Bringing Ancient Skills Back to Life
The inheritor of ‘Yu’s Floss Flowers’, Yu Hui, uses her dexterous hands and passion to revive this millennium – old skill. In the courtyard of Building 25, Xingguo Road, Yongping Road Community, Xinghua Road Sub – district, Licang District, everyone knows Yu Hui. In her home, there are many exquisite floss flower works, each lifelike and full of unique charm. Yu Hui has breathed new life into the ancient art of floss flower making.
Family Heritage
Yu Hui, 46 years old this year, was introduced to floss flowers in her childhood. Her ancestors were court floss flower craftsmen in the late Qing Dynasty, and the family skill has been passed down for generations. The sight of her grandmother making ornaments made her fall in love with floss flowers. When she grew up, she actively asked the elders to teach her. Although it was tough, she mastered the essence and realized that only by infusing her heart could the floss flowers come alive. During the inheritance process, she found that some traditional techniques were missing and had to figure them out through practice.
Adhering to the Craftsmanship
With the passage of time, the floss flower market shrank, but Yu Hui persisted out of love. In recent years, with the rise of Chinese traditional culture, floss flowers have attracted more attention, and she turned her hobby into a profession. Making floss flowers requires patience and meticulousness as all the processes are done by hand. It takes about a day to complete an ordinary work and one or two months for a complex one. She adheres to handmade production and designs her own works. Floss flowers have a long history and symbolize good luck. Yu Hui conveys the cultural heritage through her works.
Innovation to Appeal to the Youth
Yu Hui is bold in innovation. She has transformed floss flowers into daily decorations, incorporated modern elements, and launched new styles to attract young people. She also promotes floss flower culture in various ways and insists on handmade production to ensure quality. However, the inheritance of this art faces challenges such as difficulty in finding inheritors and high costs that limit market promotion.
News Extension: May the Millennium – old Floss Flowers Never Fade
Yu Hui participates in university activities and various events in Qingdao to showcase her skills and let more people know about floss flowers. With the rise of Hanfu and Chinese traditional culture, the popularity of floss flowers has increased. She hopes to have a studio to inherit this skill. In the trend of the new Chinese style, floss flowers have development opportunities and are a cultural symbol passed down for thousands of years.
