Home >

Wu Jianhua: Flowing The "Blood Of Silk", Guarding The "Crown Of Beauty"

2024/6/19 13:11:00 3

　　 Ten thousand steps a day can only lead ten meters of warp, and one inch of brocade can be produced by beating thousands of shuttles. Silk is divided into 14 categories, including spinning, crepe, satin, damask, yarn, silk, velvet, brocade, gauze, cloth, Ge, Ti, silk, and silk. Brocade is the most complex and exquisite one. Suzhou Song Brocade is made of superior mulberry silk, and is praised as the "crown of brocade" in China because of its gorgeous color, exquisite pattern, and firm and soft texture. In recent years, "new Chinese style" has sprung up, and "Song brocade" has become a popular word on the Internet.

　　 Little known is that under the impact of modern industry and other factors, the traditional Song brocade once declined, and its production skills were on the verge of extinction. "Song brocade is like a dusty pearl, abandoned in the corner, and no one pays attention to it." Recalling the experience of meeting Song brocade in 2009, Wu Jianhua, the chairman of Suzhou Shangjiukai Silk Technology and Culture Co., Ltd., sighed with emotion. Wu Jianhua is the one who sweeps away the dust for the "Pearl of Song Brocade".

　　 Wu Jianhua, Chairman of Wujiang Dingsheng Silk Co., Ltd. and Suzhou Shangjiukai Silk Technology and Culture Co., Ltd.

　　 As the inheritor of Wujiang's silkworm and silk weaving skills (silk weaving skills) district level intangible cultural heritage and the promotion ambassador of China's textile intangible cultural heritage, Wu Jianhua has been engaged in the silk industry for more than 30 years, making outstanding contributions to the inheritance of Song brocade skills, the promotion of Song brocade culture, and the promotion of innovative development of intangible cultural heritage. He led his team to successfully develop an electronic jacquard that conforms to the traditional weaving process of Song brocade, which has increased the weaving speed of Song brocade by 200 times. He is known as the first person to "live protection" of Song brocade, and has realized the industrialization development of human intangible cultural heritage Song brocade. He led the research and development team to develop Song brocade fabric, which became the new Chinese clothing fabric for APEC leaders in Beijing, and led the company to become one of the only two silk enterprises shortlisted in the G20 National Rites. So far, more than 100 products of Shangjiukai Song Brocade have been selected by the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to purchase national gifts, and the brand has also been selected by the Cocoon and Silk Office of the Ministry of Commerce as a key demonstration brand in the 13th Five Year Development Plan of Chinese Silk. He has won the National Cocoon and Silk Industry Lifetime Achievement Award and other honors.

　　 On the road of 15 years' rejuvenation of the Song brocade, Wu Jianhua never stopped, and devoted himself to guarding the "crown of beauty" of China in the process of warp, weft, weave and cut.

　　 "Chinese people have silk blood in their bones"

　　 When the reporter saw Wu Jianhua, he was dressed in a simple Chinese dress, sitting up and standing up, which was very stylish.

　　 "Dong Wu likes to wear things handed down from the ancestors in his heart," said Zhu, an employee of Shangjiukai. "He wears most Song brocade on formal occasions, never wears a suit, and most casual clothes for walking are silk, so he always takes some Chinese elements."

　　 Some people attribute this love to the "silk gene" of generations of textile industry of the Wu family. But for a long time, Wu Jianhua, who grew up listening to the sound of a loom, "didn't know he liked silk", until one day he wore a silk shirt handed down by his grandfather.

　　 It was a "leather egg green" shirt, which was dyed by plants. It was as breathable as the "second layer of skin", and as neat and stylish as the gauze.

　　 "At that time, I was still in primary school, and I had never worn such comfortable and beautiful clothes." Recalling the situation at that time, Wu Jianhua said excitedly, "I feel so good! My waist is straight when I walk on the road!"

　　 The spontaneous sense of pride at that time was jokingly called "blood awakening" by Wu Jianhua.

　　 Nowadays, whenever Wu Jianhua goes out wearing Song brocade, he always meets people who want to "touch", and he is also generous about this. Most of the time, he will be touched dozens of times a day.

　　 "The charm of silk does not depend on the eyes. It can only be felt when it is worn and touched." Wu Jianhua said with a smile that anyone who has touched the Song brocade would praise it and yearn for it.

　　 Perhaps, as Wu Jianhua said, "Chinese people have silk blood in their bones".

　　 "In 1999, the turnover reached 'one small target'"

　　 Probably because of love, but also to inherit and protect this awakening "blood", Wu Jianhua has worked on the "Silk Road" for half his life.

　　 In 1989, Wu Jianhua, a management major, chose to enter Wujiang Xinsheng Silk Weaving Factory. In just two years, he has developed a "master's touch" through painstaking research, and can judge the variety, meter, longitude and latitude of the fabric only by touching.

　　 In 1996, the Xiahai tide swept Shengze, and Wu Jianhua resigned to start from scratch. Unlike most people, he did not choose the chemical fiber industry with high profits. Instead, he took a small leather bag and mounted a motorcycle to start the silk trade.

　　 It's hard to walk against the current. Fortunately, your Kung Fu will pay off.

　　 "In 1999, the turnover reached 'one small goal'." Wu Jianhua said, "The next year, I used my savings to establish the prosperous silk."

　　 The enterprise has developed rapidly. In 2009, Dingsheng Silk purchased the former Dongwu Silk Weaving Factory. This silk mill was one of the old "Song brocade giants", and was once a banner in China's silk industry.

　　 This is a crucial turning point in Wu Jianhua's life. At that time, he stood in the storeroom of the Soochow Silk Weaving Factory, like a treasure hunter who fell into the gold mine. The products accumulated by the old factory for a hundred years are vividly displayed on the old fabrics.

　　 "The unique fabric, as long as the simple design, can produce amazing fashion." Wu Jianhua said, "When Princess Diana's wedding, the stunning dress dress was made of 4D taffeta from the Soochow Silk Weaving Factory. Only this one in a million fabric can present the exaggerated and gorgeous outline of the dress dress while shining."

　　 In the face of the "treasure" of silk weaving left by the ancestors, Wu Jianhua secretly resolved to let more people know, see and wear these excellent silk fabrics, and pass on the treasures left by the ancestors.

　　 In 2012, the "Shangjiukai" brand was born, and the products of Soochow emerged from nowhere, and the prosperous silk embarked on the road of butterfly transformation.

　　 "The new Chinese style began 10 years ago"

　　 In 2023, "new Chinese style clothing" became popular. For a while, "new Chinese style" product orders surged, which was also called "new Chinese style first year" by netizens.

　　 In Wu Jianhua's eyes, "the new Chinese style began 10 years ago".

　　 At the welcome dinner of the 2014 APEC Informal Leaders' Meeting, the "new Chinese dress" worn by the participants amazed the world. On the same day, the word "Song Jin" was on the microblog hot search, and the media who interviewed Wu Jianhua by phone queued up until the early morning.

　　 The new brand "Shangjiukai", as a clothing fabric supplier for APEC leaders, also "rose with the wind" that year.

　　 It is only five years since Wu Jianhua saw the Song brocade, a "legacy pearl", in the fabric warehouse of the Soochow Silk Mill and wiped the dust off it.

　　 During these five years, Wu Jianhua and his "Shangjiukai" team devoted their manpower and material resources to the rescue protection of Song Jin. From collecting all kinds of traditional patterns of Song brocade, to studying the weaving process, from weaving 25 meters of Song brocade per day to making the first bag of Song brocade, it was difficult and varied.

　　 The splendid appearance on APEC has accelerated the development of Shangjiukai.

　　 Since then, Song brocade has repeatedly become a national gift and a gorgeous card for Chinese culture to show to the outside world. Wu Jianhua has made unremitting efforts to promote Song brocade to the world.

　　 In the global "fashion highland" Italy, Shangjiukai has set up a design studio, hired an international first-class design team to participate in product design, skillfully combined fashion elements with Song brocade culture, and promoted Song brocade to become a high-grade and high-end terminal product.

　　 Wu Jianhua also invested 20 million yuan to build the first Chinese Song Brocade Cultural Park with the theme of Song Brocade, integrating popular science education, ecological leisure, tourism and shopping. The park has a large collection of pictures and texts about Song Brocade, as well as archaeological pieces of brocade from different dynasties. Primary and middle school students from all over the country come here to study, observe the teacher Fu weaving Song brocade with "the same style of the Song Dynasty" wooden loom in the public benefit class, understand the past and present life of Song brocade, and feel the rich cultural heritage of the first ancient silk town in China.

　　 Such public welfare undertakings are of great significance to Wu Jianhua. In his eyes, the core of the inheritance and development of traditional skills is innovation. Only by quietly integrating Song brocade into the production and life of the masses can it be recognized by consumers and truly achieve the ultimate goal of intangible cultural heritage protection - living inheritance.

　　 To this end, Wu Jianhua went deep into the "fashion base" of young people and published many popular science of Song brocade on the Little Red Book.

　　 Wu Jianhua said confidently, "We should combine the millennium craftsmanship with the original design concept, shape the variety of Song brocade, and let intangible cultural heritage integrate into people's life with a younger attitude and a more grounded form while integrating and leading the fashion trend."

　　 "Give Song brocade infinite rebirth with AI"

　　 Based on the "old base" of Shangjiukai, we are indomitable on the road of youth. It not only focuses on marketing and grass planting, but also focuses on cultural digitalization, industrial informatization, intelligent management and other aspects.

　　 In May this year, Shangjiukai Song Brocade Arts and Culture Center was completed, and Wu Jianhua, as one of the sponsors, launched the Song Brocade Inheritance and Development Alliance.

　　 "The cultural memory, life aesthetics, pattern stories, etc. of Song brocade will be sorted, recorded, and digitally presented in this position." Wu Jianhua said, "We will also use AI intelligent technology to creatively transform and apply traditional content, continuously develop and produce patterns of Song brocade with the characteristics of the times, and give Song brocade infinite rebirth with AI." 　　

　　 In fact, in order to better protect, inherit and develop the Song brocade, as early as 2012, Shangjiukai started the copyright registration work, and realized the digital collection of the traditional patterns and second innovation patterns of Song brocade. 　　

　　 In the future, these patterns with beauty and stories will no longer be hidden in museums. They can not only be worn by people, but also be used in architectural design, binding design and other fields. From a tea cup to a building, it can be decorated with Song brocade patterns. 　　

　　 Also this year, Shangjiukai launched the organic renewal of the industry. While expanding the production capacity, it launched the intelligent and digital transformation and upgrading of the workshop to achieve information sharing and collaborative decision-making in all links. 　　

　　 Leading in innovation and seeking change in exploration, the road of Song brocade is fast and steady. 　　

　　 "The road of inheriting intangible cultural heritage is bound to be long and arduous. Only by continuing to study hard and making contributions to building brands, enriching connotation, keeping up with fashion and other links for a long time, can we make greater contributions to inheriting the skills of Song brocade, promoting the culture of Song brocade, and promoting the innovative development of intangible cultural heritage." Wu Jianhua said.