Aduo Jiangni: Forging Miao Silver Jewelry is both a craft and a spiritual cultivation
Dang dang dang...
With the faint sound of hammering, we accurately identified the number on the door of "Jiangyang Studio" on Shuijing Street.
I knocked on the door, and soon after, the door opened, revealing the beautiful oval face of a girl. With her black hair long and loose, she wore a light-colored cross-collared dress with a narrow- embroidered sash around her waist, resembling a woman holding an oil-paper umbrella in a Dai Wanshu's poem, unrealistically standing there.
Aduo Jiangni, founder of "Jiangyang”, if it weren't for seeing her photo in advance, I wouldn't have recognized her immediately.
It's true that "the environment matches the person." Her studio is simply a reflection of her thoughts - delicate and elegant. There is a desk with the four treasures of the study (namely ink, paper, inkstone and writing brush), an ancient Chinese zither with a dust cover, and glass display cabinets of various sizes storing silver jewelry products, like a private museum. In an instant, even the air becomes rich with history.
She invited us to sit down and carefully arranged the tea set near the balcony. She skillfully brewed the tea, a gift from her friends lately.
But this person of classic beauty was once an ordinary employee in the finance industry before she dedicated herself to the crafting of Miao silver jewelry. "It was so boring," she muttered. The monotonous and predictable life made her feel like life was an old silent film, long and dull. So, "Jiangyang" was born - a handmade silver jewelry brand that combines ethnic heritage and fits with the dynamics of modern life.
Aduo Jiangni in Hanfu and traditional hairstyle
Part 1: Giving "Jiangyang" a spirit of adventure
In the first two years after graduation, Aduo wandered in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. I didn't ask why she, born in a Miao village in southern Guizhou, didn't stay in her hometown, but intuitively felt that "going out" was the primitive trajectory of her life.
However, accidentally, during her employment, her colleagues learned that her family had been engaged in the forging of Miao silver jewelry for generations. They showed strong interest and a strong desire to purchase. With the advice of her friends, she began to have new thoughts about inheriting her family's craftsmanship.
"You see, since so many people like it. It shows that Miao silver jewelry still has a young market."
I can't remember the exact words, but that was the general idea.
A Miao silver craftsperson is making a silver pot
For the past 10 or 20 years, she had never seriously considered her future life. She was accustomed to the sound of hammers and pliers on the workbench of her elders every day. But when she heard the enthusiastic response from people coming from other parts of the country around her, she wondered why she couldn't try to look at the present from a more realistic perspective.
During those years, almost every package sent by her family would contain several traditional silver jewelry pieces that her colleagues wanted. Instead of going through the trouble, she thought it would be better to pick up an engraving knife herself and spread Miao silver jewelry more widely with forms that better fit modern fashion aesthetics.
Tools for forging Miao silver jewelry
She took action without hesitation. She quickly quit her job and established her own brand in Chengdu. She named it "Jiangyang" after the ancestor of humanity in the ancient songs of the Miao people in southern Guizhou. She has been doing this for eight years, even aging her pet cat TwoTwo into "middle-aged."
Aduo is drawing a silver wire and her pet Twotwo is keeping her company
Twotwo is now eight years old
"Moving from one place to another, you are still just wandering about," I couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why Chengdu?"
She replied, "If I want to spread Miao handmade silver jewelry, leaving my hometown is inevitable."
As for choosing Chengdu, it was the city's inclusiveness that attracted her. After all, Chengdu is well-known for its openness to new things. They never reject any foreign culture. In Aduo's view, even curiosity alone can be a motive for consumption.
Although she was unfamiliar with the city and had no sales channels or connections at first, she had a passionate heart. Fortunately, her partner in this entrepreneurial journey had studied in Chengdu, and with the help of their professors' enthusiasm, they managed to proceed smoothly.
Part of a silver ornament
"Of course, there were challenges," Aduo said. And mostly were psychological struggles.
For example, how to break free from the weight of traditional culture and endow it with a lightness of life? How to improve craftsmanship and efficiency through continuous trial and error? These required patience and determination, as well as dealing with various opinions that came from all sides. Without sufficient endurance and determination, it is easy to become lost and give up.
But then again, whose life is not about finding a way out in one predicament after another? At the very least, it is better than the stagnant life of the past. Sometimes, people need a spirit of adventure.
A bookmark whose design is inspired by Makara fish in Buddhism
Part 2: Miao Silver jewelry: an awakening to beauty and beginning of wisdom
In the eyes of the Miao people who have only spoken language but no written script, silver jewelry, embroidery, and batik are all important carriers of their history and culture, like ancient books, recording the migration and integration since ancient times.
Interestingly, though silver jewelry is a cultural phenomenon common in Miao villages, not all Miao people possess the skill to forge silver. It is rare to see two or three households in a town engaged in Miao silver making. Aduo happened to grow up in one of these few families.
Aduo dressed in Miao costume in her families' company
"There's no promotion, no business expansion. Craftspeople mainly serve their own villages and surrounding ones."
From her words, we learned that regardless of age or gender, Miao people wear silver jewelry. Especially in households with daughters, they start preparing silver jewelry for their future marriages from the moment their daughters are born. From crowns to rings, from head to toe, silver can be found everywhere.
Fuxi, Nüwa, Yang A'sha, Butterfly Mother - any myth or legend can be applied to the design of silver jewelry by the skilled Miao craftspeople. There is nothing they cannot think of or create.
"Attachment" is an inadequate description for the profound influence that silver jewelry has on Aduo. For her, it represents an awakening to beauty, the beginning of wisdom, and the first step to understand the world.
Aduo attired in traditional Miao holiday array
In the eyes of children without toys for entertainment, crucibles and tiger pliers are equivalent to toys. When they are bored, they imitate the adults by sitting in front of busy worktables. As long as they can wield a hammer, they are considered to have embarked on the path of inheriting the Miao silver jewelry craftsmanship. There is no such thing as "systematic learning" or rigorous logical deduction. Everything relies on subconscious absorption through daily life.
Although many old objects have been lost in time, Aduo still remembers her "first work" - the ladle she made at the age of six, guided by her maternal uncle.
A silver water softener designed after Chhiwen, the ninth son of the dragon
Indeed, unlike male descendants in the Miao tribe who can easily handle the physically demanding forging process, as a woman, Aduo's innate sensitivity to beauty allows her to create delicate and unique jewelry.
A custom-ade tea holder and teaspoon
Part 3: Only by understanding the root can one properly assimilate external influences and move towards the future.
During our conversation, Aduo shared her cherished engraving knives, which resembled different types of sketching pencils, stored in a plastic cylinder. Unlike traditional engraving knives made of spring steel or carbon tool steel, her self-improved tools are mostly made of steel nails. She also refined the original base, resulting in more intricate and delicate patterns.
Improved engraving knives by Aduo
Initially, it took a week to make an engraving knife, but now she can finish it in two to three days through practice. However, for traditional craftspeople entrenched in their habits, this trial-and-error process is too laborious. Their rigid thinking prevents them from making groundbreaking reforms. Instead of bothering with repeated trial and error, they prefer tending to their fields or checking if it is time to deworm their livestock -- after all, most folk craftspeople are family workshops with their own daily trivialities and chores.
Of course, these are just innovations in tools and craftsmanship.
The ultimate focus is the "regeneration" of culture. In Aduo's understanding, nothing can be imagined out of thin air; one needs to learn from everything and combine different elements. However, it should not be a haphazard scissors-and-paste job; it requires a solid understanding of traditional culture. Only by understanding the root can one properly assimilate external influences and move towards the future.
For example, in her studio display case, we saw a brooch that combined the style of ancient Chinese women's clothing with the "yunjian", the cloud collar. The brooch retains the essence of the style but replaces the long tassels with pearls, achieving both good taste and restraint.
A brooch designed after the cloud collar in traditional Chinese clothing for women
Taotie is a legendary beast in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas". Its image is borrowed with some transformation to fit contemporary aesthetics. Not only can it be worn as a ring, but a pendant, which perfectly fits the current fashion taste.
Taotie, designed after the legendary beast in the "Classic of Mountains and seas",
can be both a ring and a pendant
Stored in the Chengdu Museum, the stone rhinoceros, known as the "Water Guardian Beast," has been over two thousand years old. Aduo recreated it as a totem.
Upper: a pendant designed after the Stone Rhino, "Water Guardian Beast"
Lower: the Stone Rhino, one of the most-treasured pieces of Chengdu Museum
Because she loves and raises cats, she also created a pendant of a cat stretching after waking up. Pandas, bamboo, and other well-known local themes are also at her fingertips. The "mask" necklace she designed during the pandemic became a hot seller.
Upper: a stretching-cat pendant
Lower: a panda pendant
A "mask" pendant
In terms of content and form, she completely breaks away from the traditional themes of butterflies, peonies, and dragons commonly used in Miao silver jewelry.
Aduo said, "Heritage and innovation, although seemingly contradictory, have areas where they complement each other."
Therefore, she believes that striking a balance between history and the present is the key to development. Hence, when anything comes into her hands, it can be "translated" into a new "language”.
This is not just a result of the current "traditional culture craze." At the beginning of establishing "Jiang Yang," Aduo had already deeply understood this. Although she does not consider herself exceptionally smart, she has a rare foresight in this matter.
Upper: a giant panda pendant
Lower: a pair of bamboo earrings
Starting from the design stage, a piece of work would often undergo changes and modifications more than one or two dozen times, besides the production process - what specifications of silver wire are suitable for certain positions? How should cloud designs be arranged for better appreciation? All these aspects cannot be achieved instantly.
It is truly torturous, but when immersed in it, it is incredibly enjoyable. Perhaps humans are inherently emotionally complex creatures, or perhaps some things possess an indestructible duality. Therefore, Aduo never deliberately makes long-term plans. After all, there are no past examples for reference. She relies solely on trial and error, paving the way as the "first person to eat the crab".
Some steps in forging silver jewelry
Aduo told me that in the past, during festivals and special occasions, everyone in her village would dress up and celebrate with singing and dancing. Now, even the most important marriage customs have become heavily influenced by Han Chinese culture. In addition, the process of urbanization in recent years has also been a reason for a significant outflow of population, resulting in traditional culture originating from rural villages being forgotten and even on the verge of extinction.
Not to mention the new forces emerging, many families who have practiced silver jewelry craftsmanship for decades have now started their own businesses, making her more resolved to tread the path of innovation.
Although she is not good at marketing and promotion, as long as there is a good reputation, she is not afraid of attracting new customers.
Miao women attired in Miao costume celebrating a traditional festival
Part 4: No rejection to labels and no pursuit for identity
While most young people reject labels and definitions, the identity of being an "heiress of Miao handcrafted silver jewelry forging techniques" allows Aduo to gladly accept it as the most convenient way for others to recognize her.
She will not become a different person because of a "title"; on the contrary, it is because of her existence that such a "title" exists.
It can be said that there is greater responsibility behind one's identity, but once we set aside this layer of connection, does a person have no responsibility? The key lies in how we perceive it.
For Aduo, life is a process of addition and subtraction. Therefore, her life is not just about the "banging and clanging" on the workbench. Apart from the cold tools, there are too many things worth her heartfelt attention.
For example, she cares about the plants on the balcony, whether there are branches and leaves that need trimming, suitable for transplanting into a new landscape; or when she is in the mood for calligraphy, she writes whatever comes to her mind. Or she plays the ancient qin, conveying a restrained and profound feeling, neither extravagant nor assertive, but with lingering sounds. It's as if it represents the epitome of traditional culture, including the present moment when we leisurely sip the tea she personally brewed.
Aduo, a girl with manifold interests
She understands everything, yet nothing is just superficial. In her understanding, relaxation and "play" are the times when she can truly experience the depth of culture. Therefore, the energy sparked by her interests and hobbies will ultimately nourish both work and life.
She is truly a rare individual who exudes spiritual abundance. Every subtle gesture she makes carries an air of composure and etiquette. Therefore, no matter what she says or does, she always gives people a sense of both being engaged and detached.
Part of a calligraphy work written by Aduo
Looking back, there were over twenty entrepreneurial partners initially, including those who made incense, tea, and porcelain... But now, the only one who continues to pursue her passion is Aduo herself. Perhaps, from a practical perspective, she is fortunate. At least, reaching this point today was beyond expectations. Especially in this noisy and restless world, from a more mystical perspective, forging Miao silver jewelry is not only a craft but also a form of spiritual cultivation.
As she speaks, she replenishes our tea, and amidst the swirling smoke, her face is as if veiled by the wings of a cicada, beautiful in an unimaginable and ethereal way.