One day, while visiting an antiques market in Beijing, he saw a long arrow that had a price tag of 4,800 yuan. "It was very ugly," specified Yi. "I thought that our own Xibe arrows were made much better and that I could certainly make some. Why not, as I made all my furniture?" he added, laughingly. "I can design, engrave, varnish. There is probably a market for my bows and arrows, I thought. So, I went back home and started to study models from the collection of bows and arrows of the Xibe who arrived in 1764, and I drew sketches. Then, I started to make some. Nine years now! I can get cow hide here for the quivers, but I also buy some from Shandong, Mongolia and elsewhere to compare quality. What is difficult to find is sheep intestines for the string. There are also ox tendons. The bow is made from a variety of wood and fibreglass, and also ram horn." Yi described how to make a quality bow, the invisible seams of the parts, the position of the arrow at the right or left of the bow, and how the fingers bend the bow according to the Xibe technique or the Western technique. Listening to Yi, I learned a great deal again.
Yi's house has become a tourist spot, as indicated by a brass plaque at the yard's entrance. Media are interested in Yi's work, and the TV anchor Jiao Jianchang, also a Xibe, is filming Xibe culture in the region.
I asked Yi Chunguang whether he intended to gather the fruits of his research in a book. "It has been done!" he said, underscoring his answer with laughter. "Here it is. I'm not educated enough to write a book by myself. I found someone. I provided all the data and paid the expense, and it has become a cooperative effort."
Today, Yi has his own trademark and a modest workshop. He has hired four women and three men. He draws the models, and the workers cut and assemble the leather. He sews the quivers and decorates them with animals such as the Xibe totem – Ruishou (literally "auspicious animal"), a mythical figure – or a rabbit or ox. Before this book is published, the workshop will have expanded.
Yi has three grandsons and one granddaughter. When a boy is born, a little arrow is suspended to a red thread in front of the house. The third day after birth, his parents or grandparents shoot an arrow in each of the cardinal directions, praying for the child to be brave and to have an indomitable spirit.
At four or five, the child receives a bow and arrows appropriate for his age and he starts preliminary training. But at 16, the training turns rigorous and the boy must learn how to shoot arrows from a running horse and participate in all the folkloric festivals and competitions. At the age of 18, he must take an exam that involves shooting arrows from a running horse and also enrol as a soldier who is able to defend the territory. The Xibe have maintained this tradition; does it mean that they are warriors?
"No," answered Yi. "Our ancestors were nomads who lived by hunting. This is what mastering the shooting of arrows serves to accomplish." As they had become, by that fact, very skilful archers, they have been used in defending the country.
The Xibe have typical dishes such as Jiazgen, composed of braised beef, potatoes, carrots, "piaz" (onions) and long, dry beans like the ones that the ancestors had brought over from Liaoning. They also have a thick pancake called fa'erv. The darker side, coloured by baking, represents the sky and the white side, the earth. The eating custom is to hold the fa'erv with the "sky" side up and fill it with cucumbers, peppers, and eggplant, which will then be enclosed in the fold, or to use the chopsticks to fill the fa'erv, always with the "earth" part inside.
This century is promising for Yi Chunguang: in addition to obtaining a patent for his bows and arrows, he won the silver medal in the category of "excellent tourist goods" and the second prize in a shooting competition in which 160 countries participated.
(Source: Foreign Languages Press)
