Posts Tagged ‘Miao culture’

Embroidery, silver jewelry, and batik are three handcrafted wonders created by the Miao people who reside in southwest China. Miao women usually wear their embroidered costumes and big silver rings during their ethnic holidays. Their beautiful aprons always feature colorful embroidered flowers. There is an interesting story about the origin of this embroidered apron.

A long time ago, a girl and her younger brother lived in a small village. Their parents deceased. The smart girl worked hard to manage their home perfectly. Their life were simple but comfortable. The girl even had some beautiful silver rings. With the view of educating her brother, the girl send him to a school close by.

The small-minded teacher was envious of smart women, especially those who were even smarter than men. So when he learned the girl was smart, bright, and pretty, he wanted to go to defeat her.

One day the teacher told the brother, “Tomorrow morning I will go to visit your sister. Let her prepare some breakfast with a boiled radish that is red inside.” So the brother looked everywhere at home for a radish with red inside. But he couldn’t find one. The brother had to ask his sister. The sister said, “We get a full basket of new radishes with red inside everyday. How come you couldn’t find them? Don’t worry. Just take your teacher here tomorrow.”

The next morning when the teacher got to their home, he only saw a dish of sour vegetables on the table. He yelled at the brother, “Did you cook me a boiled radish with red inside?” Just then, the girl brought a big bowl of boiled eggs on the table. She broke one egg and showed it to the teacher, ” Here you are! I hope you will enjoy it! Your boiled radish with red inside and white outside.” The teacher stared at the eggs, and couldn’t say anything.

A few days later, the teacher informed the younger brother again, ” Tomorrow I will have lunch at your home. Tell your sister to cook a dish called ‘ The golden hook hanging from a jade plate”‘. The younger brother told his sister. The sister said, “I know what to do. Just bring him here.” When the teacher came, the sister brought him a bowl of white bean curd and yellow bean sprouts. It looked exactly like golden hooks hanging from a jade plate.

The teacher went back home and said to himself, “The books I have read could fill 3 rooms, why can’t I beat that girl?” He thought over and over for three days. Then he went to tell the brother again, “Tomorrow I will go to your home to have dinner. Tell your sister to prepare some wine and a plate of salad with tiger’s ears and dragon’s claws.” The brother said to his sister, “The teacher is really difficult. Where can we get tiger’s ears and dragon’s claws?” The sister laughed, “We have plenty of these two things in our village. Don’t worry!” The next day when the teacher arrived, he was served with a big plate of baked tender leaves mixed with escallonia. The leaves looked exactly like dragon’s paws, while escallonia was like a tiger’s ear.

The teacher was angry this time, ” I must find a way to destroy the girl’s wisdom.” So one day, he drew a picture on a piece of paper, and gave it to the brother, “This beautiful picture is for your sister, as I really like the food she cooked for me. She can make herself an apron based on this picture.”

After studying the strange and complicated design on the paper for a while, the girl understood, “The bad teacher wants to use this wizard design to block my heart and my wisdom. Ok, I will make an apron!”

The teacher was happy to know that the girl had sewn an apron based on that strange picture. So he went to see what’s going on in the girl’s home. The girl wore her new apron to meet the teacher. On her apron, there was a big colorful embroidered flower. The girl looked gorgeous with this apron and her silver rings. The teacher was puzzled, ” There is no flower in the picture I gave you. Why did you embroider a flower?” The girl answered, ” Look at it carefully, my teacher! It’s not a flower, but my heart. Your picture doesn’t block my heart, but show it lucidly.”

Since then a colorful apron with embroidered flower became an important decoration to Miao women’s ethnic clothing. Wearing their elaborately designed silver jewels and silver rings with their embroidered clothes, Miao women look indeed beautiful and elegant.

Clare L. writes about silver jewelry from Asia, especially silver rings. In particular, Miao silver rings are known across the region. To let her know what you think, check out the silver rings here.