Jilin family preserves ancient knotting art
Xu Xiaoxue, an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage in the province, keen to pass on the skill to more people
In order to involve more people in the inheritance of knotting skills and to allow the knotting project to help more individuals, she has assisted women in mountainous regions in starting their own businesses.
"I provided them threads and patterns bearing the brand name and told them the required craftsmanship specifications," she said.
"After collecting their finished products, I sold them collectively to help them improve their income."
To bring the art of knotting to more people, Xu also published short videos via platforms such as Douyin and Weibo, continuously expanding the influence and dissemination of knotting art, especially among young people.
She has also established stores in cities such as Changchun in Jilin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan in Guangdong province, and Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
Through simultaneous promotion on online platforms and offline entities, Xu received over 100,000 customers annually.
During the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Xu represented her skills at the Winter Olympics site, demonstrating the unique knotting techniques and works from Jilin to more than 1,700 visitors across the world.
"I felt that the thread in my hand was even more powerful when I was able to connect the intangible heritage projects of Jilin, Chinese traditional culture, and the world with a single thread," she said. "It filled me with the power to help more people understand intangible cultural heritage."
