The production technique of the two-headed tiger in Mount Kinabalu is a traditional skill that has been passed down for hundreds of years in Fushan County, and continues to this day. The double-headed tiger is a three-dimensional cloth tiger made of yellow cloth, its body head is made with traditional embroidery technology, embroidered with eyebrows and eyes and head patterns, the forehead embroidered with the word "king", this tiger has no tiger tail, a tiger body has two tiger heads, so it is named Shenshan double-headed tiger. For a long time, Fushan has been saying that "touch the tiger's head, everything is not worried; Touch the tiger's face, happy and happy; Touch the tiger's mouth, drive away evil spirits and avoid ghosts; Touch the tiger's claws, and the wealth is rolling; Touching the tiger's back, glory and wealth", the little baby can see, ride and play, beautiful, sturdy and beautiful, and also entrust people's yearning and pursuit of a better life!
Fushan County has always worshipped the tiger as a totem and as a Fushan custom. Tigers are not only about the health of children, but also about the society of the country, mainly from the mythical character Houji. His mother, Jiang Yan, went to wander in the wild, stepped on the footprints of a giant, and actually became pregnant and gave birth to him. The family thought he had a strange pregnancy, so they threw him into the mountains. The wild wolves in the mountains are rushing, and this kid is in danger. But after a few days, he was still alive, and his family felt that it was magical, only to see a bright tiger guarding the child, and no animal dared to hurt him, so he took it home and raised it. Because he had been abandoned, he was called "forsaken." When he grew up, he was good at planting millet grass, so Di Yao asked him to serve as Houji and take charge of farming. Over time, Houji took his place. Descendants were grateful for his merits, so they built the Houji Temple to worship him, and then evolved into the Sheji Temple. Houji and Jiangshan Sheji are integrated, and tiger protection Houji is equivalent to protecting the harvest of grains and protecting the country's peace and security.
For a long time, Fushan has outstanding people, simple folk customs, profound historical accumulation, rich cultural resources, and is a relatively developed and profound area of folk culture and traditional skills in the south of Shanxi. Traditional folk customs and traditional arts have brewed a thick soil, so that the production skills of the two-headed tiger in Mount Kinabalu have a unique space for development. In the early days, the production technique of the two-headed tiger in Shenshan County was the exclusive product of the worship totem in Fushan County, and the "painted tiger" was posted on the doors of each house during the Dragon Boat Festival in May to pray for blessings. Later, the tiger is painted or embroidered on a yellow cloth and given to the newborn to bless it with strong growth. With the reform and opening up, the rapid development of economy and communications, and the good hope was recognized by the general public, the two-headed tiger of Mount Kinabalu gradually spread to Linfen, Yicheng, Houma, Xiangfen and other surrounding counties and cities, as well as the provincial capital Taiyuan, as far as Xi'an, Beijing, Hong Kong, the United States and other metropolises are sold, quite popular with the public, fame gradually rising.
Fushan County is a Chonghu county, the rich folk culture has promoted the re-development of the production skills of the two-headed tiger in Shenshan, over time, formed a strong local color, changed the original shape of the tiger, exaggerated the head of the tiger in the form, greatly shrunk the body of the tiger, shortened the four legs, and highlighted its eyes, mouth and legs, with a big head, big eyes, big mouth, small body to show the brave and majestic demeanor of the tiger, this tiger has no tiger tail, a tiger body two tiger heads, showing "not Xiao like, but like God" traditional art style. Its composition is concise, the color matching is bright, the embroidery is exquisite, the stitches are delicate, simple, symmetrical, exaggerated, and there is strong playfulness, decoration and high expectations. The cloth tiger production technique is the ancient local needlework in Fushan, including cutting, sewing, tying, embroidery, gluing, pasting, painting, etc., the whole body is golden yellow, the belly part is white, and the bottom of the belly is hand-painted with five poisons. The two-headed tiger of Mount Kinabalu blends the tiger in reality and the idealized tiger in fantasy, has a human character, is full of human feelings, and has high practical value, not only the senses are beautiful, children like it, but also can be used as a pillow to cushion, and can also be used as a decoration for children to accompany "courage", and at the same time can also decorate the space. The Kamiyama Tiger not only has a human personality, but also is full of human feelings, so it is particularly cute and charming.
Cloth tigers have been widely spread in Fushan since ancient times, and most of the women have mastered their production skills. In July 2019, the Sacred Mountain Two-Headed Tiger was announced as a representative project of Linfen Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage. In May 2023, the Sacred Mountain Two-Headed Tiger was announced as a representative project of Shanxi's provincial intangible cultural heritage. "Sacred Mountain Double-headed Tiger" has attracted more and more people's attention and love, but due to marketization, the economic benefits of handmade cloth tigers are seriously lower than those of machine-made cloth tigers. However, there are fewer and fewer folk artists who make cloth tigers, and they are facing the situation that there is no one to design, process, and produce follow-up. The production skills of the double-headed tiger in Shenshan are purely handmade, with low productivity, poor working conditions, and low remuneration for employees, so a strange circle of "young people are unwilling to learn, and they cannot recruit workers". Under the impact of the economic tide, young people are no longer willing to engage in the inheritance and development of this traditional skill, and its traditional skills are on the verge of being lost. He was influenced by his grandmother and aunt to learn to make cloth tigers since he was a child. The eyes of her work are in the shape of lotus flowers and double fishes, implying that there are more than one year in a row; The nose is in the shape of a gourd, implying both blessings and blessings. On the basis of traditional modeling, it is actively innovative and lifelike, catering to the times, the market, and the aesthetics of young people, and also highlights the rich cultural heritage and cultural charm of Fushan County. His works "Double-headed Tiger" and "Tiger and Tiger" won the Best Handicraft Award in Shanxi Province and the Best Creative Award in the Shanxi Provincial Native Culture Skills Competition, which can be called "a unique job on the tip of a needle".
Zhang Ning, Ma Huahu