Weng Shiguo weaves a bamboo mat.

Weng Shiguo selects suitable bamboo stalks.

Weng Shiguo weaves a bamboo mat.

Bamboo mats have been an essential summer item for cooling since ancient times. On August 9th, our reporter visited Yunzhou Village in Hengjie Town, Haishu District, where lush bamboo forests stretch endlessly. Early in the morning, 71-year-old local villager Weng Shiguo set out with a sickle to cut bamboo—an indispensable material for his bamboo weaving craft.

After locating suitable bamboo in the grove, Weng strikes the base of the stalk with his sickle. A crisp "crack" echoes as the bamboo slowly topples. He deftly trims excess nodes, selects the middle section, and carries it home. Back at his workshop, he retrieves an array of tools from a weathered wooden table. First, he uses the sickle to slice off the tip, splits the stalk vertically along the cut, and then employs progressively finer tools to divide the bamboo into slender strips.

Weng Shiguo is the third-generation inheritor of bamboo weaving craftsmanship. Having learned the art from his father since childhood, he entered the trade as a teenager and has never ceased practicing for over 50 years. His experience working in a bamboo factory from his twenties honed his creative vision for decorative patterns. His works were repeatedly selected for provincial and municipal exhibitions and showcased at the Canton Fair, generating a steady stream of orders for both the village and himself. Even as many traditional bamboo factories in the town shut down and artisans transitioned to other trades, Weng remained steadfast.

In 2005, Chen Xiangmin, director of Ningbo Huaye Fiber Technology Co., Ltd., coincidentally met Weng Shiguo. A collector of exquisite bamboo crafts himself, Chen was deeply captivated by Weng's creations and promptly hired him as a design consultant to guide the development of decorative patterns for the company's bamboo mats. "Collaborating with bamboo artisans to infuse traditional weaving elements into modern designs is a way to keep this craft alive," Chen remarked.

【来源：宁波日报】