Lan Guixiang – Representative Inheritor of Fireweed Textile Craft Project in Yongsheng County, Lijiang 

Lan Guixiang (兰贵详) is the representative inheritor of the Huocao textile craft project in Liu De Township (六德乡), Yong Sheng County (永胜县), Lijiang City (丽江市), Yunnan Province. He bears the important responsibility of inheriting the traditional handicraft passed down through generations by the Yizu (彝族) people, a branch of the Talu people (他留人).

The Huocao textile craft is a unique skill of the Talu people, mainly spread in villages such as Shuang He (双河), Yun Shan (云山), and Yu Shui (玉水) in Liu De Lisu and Yi Township (六德傈僳族彝族乡), Yong Sheng County. This craft uses the natural plant Huocao as the raw material. Huocao is an annual lichen plant that grows in shady and damp shrublands. The white fluff on the back of its leaves can be torn off for weaving. The resulting “Huocao cloth” is breathable, warm, lightweight, durable, and resistant to deformation. It is mainly used for making traditional Talu clothing.

The process of Huocao textile is extremely complex, involving multiple steps from raw material collection to finished product. First, Huocao leaves are picked, washed, and the fluff is torn off. Then, the fluff is twisted into coarse threads, which are hung to dry and wound into thread balls for later use. Fine threads are then spun and arranged for weaving on a homemade loom composed of a frame, thread lifter, lifter rod, tension board, and wooden shuttle. Nowadays, due to the scarcity of Huocao, hemp and cotton threads are often added during weaving.

Among the Talu people, girls begin learning textile skills from their mothers at the age of seven or eight. The craft is mainly passed down within families, with some social transmission as a supplement. Lan Guixiang, deeply influenced by the traditional craft atmosphere since childhood, has mastered every aspect of the Huocao textile craft through long-term learning and practice. He is not only proficient in the entire process from Huocao picking to finished product production but also understands the cultural value carried by this craft.

With strong support from the government, the Talu Huocao textile craft has been listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage. Lan Guixiang actively engages in inheritance activities, participating in concentrated learning and practice sessions with other inheritors. Together, they strive to pass down the Huocao textile craft, allowing this traditional handicraft—rich in the wisdom of the Talu people and characterized by its authenticity, practicality, artistry, and regional nature—to continue and develop. It showcases the profound and long-standing history of Chinese textile technology.