Editor’s Note: This article is produced in collaboration with the Chongqing Institute of Foreign Studies as part of a series of ongoing reports exploring the city’s abundant resources in intangible cultural heritages.
How much the ancients valued the Spring Festival can be exactly reflected in the efforts they took for their headdress. On the occasion of the Spring Festival, people cut the ribbons or carved gold foils into a human shape and put them on their hair for good luck, which is called "human victory". There were also other materials and shapes, such as flowers and lanterns. However, whether it was a festival or not, the ancient’s headwears were always so exquisite and have deeply attracted people even today. Yan Hong is one of them.
What can you do with a pile of cans or a handful of nuts?
Craftsperson Yan Hong can make a full set of Miao headdresses with 68 cans and she can also make gold armor with 3000 nutshells. Moreover, potatoes, toilet paper and old curtains can be turned into exquisite headdresses in her hands. With her creative ideas, she can turn waste into treasure and make different kinds of exquisite ornaments.
The headdress from Yan Hong (Photo provided to iChongqing)
Yan Hong, an ingenious girl from Chengdu, used to be a nurse before doing handicrafts. Hospital work, though stable, was not what she loved and yearned for most. After two years of working in the hospital, she chose to resign and began to seek what she loved. She used to run a lattice shop and then worked as a makeup artist while making headdresses.
In 2018, when the Story of Yanxi Palace went viral, she used the cheap torsion bars purchased online to imitate the velvet flowers worn by Fucha, the empress in the play, and uploaded her video online, which attracted countless people’s attention.
In May 2021, the headdress of Consort Hua in The Legend of Zhen Huan crafted by Yan Hong with pop cans surprised everyone. It had millions of video views and once hit the hot search lists on multiple network platforms, which helped her gain a lot of fans. Yan Hong said that it took nearly two months to make the headdress and there couldn't be carelessness in every step. For her popularity, she expressed her gratitude to everyone and promised to keep going to promote traditional Chinese culture in the future.
The headdress from Yan Hong (Photo provided to iChongqing)
As Yan Hong’s longtime fans know, the restored work of Consort Hua’s headdress is not the most amazing work but the "basic operation" in her works. People are full of praise for her original pieces, such as the Queen Mother of the West and the Nine-tailed Fox of the Classic of Mountains and Rivers, the silver headdress of Miao, etc. Even though many images in the Classic of Mountains and Rivers cannot be verified, the extension of Yan Hong’s imagination is infinite and charming. The artworks designed by combining her ideas with the original book are unique and full of romantic charm.
Such exquisite and beautiful works have been praised by people from all walks of life in China and have a great international influence. For example, she was invited to Milan Fashion Week with her 11 pieces of Chinese-style accessories. She was also invited to give a speech at Oxford University to share her works and creative experience with the world. In Yan Hong’s view, this was a rare opportunity for learning and cultural exchange. Being able to share the beauty of Chinese traditional culture and learn what she cannot normally reach is one of the reasons why she learns and makes traditional ornaments.
Accessories from Yan Hong were restored in the teleplay (Photo provided to iChongqing)
In recent videos, in addition to sharing the production process of headwear, Yan Hong added the introduction of traditional costumes and skills so that more people can better understand the Chinese traditional culture she loves. At the same time, she is still trying to acquire more professional knowledge and learn more methods and skills so as to combine new technology with the traditional culture to bring more work to everyone.
In the past few years, Yan Hong devoted her enthusiasm to work, making her dreams into seeds and planting them into exquisite works. From an angel in white (the medical staff is usually called "angel in white" in China) to a video blogger, from imitation to the original design, from manual artisan to craftsperson, Yan Hong has been on the progress of self-breakthrough. Her efforts, struggle, concentration and persistence are worth learning for each of us.
The headdress from Yan Hong (Photo provided to iChongqing)
Through the ages, the customs of the Spring Festival have changed, whereas the inheritance and development of culture remain unchanged. In the future, Yan Hong will continue to move forward, making her works rooted in traditional culture and grow vigorously. No matter how the years pass, Chinese people will make the same wish at Spring Festival – we would work hard, grow into better selves and strive for a better future for our motherland.
Chinese script: Ban Zhimin
Tutored by: Jing Xi
Translation: Zhu Ziying
Tutored by: Wei Jingjun Han Xiefang
Voice-over: Deng Qiqi
Tutored by: Xin Dandan