“The work of raising sericulture is dirty and tiring. Most young people are unwilling to do it, and older people are unable to do it. Nowadays, there are fewer and fewer people raising sericulture, but I can’t bear to do it. I also hope to arouse more people’s attention to sericulture culture and let this craft be passed down.” Zhou Qin’e, an ingenious silkworm girl from Zhenze, sighed.
Zhenze, located in Wujiang District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, is a famous Chinese silk town with a thousand-year history. Mulberry trees are the scenery of Zhenze; silk is the soul of Zhenze; and sericulture is the skill and emotional sustenance passed down by Zhenze people for thousands of years.
Many people inherit and pass on the traditional sericulture culture in this small town where there is no land without mulberry trees and no homes without silkworms. Zhou Qin’e is such a senior silkworm lady.
After decades of working with silkworms, she is now continuing her career in sericulture in a new way, inheriting and carrying forward the traditional culture of sericulture.
Time flies by 66 years, a silkworm lady’s “spring silkworm’s heart” remains unchanged
In Zhou Qin’e’s memory, the relationship with silkworms runs through it all.
“I was born in 1956. There has been a silkworm room in my family since I can remember, and my whole family has made a living by raising silkworms.” According to Zhou Qin’e, many Zhenze people have been raising silkworms for generations, and she has been influenced by it. Master the solid skills of sericulture early.
As an adult, Zhou Qin’e became a primary school teacher, but as her energy allowed, she did not give up her love for sericulture. During her spare time, her sericulture skills became more and more refined, and she once attracted many people in the industry. Ask for advice.
After retiring, Taihu Snow, a leading silk company, came here because of its reputation. Chairman Hu Yufang personally invited Zhou Qin’e to “come out”, hoping that she could come to Taihu Snow Sericulture Cultural Park to guide technology.
“I am very happy and grateful to have the opportunity to use my remaining energy.” Zhou Qin’e said that Taihuxue’s invitation is a kind of recognition for herself, and it is also a kind of expectation. “I also have better opportunities and platforms. , pass this craft on.”
After retiring and re-employing, Zhou Qin’e’s daily life is busy and fulfilling. As soon as she entered the silkworm room in the morning, she began to observe with familiarity, monitoring the temperature and humidity of the silkworm room and the growth status of the silkworm babies. Afterwards, the silkworms have to be spread with lime, sterilized and disinfected, then covered with silkworm nets, and mulberry leaves are carefully added according to the different stages of the silkworms…
As the inheritor and promoter of sericulture culture, Zhou Qin’e often transforms into a “explainer” to explain the traditional sericulture skills to children and adults who come to visit.
Although the work is complicated, Zhou Qin’e does it meticulously. She knows very well that sericulture is a traditional craft that cannot be completely replaced by industry, and it also requires the love, care, patience and responsibility behind the craftsmen. It is this idea and belief that supports Zhou Qin’e to devote his efforts to sericulture for decades.
Inheriting the traditional culture of sericulture, Taihu Snow links Beijing and Tokyo to make continuous progress
In the past, Zhenze people raised silkworms for their livelihood. Today, this cause has been given more cultural significance.
“I am getting older, and I just hope to use my actions to make more young people fall in love with sericulture, so that the sericulture culture can be passed down from generation to generation and carried forward.” Zhou Qin’e said, “I am very pleased that there are companies and institutions willing to provide platforms and help My idea came to fruition.”
Currently, the Taihu Snow Sericulture Cultural Park where she works not only has a vast area of its own high-quality mulberry gardens, but also houses a 4,000-square-meter sericulture cultural exhibition hall. From the silk history of Zhenze to the development of the New Silk Road, From traditional men farming and women weaving, individual households to modern sericulture… it tells the inheritance and innovation of traditional sericulture culture.
Nowadays, Taihu Snow’s sericulture skills are more refined. There are divisions of labor in picking mulberry, raising sericulture, raising seedlings, etc. There are more than 100 people taking care of the healthy growth of silkworm babies, which is enough to show that everyone attaches great importance to “sericulture” . In addition, Taihu Snow has nearly 50 intangible cultural heritage hand-pulling technical workers who pass on this intangible cultural heritage skill through words and deeds.
“We are working hard little by little to teach sericulture culture to more people. Nowadays, many young people have begun to accept silk products and are willing to understand the sericulture skills behind the products. This also gives me great encouragement.” Zhou Qin’e said.
Just as Zhou Qin’e said, in addition to the inheritance of ingenious craftsmen, popular products are also an important carrier for spreading sericulture culture.
Taixue Lake teamed up with JD.com’s own brand JD.com to create a silk quilt, which played a dual role in marketing promotion and cultural penetration. According to reports, this product uses the best spring cocoons from Zhenze throughout the year. In terms of technology, it also innovatively uses the tic-tac-toe mesh technique based on the intangible cultural heritage hand-drawing. After being hand-made by four silkworm ladies, every quilt purchased by consumers is as gentle as skin and as white as snow, upgrading people’s sleeping experience.
Judging from market feedback, this silk quilt has been recognized by consumers as soon as it was launched. Sales continued to double between 2018 and 2021. The sales growth in 2021 alone will be as high as 280%, with sales exceeding 30 million. Yuan.
一��The fluffy, light, healthy and comfortable silk quilt not only condenses the inheritance of craftsmen like Zhou Qin’e, but also the joint efforts of the government and enterprises. With the strategic cooperation between Zhenze Town, Jingdong Tokyo Manufacturing and Taihu Snow to create an integrated industrial chain for silk quilts, it will undoubtedly help more people feel the charm of the millennium sericulture culture and add more impetus to cultural inheritance and development.
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