Economies of Scales
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CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Thursday, July 2, 2020 | 21 LIFE XIAOKANG@GRASSROOOTS | POVERTY ALLEVIATION Editor’s note: A xiaokang society, or a moderately prosperous society, has been the dream of Chinese people for thousands of years. Our reporters travel around the country to cover the arduous efforts being made in order to realize the dream. Economies of scales Traditional fishskin crafts of China’s Hezhe ethnic group are driving new business opportunities, Xu Haoyu reports in Tongjiang and Fuyuan, Heilongjiang province. ishskin is as soft as that of the tutelage of his third uncle, Sun over the past few years. any other animal. Its Youcai, a famous fish bone and fish- As a provincial-level representa- beautiful colors reflect skin artist, Sun Yulin began learning tive inheritor of fishskin craftsman- the magnificence of the to cut fishskin. Soon, he was capable ship, Sun Yulin is often invited to ‘Fsunlight. Make clothes and socks of making small, two-dimensional present his skills and techniques in with it, it’s the brocade bestowed on animal collages from the material. other places. Many institutions from fishermen.” This is how Shen Zhao- As he grew more adept, he began first-tier cities, such as Beijing, shi, a poet from the late Qing Dynas- creating larger, one square meter Shanghai and Shenzhen, have ty (1644-1911), praised the beauty pictures of landscapes and animals offered him high-paying jobs, but he and practicability of fishskin. with a more realistic appearance. has politely turned them down. “I Today, a Chinese ethnic group In June 2006, Hezhe fishskin am a Hezhe native, I want to pass named Hezhe still heed the poet’s handicraft was among the first down my culture in my hometown,” mantra. According to the last batch of skills inscribed onto China’s he says. national population census of 2010, intangible cultural heritage list. This “With more folks practicing fish- the total population of Hezhe was national recognition of the tradi- skin art techniques now, I don’t 5,354, with 3,613 living in Heilongji- tional craftsmanship of Hezhe moti- think life could be better, as we are ang province. Liu Guiling, the head vated Sun Yulin even more. earning money and passing on the of the Heilongjiang Provincial Eth- He currently owns a small store traditional craftsmanship at the nic and Religious Affairs Commit- selling Hezhe fishskin art in Jiejink- same time,” Sun Yulin says, with a tee, notes that Hezhe people mainly ou town, Tongjiang, Heilongjiang glowing smile. reside in seven villages spread province. It is the birthplace, and Fishskin craftsmanship is not just across three towns, Jiejinkou and still a main habitation, of the Hezhe limited to the small ethnic group, Bacha in Tongjiang city and Sipai in — one of the smallest ethnic groups some Han people also share the skill. Raohe county of Shuangyashan city. in China. There are over 1,500 people Li Chunxi, 50, was born in Yanan The name of the group can mean living there now, accounting for village of Fuyuan county-level city, “people in the East”, as well as “peo about one-third of the group’s total Heilongjiang. He has never stepped ple living along the river” and fish- population. out of the village. ing and hunting have shaped their Wearing a blue silk top with black His life has been a catalog of mis- way of life for more than 6,000 linen trousers, Sun Yulin points to a fortune. years. They have been making fish-skin jacket hanging in his store. When Li was only 3, an age full of clothes from fishskin for at least He says it required the skins of more fun, jumping and running, he lost 1,000 years. than 70 keta salmon to make — each his left leg in a fire. “Only in dreams The fishskin outfits, including the of which weighs around 4.5 kilo- can I have the freedom and happi- thread used for sewing, are usually grams. ness as an ordinary kid,” Li recalls. made of materials harvested from “The price of a fishskin jacket is Li’s mother suffered a stroke in bighead, pikes, sturgeon, carp and more than 10,000 yuan ($1,415),” Sun 2008, and she lay paralyzed in bed keta salmon. These particular sour- Yulin says, before explaining the rea- until she died late last year. His ces are chosen to ensure the clothing son for the jaw-dropping figure. “The father died in 2013 because of tuber- Considering Li’s inability to walk, become water-resistant and able to tension of fishskin is seven times culosis, leaving the family a debt of Dong invited a fish-skin art teacher withstand wear and tear, allowing stronger than cowhide, it’s unbeliev- over 20,000 yuan. to his home. After only a morning of the Hezhe to hunt and fish in ably airtight and sturdy. A fish-skin However, Li’s life finally took a learning, Li successfully completed a inclement weather and the some- suit will last a hardworking fisher- positive turn when the village start- Chinese zodiac painting of snake times harsh natural environment. man for six or seven years.” ed to support rural industries and and gained huge confidence. He One set of clothes will usually He adds that, as the full outfits are share the profits from them with its believes practice makes perfect, so employ between 100 and 200 sheets required less in the modern era, impoverished residents. After bor- he took up formal study and kept in of fishskin and requires a craftsman smaller-sized products perform bet- der trade between Fuyuan and Rus- touch with experts and teachers to put in more than 50 days of pains- ter on the market. sia was opened in July 2015, Li was through video call. He gradually taking work. Sun Yulin reveals that it’s also eas- entitled to 1,000 yuan annual subsi- mastered many techniques and is According to Sun Yulin, a 62-year- ier to create the best-selling item — dy as an inhabitant who benefited now able to create innovative old representative inheritor of Hez- fishskin pictures. After the subject is from the trade policy. designs. he fishskin art from Heilongjiang, settled and the draft is drawn up, it is What’s more, a photovoltaic pow- In 2018, Dong encouraged Li to the process is rather complicated. just a case of dying the sheets of fish- er station was built in 2016 and Li, attend an e-commerce seminar orga- As soon as the donor fish dies, the skin into different colors, or simply regarded as unable to work, received nized by Fuyuan local government. craftsman must act quickly, peeling separating them by their natural further subsidies of around 2,000 With help from the professionals, Li off its skin in one single sheet and hues (usually white, yellow, gray and yuan per year. opened an online shop and has sold mounting it on a flat wooden sur- black) before cutting them to the Li overcame poverty by the end of his products to different cities. face. When the sheet is dry, it is laid required size and shape to splice and 2016, but he didn’t stop fighting for a In September of the same year, Li on corn flour and squeezed to sew together to form the image. Sun better life. finally got married. remove any oil still on the surface or Yulin has further developed his skill On May 2 in 2017, Dong Lijuan, the “I used to be too poor to even think inside the skin. It is then rubbed and has produced over 100 three-di- vice-chairman of Fuyuan’s ethnic of marriage, because the debt and the with the hands until it becomes soft. mensional images, boasting multi- and religious affairs committee, pressure of life were very heavy to But Mother Nature’s bowl is not a ple layers. visited Li’s house. Dong still clearly bear,” Li says with a relieved and bottomless one, and the fish stocks As well as the pictures, that cost remembers what she saw. cheerful tone. “But now I earn are not inexhaustible. As such, fish- anywhere from 100 to 1,000 yuan, “His mother was lying in bed, cov- enough money, I couldn’t be happier.” ing as a main source of income for there are also a wide selection of ered by a ragged, greasy quilt with In more than a metaphorical the Hezhe people was abandoned accessories that add to the turnover exposed cotton. The washing sense, he leans on his skills as a decades ago. In recent years, they of his store, such as mirrors, phone machine was trying to rinse another craftsman — the cushion of his have developed a tourism industry chains and scented sachets. quilt, but the water was filled with crutch is wrapped up with a layer of designed to help spread their ethnic Sun Yulin has shipped his crea- black bubbles.” white fishskin that glints in the sun- culture and crafts to the wider tions all across the globe, to coun- After learning that Li enjoyed light. Some, especially Shen Zhao- world. tries including Japan, South Korea, paper cutting and was good at nee- Top: Li Chunxi, who learned fishskin crafts to rise above poverty, shi, might say it’s almost poetic. Sun had been a full-time fisher- Germany and the United States, dlework and mending shoes, Dong presents fishskin sachets that he made. Above: Sun Yulin, a repre- man before a folk customs park was securing a regular annual income for suggested that Li learn the tech- sentative inheritor of Hezhe fishskin art from Heilongjiang province, Contact the writer at built in his village in 2000.