Shaoyang blue printed cloth is mainly distributed in Wufengpu Town, Tangdukou Town, Tangtian Town, Baicang Town, Guxian Town, Baoqing City and surrounding towns in Shaoyang County. In the early days of liberation, there were eight large dyeing workshops and more than 30 central dyeing houses in Baoqing County alone. In 1986, the last dyeing house of Shaoyang blue printed cloth stopped production in Wufengpu Town. Shaoyang blue printed cloth originated from the "Langgan spotted cloth" and wax damask of the Miao and Yao people in ancient times, and evolved from the wax dyeing of the Miao and Yao people in the country. According to the "Baoqing Prefecture Chronicle" and "Shaoyang County Chronicle": In the Tang Dynasty, cotton was introduced from various places in Shaoyang, and the cotton textile industry emerged. Shaoyang people used soybean milk lime instead of wax on the basis of wax dyeing. Therefore, Shaoyang people called this kind of anti-dyeing cloth soybean milk cloth. The Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Republic of China were the heyday of Shaoyang blue printed cloth industry, and Shaoyang became the production and sales center of blue printed cloth in South China and Southwest China. After the founding of New China, blue printed cloth gradually declined and died. Shaoyang blue printed cloth is a folk art that combines folk art and folk handicrafts. It is a two-color cloth dyed with indigo using resist-dyeing white paste. There are two types: blue background with white flowers and white background with blue flowers. It has the characteristics of not fading after dyeing, washing and sun-resistant, and the pattern becomes fresher with washing. Shaoyang blue printed cloth belongs to hollow printing. Its process is: first use thick oil paper to carve out the required pattern plate, then press the pattern plate on the cloth, and brush a resist paste mixed with lime and soy milk on the hollow part of the pattern plate. After drying, the cloth is thrown into the blue indigo dyeing tank for dyeing, and the slurry is removed after dyeing, and it is rinsed, dried and flattened. The patterns of Shaoyang blue printed cloth are mostly taken from folk legends or auspicious patterns. The most representative ones are "Phoenix Peony", "Lion Playing with Pearls", "Goldfish Playing with Lotus", "Auspicious and Abundant", "Phoenix and Deer", "Mandarin Ducks Playing in Water", "Deer and Crane in Spring", "Butterfly Playing with Peony", etc. Shaoyang blue printed cloth only uses one set of colors, and the production tools are simple and easy to operate. 1. Pattern plate: thick cardboard soaked in tung oil, with the designed pattern drawn on it, and then carved into a permeable pattern stencil with a carving knife. 2. Fabric: white cotton cloth woven with cotton yarn. 3. Anti-dyeing agent: a powder slurry mixed with lime and soy milk in proportion. 4. Dyeing agent: soak indigo grass in lime water, remove the residue after one week, and remove the clean water after precipitation to make indigo. 5. Dyeing vat, dyeing workshop, cloth-stepping stone, cloth drying rack. The main works of Shaoyang blue printed cloth include floral cloth, quilt cover, bed sheet, door and window, tablecloth, bundle, pillowcase, tent eaves, belt, headscarf, apron, bellyband, chair cover, etc., and the blue printed quilt cover, bed sheet, and tent eaves are the most famous. The inheritance of Shaoyang blue printed cloth art is mainly based on folk workshop-style inheritance. From the Republic of China period to the early founding of New China, there were 8 large dyeing workshops and more than 30 small and medium-sized dyeing workshops in Shaoyang County, with thousands of workers. Shaoyang blue printed cloth uses simple and primitive blue and white colors to create a simple, natural and ever-changing blue and white art world. Its basic characteristics are: 1. Practicality: Shaoyang blue printed cloth has been deeply loved by people since ancient times because of its deep blue and pure nature. Simple people use it to make clothes, doors and windows, wall enclosures, tabletops, tent eaves, aprons, bundles and bellybands. Women in particular have a special liking for blue printed cloth. 2. Decorativeness: Although Shaoyang blue printed cloth only has two forms, blue background with white flowers and white background with blue flowers, it has strong decorativeness and formal beauty. In terms of artistic treatment, between the blue and white colors, it pays attention to the contrast of large color blocks and the depiction of details, with fine dots and lines, cleverly assembled, virtual and real, light and dark, and properly adjusted, giving it a simple and fresh beauty. 3. Folklore: Shaoyang blue printed cloth is closely connected with Shaoyang's rural folklore. It is almost everywhere in the lives of ordinary people. What they wear, wear on their heads, cover their beds, and use in daily life are all blue printed cloth. When a girl gets married, she must have a blue printed quilt in her dowry. A full set of blue printed dowry can be seen in the bridal chamber. Shaoyang County blue printed cloth is a unity of material and art. It not only has universal practical value, but also has high aesthetic value. The pattern materials selected for blue printed cloth often contain some auspicious meaning, directly or indirectly reflecting the common psychological state, traditional folk customs and aesthetic tastes of the people. Shaoyang blue printed cloth has its own unique style and artistic value. One is the formal beauty of its printing and dyeing patterns. In the organization and expression of patterns, large blue bases are often used, and small dots are used in the middle to form circles of varying sizes, giving people a sense of "radiation". At the same time, changes in density and gathering and dispersion are produced, showing a lively and pleasant decorative beauty. Although the patterns of blue printed cloth are made of dot-line paintings in plane modeling, they are limited by woodblock printing and cannot delicately express the objects, highlight the sense of plane and decorative taste. However, folk artists are good at turning limitations into strengths, and make a fuss about printing and dyeing patterns and spots, showing rich and diverse aesthetic effects in the overall style of freshness, simplicity and brightness. Some are rough and strong, some are delicate and exquisite, and some are clear and simple. They set off each other, and the rhythm is seen from the balance, making the picture overflow with a strong local flavor. The second is the connotation value of printing and dyeing patterns. The connotation of Shaoyang blue printed cloth patterns mainly comes from the influence of Han culture, and there are also traces of multi-ethnic culture. It is good at using symbols, metaphors, homophony and other means to show the profound cultural accumulation and simple natural beauty of the Chinese nation. In 2008, the printing and dyeing technique of blue printed cloth was identified as the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list projects. Shaoyang County Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center is one of the protection subjects of this project.