between the fibers are large, and the hygroscopicity is strong.
3. After drying, the grass fragrance is strong and lasting, and its fragrance is not liked by dust mites.
