In the expansive rural areas of Wenxi County, corn cultivation stands as a primary agricultural industry. Historically, after each autumn harvest, vast quantities of corn husks were discarded or burned, leading not only to resource wastage but also to environmental pollution. Today, under the refinement of intangible cultural heritage inheritors, this former field waste has been transformed into craft products. These humble corn husks have become "golden leaves" that boost local incomes and foster prosperity.
For decades, provincial-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor Ye Juying has dedicated herself to honing her craft and boldly innovating. Her efforts have brought this ancient rural artisanal skill out of obscurity and into the marketplace, empowering rural revitalization through a distinctive "fingertip economy." Corn husk weaving is a traditional folk craft in Wenxi County. With the rapid advancement of industrialization and the proliferation of mass-produced daily goods, traditional hand-woven items gradually faded from public view. Faced with the risk of this old craft being lost, Ye Juying devoted years to meticulous study, using her hands and sincere dedication to preserve this strand of local cultural heritage.
By upholding tradition while innovating, she has adapted the old craft for the modern era. Traditional corn husk weaving primarily focused on practical household items like baskets and cushions, which had low added value. To break through this developmental bottleneck, Ye Juying comprehensively upgraded and optimized every aspect, from raw material selection and processing to design. She insists on choosing high-quality corn husks with superior toughness and uniform color. Through multiple precise steps, including cleaning, boiling, softening, and anti-corrosion treatment, she has effectively solved the traditional problems of material susceptibility to mold, deformation, and dull coloration.
In her creative process, she fuses traditional weaving techniques with modern aesthetic concepts and folk cultural elements. This innovative approach has led to the research and development of over 200 varieties of craft products across ten major series, including landscape wall hangings, folk ornaments, and cultural creative accessories. The simple, natural corn husks, through intricate interlacing and meticulous craftsmanship, outline vivid depictions of flowers, birds, landscapes, and folk patterns. The resulting pieces combine ornamental value, practicality, and collectible appeal. Several distinctive works have been showcased at provincial and municipal arts and crafts exhibitions, garnering widespread acclaim.
Passing on the skill has turned a manual art into a prosperous industry. "One skill, one industry, can benefit a whole community." This is the conviction Ye Juying has always held. To bring the intangible cultural heritage skill out of the workshop and benefit the people, in 2014 she took the lead in establishing a straw weaving professional cooperative. The cooperative implemented a development model featuring "unified material supply, unified training, unified collection, and unified sales," establishing a standardized, intensive industrial development system. This model has completely resolved the issues villagers faced in finding ways to learn the craft and secure sales for their finished products.
Over the years, leveraging platforms such as rural新时代文明实践站 (New Era Civilization Practice Stations) and community classrooms, Ye Juying has conducted regular training sessions on the intangible cultural heritage skill. She has also innovated with online teaching methods to make the weaving skill accessible to more people. Cumulatively, she has trained over 35,000 individuals in weaving. Her efforts have enabled a large number of rural left-behind women and individuals facing economic difficulties to achieve flexible employment from home. The straw weaving craft has become a "fingertip economy" providing a stable source of additional income for the community.
Revitalizing culture through art and invigorating villages through industry empowers comprehensive rural revitalization. The development of the corn husk weaving industry has not only revived a local intangible cultural heritage skill on the brink of being lost but has also achieved the resourceful utilization of agricultural waste. This has formed a virtuous cycle of "intangible cultural heritage inheritance, ecological environmental protection, and increased prosperity for the people." From the perseverance of one individual to the collective weaving efforts of thousands, and from a rural handicraft to a distinctive local industry, Ye Juying has spent decades safeguarding the roots of intangible cultural heritage with artisan spirit and aiding public prosperity through practical action.
Looking ahead, she plans to continue deepening technical innovation, enriching product categories, broadening market sales channels, and expanding the reach of skill training. Her goal is to involve more people in the weaving industry, ensuring the corn husk weaving craft of Wenxi County continues to radiate vitality in the contemporary era. This will inject a continuous stream of intangible cultural heritage power into the county's rural revitalization and the development of its distinctive cultural tourism industry.