Liquidambar oil-dyed items: 'Blue-and-white porcelains painted on cloth'

Ran Guangjin (R) poses for a photo for advertising in Fengxiang batik clothing in Duyun city, SW China's Guizhou province, May 6, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

Huishui, a county in Southwest China's Guizhou province, is commonly referred to as the "hometown of Bouyei people's Liquidambar oil-dyed items." Given the items' ingenious, creative designs, many Chinese and foreign artists recognize the craft as an exquisite art form. Many artists refer to the items as "blue-and-white porcelains painted on cloth," as the artworks' patterns are like those on the porcelains. Ran Guangjin, a provincial-level inheritor of the craft, has made great contributions to the promotion of the traditional craft.

Ran Guangjin (C) gives students instruction in Fengxiang batik painting techniques at her workshop in Duyun city, SW China's Guizhou province, May 6, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

To make a Liquidambar oil-dyed item, craftspeople must complete complicated procedures — including dipping paintbrushes in the oil, mixed with butter and the oil of Chinese Sweet Gum Trees (Liquidambar taiwaniana), drawing patterns on handwoven white cloth, soaking the item in water, using the sap of Indigowoad Root to dye the cloth, repeatedly rinsing in boiling water to remove the oil, stewing and drying the cloth in the sun — by hand.