Shi Guifeng – Master of Yi Embroidery in Hongta District, Yuxi 

Shi Guifeng (施桂凤) has been appointed as an off-campus counselor at Yumiao Primary School (玉苗小学) in Xiaoshiqiao Township (小石桥乡), where she teaches embroidery to children weekly. By establishing a Yi embroidery club at the school, she aims to plant a love for Yi embroidery in the hearts of the students. After over three years of development, the club has flourished. Although the children’s works are naive, they are deeply cherished.

Inheritance Through the Community

In her own courtyard, Shi Guifeng organizes local women to embroider and sew traditional ethnic clothing together. Through this approach, she generously shares her techniques, thereby promoting the continuation and spread of Yi embroidery in the community.

Inheritance Through Family

Both Shi Guifeng and her husband Pu Hongxing (普红星) are inheritors of intangible cultural heritage. Their home is marked with a plaque reading “Intangible Cultural Heritage (Embroidery) Inheritance Activity Base of Hongta District (红塔区), Yuxi City (玉溪市).” The couple persistently teaches embroidery and traditional Yi dance every Thursday at Yumiao Primary School (玉苗小学). Even after becoming paralyzed due to illness, Shi Guifeng continues her teaching with the help of her husband, who pushes her in a wheelchair.

Sharing of Embroidery Techniques

Shi Guifeng not only creates exquisite embroidery works herself but also willingly shares her skills with embroiderers from near and far. Whenever someone requests a pattern, she can effortlessly sketch one according to their needs and guide them in color matching.

The Impact of Her Work

Through these approaches, Shi Guifeng not only ensures the inheritance of Yi embroidery within her community but also inspires a broader appreciation and passion for this traditional art form.

Measures to Encourage Women in the Village to Learn Embroidery

Establishment of an Embroidery Activity Room

As a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor, Shi Guifeng established the “Yulong Danfeng (玉龙丹凤)” embroidery activity room, attracting many women interested in embroidery. The activity room serves as a communal space for learning and exchanging embroidery techniques.

Free Training Opportunities

Shi Guifeng provides free embroidery training in the activity room, openly sharing her knowledge and skills. She teaches women how to embroider traditional Yi patterns and enhances their abilities in color coordination and pattern design.

Integration with Economic Incentives

Shi Guifeng helps women transform their embroidery works into sources of income. By encouraging them to create embroidery products for sale at local cultural tourism events, she enables them to earn while learning, offering both cultural and economic benefits.

Combining Cultural Inheritance with Income Generation

The embroidery activity room serves not only as a platform for passing down skills but also as a hub that integrates cultural inheritance with economic development. Through embroidery, women preserve Yi culture while improving household income and quality of life.

Role Model for the Community

Shi Guifeng and her husband Pu Hongxing are admired role models in their community. Their dedication to cultural education and heritage has encouraged more women to engage in embroidery, contributing to the practice of core socialist values in rural life.

Through these efforts, Shi Guifeng has not only preserved the Yi embroidery tradition but has also elevated the cultural and economic well-being of women in her community, making a significant contribution to the preservation and development of Yi culture.

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