Bai Xiaobai – Master of Yi Embroidery and Paper-cut in Honghe County, Honghe 

Bai Xiaobai – Master of Yi Embroidery and Paper-cut in Honghe County, Honghe

Bai Xiaobai (Bai Xiaobo) is a skilled Yi ethnic embroidery and paper-cutting artist from Daxinzhai Village, Leyu Town, Honghe County, Yunnan Province. Below is a detailed introduction about her:

Personal Background

Bai Xiaobo was born in 1953 and grew up in Daxinzhai Village. From a young age, she was influenced by her elders’ embroidery skills and developed a strong interest in Yi ethnic embroidery and paper-cutting.

Craft Features

  • Embroidery Skills: Her embroidery works are known for their unique design concepts, exquisite layout, and vibrant colors. They retain the traditional characteristics of the Yi Nisu people while incorporating innovative elements, making them widely popular.
  • Paper-Cutting Skills: She can create vivid patterns of landscapes, flowers, birds, dragons, and phoenixes without pre-designed templates, showcasing her exceptional artistic talent.

Legacy and Contributions

  • Skill Transmission: Bai Xiaobo actively organizes free embroidery training sessions to cultivate a new generation of embroiderers and encourages more young women to join the effort to preserve embroidery culture.
  • Cooperative Development: In 2014, she initiated the establishment of Honghe County’s first hand-embroidery cooperative, adopting a “company + cooperative + embroiderers” business model. This initiative has enabled rural women to achieve flexible employment and has turned embroidery into a prosperous industry for local villagers.
  • Cultural Promotion: She has introduced embroidery skills to schools multiple times, allowing teachers and students to experience the charm of Yi embroidery and paper-cutting. Through cultural exchange activities, she has also helped Yi embroidery reach broader markets.

Influence and Honors

  • Bai Xiaobo has been named a provincial-level folk art craftsman and representative inheritor of intangible cultural heritage by the Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.
  • Her works have been showcased and awarded at various provincial and prefectural cultural industry expos.
  • Through six decades of dedication, she has revitalized Yi embroidery in the modern era, making significant contributions to rural revitalization and cultural preservation.