If the shoe fits—Chinese ethnic shoe cultrure
Cloth shoes are those most widely worn by Chinese minorities. The beautiful decorations on them show their rich culture. Cloth shoes are a national art and craft, an ornament for view and admiration, integrating color with embroidery. These shoes also serve as a practical daily necessity. The Pumi, Puyi, Miao, Tujia, She, Maonan and Yi minorities all wear embroidered shoes that encompass their aesthetic approach, local habit and social information.
Cloth shoes of the Shui ethnic group
Cloth shoes of the Shui ethnic group are covered with embroideries; the geometrical designs are linked from the front to the rear of the shoe. The heel is designed with applique. The craftsmanship of these shoes is beautiful. Talented Shui women stitch their embroidery in a variety of ways.
In order to adapt to the moist weather,the Shuis also wear "zhebi," which have nails on the heels. The shoe upper is sewn to the sole with cotton thread, painted with a layer of tong oil, then 17 flat-headed nails are attached to the sole, preventing the sole from becoming wet or being slippery. These shoes are suitable for walking on muddy paths in Guizhou Province. where the weather is rainy throughout the year.
Cloth shoes of the Dong minority
Cloth shoes of the Dong minority are embroidered with the smooth and fluid lines of botanic, expressing the lively and subtle character of Dong women. While the Naxi like to use bright red, broad-edged shoes which have lively and colorful embroideries of bird, animals and flowers that relate to their philosophy of “living together with heaven and earth.”
Cloth shoes of the Mongolian minority
The Mongolian minority resides in northern China, where the weather can be severely cold. They wear cloth boots to keep themselves warm.Although the ground is covered with snow, the colorful embroideries of flowers and grass on their boots bring them a breath of spring.
Zhuang women's shoes
Zhuang women's shoes are elegant, with their hooked toe puff and embroidery lines that are both realistic and abstract. This expresses these people's dual character of being unconstrained, yet refined. Zhuang women also like to wear embroidered shoes that have a strap and buckle. Using colored threads, they embroider figures, flowers and leaves on top of the shoe, blending natural forms with decorative style.
Grassland minorities' shoe
Grassland minorities' shoe forms also follow functionality. Daurs wear black cloth shoes. The toe puff is usually 3 cm longer than the sole. Unique in style, the shoe is practical too-wear-ing them, one can run swiftly through the fields. The Yis wear hooked cloth shoes, suitable in the fields and places where wild grasses grow. The colorful lines embroidered on the dark upper is simple, the pattern is strong with motion, looking like a flower from afar and a bird from a closer angle. These shoes express Yi women's character of loving life and desire to make progress.
Man's flower pot shoe
Among floral shoes of the minorities, the Man's "flower pot" shoe is the most familiar. They are called "flower pot" shoes because the high (7-10 cm) platform of wood in the middle of the sole. It is wrapped in white cloth and the upper is embroidered with the lines of flowers and Brass. Tassels made of silk thread decorate the shoe tips. The special design or the shoe originates from the present day Man's ancestors who wanted to prevent snakes from biting them when they went gathering food on the mountains. They tied a piece of wood on the sole, which gradually developed into the high-and-low shoes. Wearing these shoes makes one look elegant and, if worn with a qipao, the long dress will not trail along the floor while the feet will still be covered.
These unique canvas shoes, lively in color while practically fit to face the e1ements of their specific region, truly reflea the rich cultural heritage of the people who wear them.
leather shoes
In the past, ethnic groups in the northeast and northwest lived by hunting and so there was a large resource of animal skins. Therefore, minorities living in the western regions of China 4000 years ago wore leather shoes.
By the year 302 B.C. in the Warring States Period (475—221 B.C.) , the craft of shoe-making was introduced to the central areas by King Wuling of the Zhao Kingdom and since then the dominant Han nationality began to wear leather boots. Until now,16 minorities including the Mongolians, Tibetan, Uygurs, Uzbeks, Xibe and Oroqen who live in the west, northeast and northwest still use animal skin as the main material in shoe-making.
Shoes of The Oroqen and Ewenki ethnicities
The Oroqen and Ewenki ethnicities commonly use roe deer skin to make shoes. Their footwear is decorated with simple designs of animals and flowers. Leather shoes are so important to Oroqen and Ewenki people that when someone dies, their shoes are buried with them.
The Russian ethnicity's "yudaike" boots
The Russian ethnicity's "yudaike" boots are made from horse skin, while special shoes are made from mustang skin that is dyed red. The Hezhen have always been a fishing community. They use the skins of the huaitou fish, zheluo fish and pike in manufacturing fish-skin boots. The boot-leg is usually 30 cm long. Lined with grass and tied to theleg with fish-skin straps, the boot is especially comfortable and warm. Tibetan boots are usually made from horse skin or yak skin, the sole is hard but the upper is soft. The boots have a layer of woolen fabric in them and there is a 10 cm long slit at the back of the boot which makes wearing and removing the boot easier. The style of the boots is rustic but designed for maximum comfort.
Grass Shoes
The most common resource in southern and northern China is plants. Minorities residing in the northeast, south and southwest use grass and wood to make shoes. The grass shoes of the Buyi, Dong, Gelo and Korean minorities are considered traditional handicrafts. The Korean ethnicity has the longest history of wearing grass shoes. As early as in the Han Dynasty (206 B.C-220 A.D.), ancestors of the Korean minority wore "cloth robes and grass shoes." In pre-liberation days, poor people of the Korean minority were bare-footed and those who could afford to wear shoes were seen as "rich people.” Grass shoes of the Korean ethnicity vary, some are shaped like a boat while some cover the whole foot.
Other ethnic groups like the Yi's use longxu grass or rice stems to make shoes that have six ears along the edge. Grass woven laces or cloth straps are threaded through the ears and tied to make the shoe secure. The four-eared grass shoes of the Yao are particularly fine. Yao women weave colorful thread into the grass that makes the shoe durable and pretty.
The Dong usually wear grass shoes that have no heels. Dong women weave colorful silk thread into the grass. The Li, Dai, Jing reside in the southwest or south, and Korean minority who reside around Changbai Mountain in the northeast, all wear wooden shoes
The Zhuang also have a long history of wearing wooden shoes and even wear the shoes in traditional sport activities and dances. The wooden shoes of the Hani ethnicity are similar to the wooden shoes of the Japanese, with a Y shaped bow on the front that is placed in between the toes. |
