Yinjiang printing and dyeing techniques have emerged along with the development of my country's textile industry, and have a history of nearly a thousand years. Printing and dyeing are divided into two parts: dyeing and printing, which are called general dyeing and printing and dyeing. Dyeing is to use indigo as the main dye to dye the locally produced white earth cloth into various colors such as moon white, moon blue, and blue-green; printing is to put a homemade engraving (also known as a flower plate, a plate, a mold, a printing plate) on the white earth cloth to scrape the slurry, print various patterns, and after a series of dyeing processes, it becomes a finished product with blue background and white flowers. According to relevant literature records, printing and dyeing originated from the Qin and Han Dynasties and flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties. It was called "medicine spot cloth" in the Song Dynasty and "watering flower cloth" in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. From the Han Dynasty to the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the color of wax valerian was a relatively simple blue background with white flowers. After the Jin Dynasty, the dyeing techniques of wax valerian, clamped valerian and twisted valerian in the printing and dyeing process have become quite mature. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, printing and dyeing technology was widely used, and its pattern organization was basically the same as silk weaving. In the Song Dynasty, printing and dyeing not only had monochrome flower cloth, but also could produce various color paste printed cloth, especially the dyed valerian cloth was deeply loved by people. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, great achievements had been made in production scale, technology and art. At that time, there were not only official textiles, but also private workshops everywhere. The history of Yinjiang printing and dyeing can be traced back to the period of Tusi rule in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. Local Tusi attached great importance to agricultural production. Cotton planting was widely promoted in northeastern Guizhou, including Yinjiang. Textile, printing and dyeing, clothing and other handicrafts gradually emerged and developed. After the reform of Tusi, a large number of Han people moved from the Central Plains to northeastern Guizhou. They brought advanced production tools, excellent varieties and production technologies. A large number of cotton spinning craftsmen, dyeing craftsmen, tailors, stonemasons, blacksmiths, carpenters and other craftsmen appeared among the people, and cotton spinning, homespun cloth, printing and dyeing industries also began to flourish. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, the writer Li Haiguan was appointed as the magistrate of Yinjiang County. He called on farmers in the county to plant cotton and revitalize textile production. At that time, there were 6,000 households with looms, and the sound of shuttles was pleasant day and night, with an annual output of more than 300,000 pieces of white earth cloth. Yinjiang Tujia printing and dyeing rose with the development of cotton textile industry. As early as the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Tujia people were "women were diligent in weaving and households had looms". The large-scale production of earth cloth provided rich materials for the printing and dyeing industry. Tujia printing and dyeing workshops and shops were widely distributed in towns and larger villages, presenting a situation of "households had looms and villages had dyeing rooms". The printing and dyeing process is complicated, mainly including important links such as pattern plate production, dye production, dyeing slurry production, mortar production, dyeing, printing, etc. Each link has several or more than a dozen steps, known as "dozens of steps". The main raw materials and related materials of the process are blue indigo grass, white paper, white earth cloth, eggs, tung oil, etc. The main ingredients are cow glue, tung shell ash, pig blood, local wine, rhubarb, lime, etc. Main products: by color, there are moon white cloth, moon blue cloth, blue cloth, blue (black) cloth, gray-brown cloth, etc.; by purpose, there are quilt covers, mattress sheets, table covers, curtains, etc. The flower plate is made of local white paper, and is made into a printing template through gluing, compacting, leveling, drawing, engraving, and fixing. Once this template is made, it can be used for more than ten years or decades if it is stored under suitable temperature and humidity. The carving patterns are rich in content, generally drawn from myths and legends and folk auspicious images, and are made with precious flowers and plants or rare animals. There are roughly more than a dozen types of composition forms, such as group nest type, symmetrical type, scattered point type, lace type, overall type, geometric pattern type, etc. The pattern is unique in shape, and the pattern is natural, harmonious, smooth, and fluent, full of spirituality and beauty. Commonly used patterns include "Phoenix Shengzi Bottom", "Cans Planting Flowers", "Deer and Children Playing Lotus", "Happy Birds Playing Plum", "Double Phoenix Facing the Sun", "Two Dragons Fighting for Treasures", "Carp Playing in Water", etc. Nearly 60 types. The auspicious concept implied by these patterns is very clear, and they are the carriers of people's thoughts and feelings. The legend of "Mei Ge Erxian and Zhu Shi Madam" is widely circulated in the printing and dyeing industry of Yinjiang Tujia. It is said that Mei Ge Erxian is the ancestor of printing and dyeing, and Madam Zhu is the ancestor of making clothes. There is also a saying that "Mei Ge Erxian is engaged in printing and dyeing, and Madam Zhu is engaged in making clothes". Mei Ge Erxian and Madam Zhu are worshipped together in the shrine. The inheritors Ren Mingwu and Chen Taihuang in Banxi and Daoba areas are: Ren Yonghui, Ren Dagang, Ren Mingwu, Wang Hongchu, Li Wuguang, Wang Hongren, Ren Mingshi, Ren Tingnian; Tian Qingbai (Chen Taihuang's brother-in-law), Chen Mingxing (Chen Taihuang's father), Chen Taihuang, Ding Xueye (daughter). The process of Yinjiang printing and dyeing is complicated and there are many procedures, but the production process is not continuous. The workshop is not large in scale and can be operated by two to five people. It is convenient and flexible and can be done during the slack season. It is suitable for family-style handicraft workshop production or large-scale production. Its products are simple and elegant, fresh and bright, lively and lifelike. The patterns become brighter and brighter with washing and use. They are durable and have strong local flavor and national characteristics. The representative work "Phoenix Shengzi Bottom Printed Quilt Cover" has attracted the attention of experts and collectors. Yinjiang printing and dyeing is a perfect combination of craftsmanship and technology, aesthetics and science. It is the crystallization of people's survival wisdom and wisdom. It has important historical and cultural value, arts and crafts value, scientific value and economic value. After the founding of New China, traditional handicraft industry was restored and developed. By the end of 1955, the county's looms had grown to more than 14,000 units, with 6,954 permanent employees. By 1965, there were 46 printing and dyeing workshops in the county. By the end of 1990, there were 1,040 looms in the county, with less than 300 weavers working year-round. Printing and dyeing workshops and dyers gradually closed down and became endangered. As of the 2006 survey, only a few printing and dyeing workshops in Yinjiang remained, mainly distributed in Banxipingdi, Tiantangdaoba, Heshui, Shazipo, Zhongba and other places. Information source: Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Center (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) Information source: Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Center (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)