Miao Silver Forging Technique

Fenghuang County in Hunan is one of the core registering regions of the Miao silver forging technique (alongside Leishan, Huangping, Jianhe and Taijiang in Guizhou); the item is listed as sequence 390, code Ⅷ-40, and entered the first national ICH list in 2006 under traditional skills. Around Shanjiang and Liubo in Fenghuang, silver-smithing families are many and have worked the metal for generations.

The Fenghuang Miao silver craft runs through eight main steps—melting, forging, wire-drawing, welding, chasing, cutting, weaving and washing—all by hand and most admired for its fine drawn and woven silver wire; the dragon-crested coronet, neck rings, earrings and full festival dress are its signature works, with archaic patterns, pure metal and generous weight.

Miao silver concentrates the identity, belief and aesthetics of the people: the butterflies, dragons, phoenixes and flowers on a coronet carry the history of Miao migration and their creation myth, while the forging craft is the summit of Miao handwork, of real value for the study of Miao culture and the crafts of the southwest.

Silver forging can be seen at the silver-smith shops of the old town and at the transmission centres of Huangmaoping in Shanjiang and Debang in Liubo.