最好的竹编作品（竹编技术入门）

湖南盛产楠竹、水竹、斑竹等各种竹类，竹编技艺历史悠久、遍布全省。

片竹成丝，编竹成器，竹编工艺是细活，慢活，也是力气活。

第八期的品湘记，来自俄罗斯的波妮娜和来自乌兹别克斯坦的李想在雨花区非遗馆向竹编技艺大师李元跃拜师学艺。

挑竹、片竹、编竹，在他们的手中，长长的竹条将被织就出怎样的精彩呢?

匠人李元跃：要懂竹，才能做竹编

“我跟竹子打了五十年交道了，祖上世世代代都是做竹编的。要懂竹，才能做竹编。”来自湖南湘西的李元跃是位竹编技艺大师，今年已经六十七了。长得精瘦，肤色黝黑，精气神很不错，编竹子的时候手指飞快，外人甚至看不清他的动作。

凭着一身的好技艺，李师傅是雨花非遗馆的一个大红人。前脚刚送走20来个来学习竹编工艺的小学生，后脚李师傅就又迎来了两个“洋”徒弟。

从一根竹子到成品，要经过截竹子、刮节、剥篾子等10多道工序。李师傅先挑好了竹子，然后拿着破刀开始劈篾。手起刀落，一片竹片，在师傅手上嗖嗖嗖地，不一会儿就破了20多层，一片竹篾的厚度不过一两毫米，最窄的仅有头发般粗细，让小徒弟们啧啧称奇。

竹篾放在锋利的刮篾刀上，往上一拉，竹青碎屑落下，刮好青的竹片表面呈淡黄色，波妮娜好奇地感受了一下，“真的变光滑了!”看到这儿，李想有些按捺不住跃跃欲试的心。在师傅的指点下，李想有模有样的往上一拉，碎屑零零落落的洒在了地上。“第一次已经很不错啦。”李师傅的夸赞让本来有些忐忑李想不自觉地笑了笑。

新手初体验：我第一次用竹子编东西呢

编竹成器，考验的正是手上功夫。桌上的竹编小船最先吸引了李想和波妮娜的视线，今天就它了!

刚刚颇为神气的李想，碰到了精细的手艺活，就有些不知所措。“这个地方要压，这个地方要挑。”李师傅在一旁耐心地指点着。李想略微有些笨拙的手指在窄窄的竹片间穿来穿去，一边蹙着眉不停地嘟嘟囔囔，“这个好难，真的好难!”

与之相反，手拿粉色的竹丝的波妮娜，脸上的笑容就没有消失过。“粉色是最好看的颜色，我要编一只全粉色的小船。”说这话时，颇有些小女生的天真无邪。“俄罗斯没有竹编这项艺术，我第一次用竹子编东西呢!”波妮娜按照李元跃的指导，很快掌握了竹编的窍门。

李元跃看在眼里，止不住说：“这女娃儿聪明得很咧!”没想到带着方言的普通话波妮娜也听懂了，她低头露出羞涩地笑容，手中的竹丝飞舞得更欢了。

匠心传承，千年技艺再获新生

“竹编太好玩、太好玩了。”波妮娜拿着自己手作的独一无二的粉色小船，高兴地向记者炫耀。“做竹编的时候，我觉得世界都安静了，我完全沉浸在这里面，只有我和我的小船。”

慢慢掌握了规律，迎头赶上的李想也做好了自己的彩色小船。“我还从来没有自己做过手工艺品呢!原来我也挺厉害的啊。”李想带着几分羞涩和雀跃，笑着向记者展示。

李师傅对两个徒弟的作品都很满意，“两个娃都聪明得不得了呢!”竹片在手，总能给人一种回归自然的舒适感。李师傅回忆说，湘西盛产竹，再加上山路多，大家劳作时习惯背着个背篓装东西。自己年轻的时候，竹编制品在当地非常普遍。捞鱼的鱼篓，筛米的筛子，放东西的篓子，家家户户都用竹子编。相比起现在越来越多的塑料、不锈钢等其他材料的制品，竹编才是他们那个年代的承载。

2008年，竹编技艺被列入湖南省级非物质文化遗产代表性项目名录。非遗馆内，到了周末或暑假，就有不少小学生、大学生、外国学生慕名而来，学习和感受竹编技艺。没人前来参观学习时，李师傅就一个人坐在竹编馆里，破竹、编竹……即便馆外人声鼎沸，他也专注在手上的活儿，头也不抬一下。

Hunan abounds in phyllostachys pubescens water bamboo mottled bamboo and other bamboo species. Techniques including bamboo weaving and bamboo carving been passed from generation to generation throughout Hunan province.

Cutting grinding and plaiting. Bamboo weaving is a work of attention patience and strength.

In this episode the foreign students Polly and Li Xiang from Russia and Uzbekistan will show you their study experience of bamboo weaving in Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum Yuhua District.

What kind of wonderful performance will they bring to us?

Master Li : You need to understand bamboo before you work with bamboo

"You need to understand bamboo before you work with bamboo. My ancestors lived on bamboo and I have been dealing with bamboo for fifty years. Li Yuanyue a master of bamboo weaving is 67 years old this year. His ancestral home is in Xiangxi Hunan Province. His family has a history of nearly 100 years of inheritance of bamboo weaving technology.

With his good skills Master Li becomes a great celebrity of the museum. Seeing off 20 pupils walking out of the bamboo weaving hall with their bamboo boats in hands master Li was again surrounded by his new students- Polly and Lixiang.

Selecting the bamboo and then chopping the bamboo strips with a broken knife master Li finished the work with ease. It was almost in no time a piece of bamboo was soon broken into 20 layers.

"Different crafts have different requirements for the thickness of bamboo. It all depends on the usage of knife." The unpolished bamboo strips were still a bit rough master took them to Polly and asked her to feel." Never mind they will soon become smooth after scraping!"

Placing them on the sharp scraper and pulled them upward and the strips were polished. Polly touched the strip with curiosity "It's really smooth!" Seeing this Li Xiang could not hold back his eagerness to try. Under the guidance of the master Li Xiang finished his work with good performance." It's quite good for the first time!" The praise from the master made him confident and smiled.

Polly: It is my first time woving things with bamboo!

After the preparation process the students started their second task- bamboo weaving. The bamboo boat on the table has attracted all the attention of them thus they decided to make a boat this time.

However this time the confident Li Xiang was faced with big challenges in such a delicate work. "Press this strip and poke another one." the master was guiding patiently. Li Xiang followed the orders with his "clumsy" fingers and couldn't stop murmuring "It's really HARD!"

On the contrary Polly with a piece of bamboo dyed pink in her hand couldn’t help smiling constantly. "Pink is the best color. I'm going to make a boat of all pink." When saying so she glittered with a girlish kind of innocence and enjoyment.

"There is no such art as bamboo weaving in Russia. It is my first time woving things with bamboo!" Polly quickly mastered the knack of bamboo weaving under the guidance of Li Yuanyue.

"This girl is very clever!" Li yuanyue didn’t expect that Polly could indeed understand his dialectal Mandarin. Hearing his compliment she lowered her head smiled shyly and speeded up with her knitting. Polly’s knitting progress is much faster than Li Xiang’s. Sometimes without Li Yuanyue's guidance she studies the boat model and moved forward on herself.

A technique lasted for thousands of years recruiting new admirers

"Bamboo weaving is so much fun!" Polly delightedly showed off her unique pink bamboo boat to the reporters. “When weaving the bamboo the world quiets down around me. I am totally immersed in my work only me and my boat."

Gradually mastering the technique Li Xiang caught up and made his own colorful boat. "I had never made my own handicraft yet! Turns out I’m pretty good with it.” Li Xiang smiled at us shyly but joyfully.

“Teacher” Li was very satisfied with the works of both his apprentices. “They are incredibly smart!" Bamboo slices in hand always give people a comfortable urge to return to nature. Master Li recalled that when he was young bamboo was very popular. Fish baskets rice sieves and storage baskets were all made of bamboo. Compared with the prevalent plastic products nowadays bamboo weaving was the star of their time. "

In fact bamboo woven artifacts are not only more durable and environmentally friendly they also hold up bigger spaces." Through these skillful hands of enthusiastic craftsmen like Li bamboo strips can be turned into various products. In 2008 bamboo weaving was enrolled in Hunan provincial intangible cultural heritage representative project list. In the museum pupils college students and foreigners all gather together to learn and experience the art of bamboo weaving a technique that has lasted for thousands of years and continues to recruit new admirers.

记者 彭可心 周杨

视频 陆薇 李真明

实习生 余筝 唐乐霖

特别鸣谢 湖南雨花非遗馆 中南大学