Forging technique of Baoan waist knife

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: waist knife forging technique of Baoan nationality

Applicant: Baoshan, Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County, Jishishan, Gansu Province

Item No.: 392

Project No.: VIII - 42

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Gansu Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Baoshan, Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County, Jishishan, Gansu Province

Protected by: Jishishan Bao'an Dongxiang Salar Autonomous County Cultural Center

Brief introduction of Baoan waist knife forging technique:

Applicant: Baoshan, Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County, Jishishan, Gansu Province

Bao'an waist knife is a traditional handicraft of Bao'an nationality. It is mainly produced in dahejia Town, Liuji Township and surrounding areas of Jishishan, Gansu Province. For a long time, the waist knife forging technique of Bao'an nationality has been an important means to maintain the survival of the whole Bao'an nationality, and it is also the lifeblood of the economy and culture of Bao'an nationality.

Bao'an people have a long history of making waist knives. The appearance of Bao'an waist knives is closely related to the military activities of Yuan Dynasty. During Genghis Khan's eastward expedition in 1227, he left some officers, soldiers and craftsmen from Central Asia in Tongren area of Qinghai Province. These Semu people live close to the local people of Mongolian, Han, Hui, Tibetan, Tu and other ethnic groups, and gradually form the Baoan nationality. After they settled in Baoan City, many of them were engaged in handicraft production, including blacksmith, Goldsmith, carpenter, shoemaker and other industries. At that time, the blacksmiths mainly made muskets, bows and arrows, etc., and their iron smelting technology enabled them to have strong qualification for making knives. After the Bao'an nationality moved to dahejia, the waist knives they made were not only used for self-defense, but also had the nature of commodity. Therefore, the Bao'an nationality began to exchange waist knives for herdsmen's cattle, sheep and other daily necessities. Since then, Bao'an waist knife has been closely linked with economic development.

There are 40 to 80 processes in the traditional production process of the security waist knife, among which the steel addition during the billet making and the quenching water after smelting and burning are very important, and the proper treatment can ensure the combination of rigidity and toughness of the knife.

Bao'an waist knife making technology not only consolidated the cultural foundation of Bao'an nationality, but also enriched the content of Chinese metal technology. Premier Zhou Enlai once presented the waist knife as a gift to foreign guests. In 1987, Bao'an waist knife won the title of high-quality product of the National People's Commission and the Ministry of light industry of the people's Republic of China. In 1991, it won the gold medal of Beijing International Exposition.

Making waist knives has always been one of the main economic activities of Bao'an people. In the wave of reform and opening up, the security personnel have set up a number of national knife factories, concentrated skilled craftsmen, added new equipment and organized mass production. In this case, the traditional skills from the original manual operation gradually to semi mechanized development, the traditional skills appeared inheritance crisis. At the same time, waist knife products are also constantly innovating, with the appearance of "Shiyang brocade", "poriji", "yawuqi", "shuangluo", "manba", "flat scabbard", "abacus knife", "fish knife", "watermelon head", "horse head knife" and other varieties, and the production is more and more prosperous.

However, due to over development, the quality of waist knife is gradually low, and the credibility is also declining. The control of knives by the public security department also limits the distribution of security waist knives and the spread of their skills. In this situation, it is urgent to protect the forging skills of security waist knife.