After more than a hundred processes such as drawing, material selection, soaking, gluing, and processing, a high-quality traditional ox horn bow can be created.
Ma Guocai and his neighbor were sorting beef tendon strings used to make horn bows in the yard.
Ma Guocai and the traditional ox horn bow he made.
□Qi Wanqiang
In the Mahala Valley in the mountains south of Ledu District, Haidong City, Qinghai Province, there is a very inconspicuous small village-Hedong Village, Chengtai Township. In the village there is a craftsman named Ma Guocai, who has been silently Inheriting the traditional folk production method of horn bow left by our ancestors, we use a pair of calloused hands to carry forward this traditional skill that exudes a rich historical and cultural atmosphere.
There is a popular saying in the Ledu area: "Horse racing in the North Mountains, archery in the Nanshan Mountains." Since ancient times, archery and horse racing, two folk activities, have been passed down in the mountains in the north and south on both sides of the Huangshui River. Among them, Nanshan archery is a traditional sport that has lasted for hundreds of years.
The history of making traditional ox-horn bows by Ma Guocaijia can be traced back to the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. His great-grandfather Ma Shangyou was skilled in making bows and was praised by the locals as "One Bow". This reputation has been passed down by word of mouth for more than a hundred years. His grandfather, Ma Bingfu, inherited his father's business. He received the true inheritance from his father and carried forward the skills of making ox-horn bows. Ma Guocai's father, Ma Jianbang, grew up in a traditional ox-horn bow-making environment. While inheriting traditional production skills, he also gave new elements to ox-horn bows through continuous learning.
In Ma Guocai's memory, when he was very young, he followed his father Ma Jianbang to famous bow craftsmen's families in Yunnan, Guizhou, Gansu and other places, studying under his masters while earning money to support his family. During this period, by chance, they came across an old "Bali Bow" (the name of an ancient bow) used in martial arts schools in the Qing Dynasty. As if they had found a treasure, they spent most of their savings to bring this bow back to their hometown and began to study it intently. path of exploration.
It is precisely because of this "Bali Bow" that it has injected new elements into the Ma family's traditional horn bow making skills. After a day's work, Ma Guocai and his father sat cross-legged in front of the kang table. Under the dim oil lamp, they disassembled the parts of the bow one by one, drew them one by one on straw paper, marked the length and dimensions, and recorded them based on the knowledge he had mastered. On weekdays, they searched for similar materials such as mulberry wood and buffalo horn, and finally worked hard to create a one-to-one restoration bow.
learning is for better innovation. Ma Guocai and his father Ma Jianbang, combined with the climate conditions in Qinghai and the habit of using bows and arrows, moderately adjusted the size and material of the "Bali bow" to form two types of ox-horn bows suitable for different purposes - the large bow and the horse bow. Large bows are mainly used by adults to practice archery and participate in competitions on a daily basis; horse bows are smaller in size and are very suitable for children to practice mounted archery.
Ma Guocai, who has been making horn bows with his father since he was a child, also abandoned his skills and went out to work for many years in order to make a living. However, he finally returned to his hometown, picked up the dusty tools, sat around the fire with his children on a quiet night in the countryside, and revisited this long-standing craft.
Ma Guocai is not alone in his perseverance. In recent years, the country has paid special attention to the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage. The whole society has reached a consensus that protecting, inheriting and utilizing intangible cultural heritage is essential for continuing the historical context, strengthening cultural confidence and promoting exchanges and interactions between civilizations. It is of great significance to learn from and build a strong socialist cultural country.
With the support of Ledu District’s policy of “party building guidance + intangible inheritance, boosting people’s cultural confidence”, Ledu Guocai Cultural Tourism Development Co., Ltd. was established in Hedong Village in 2016, manufacturing and selling tourist souvenirs and traditional ox horn bows and other businesses as the basis, and gradually become bigger and stronger. Ma Guocai's daughter Ma Suming, villagers Liu Jiwen, Ma Hongmei and others became the fifth generation inheritors of traditional horn bow making. The ox-horn bows they produce are exported to Hebei, Xinjiang, Gansu and other places. People from Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Xining City and other places in Qinghai Province also come here because of their reputation. The ox-horn bows are deeply loved by all ethnic groups in archery. The reader’s love.
Inheriting traditional culture is of great significance to promoting cultural diversity and enhancing cultural confidence. As the fourth generation inheritor of the family's traditional ox-horn bow, Ma Guocai sticks to his spiritual home with a persistent belief.
The pictures in this article were all taken by Qi Wanqiang
"Qinghai Daily" (Page 9, December 29, 2023: Society)
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