Chinese Là Răn (蜡染/蠟染) Wax Painting Art is an iconic Chinese intangible cultural heritage phenomenon, it has more than 2,000 years recorded history, existing in the ethnic groups of China. It has long blended into the ethnics culture and daily life.

 

To date, 蜡染 Là Răn is still a trendy style in the gorgeous rural areas of China when the ethnic people want to impress others, to celebrate the newly weds, to give blessings to family and friends, to make decor for houses, or to show crafty skills on cloths etc. It is also, in fact, an artsy epic that fully represents the ethnic totem culture. When every ethnic lady is trained by their elders to make their totems come alive on fabrics, 蜡染 Là Răn becomes their shinning diligence, their dancing happiness, their singing wisdom, their gods-blessing comfort, and their unconquerable courage.

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How is it done?

 

The most pristine materials are chosen as the base, such as cotton, linen or silk, then it's woven into different sizes of fabric; the specific local plants are collected from the woods, soaked into water, fermented under the sun for one month until the water naturally turns into dark blue, which then will be filtered, rice spirits and straw ash water will be added in the dark blue water; needles are used for drafting before the painting starts, and then the painting knives will begin to dance on the fabric using melted wax as ink; the painted fabric will then be soaked into the blue water several times, later hand-washed in the cold water (normally in the nearby rivers and creeks, with laughters or singings of happiness), and lastly boiled to melt away the wax in order to reveal the painted totems, but the randomly cracked patterns will also show up to add on to the complexity and beauty of the finished 蜡染 Là Răn.

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Check Out these Videos about 蜡染 Là Răn ➘➘

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