Ge Changyun: inheritor of the Oroqen Roe-deer-skin Processing Technique

我叫葛长云，鄂伦春族，

I’m Ge Changyun, a member of the Oroqen ethnic group.

我是国家级非物质文化遗产代表性项目鄂伦春狍皮制作技艺国家级代表性传承人。

I’m a national-level representative inheritor of the Oroqen Roe-deer-skin Processing Technique, a national-level representative project of intangible cultural heritage.

我住在黑龙江省黑河市爱辉区新生鄂伦春族乡。

I live in Xinsheng Oroqen Township, Aihui District, Heihe City, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province.

我们这可美了，一大片一大片的桦树林，还有松树林。

It’s very beautiful here. There’re large stretches of birch forests and pine forests.

我们这的天永远蓝蓝的，我们的小河水永远是清清的。

The sky is always blue, and the river water always clear.

我们鄂伦春人是从山上搬下来的。

We Oroqen people moved down from the mountains.

我们在山上最冷的时候40度到50度，

When we lived in the mountains, the temperature could fall as low as -40℃ to -50℃ in the coldest time,

住撮罗子，

and we lived in teepees known as Cuoluozi.

我们把狍皮做成皮袄，帽子，手套，皮，皮褥子，

We used roe deer skin to make fur jackets, hats, gloves, quilts, and mattresses.

做狍头帽子，还保留着它原有的形状，

The roe-deer-skin hat we made, in the shape of a roe deer’s head,

猎人戴它上山，不仅能保暖，还能伪装。

could not only keep the hunters warm, but also provide them with effective camouflage in the mountains.

我现在还教村里的年轻人学做皮活，

Now I still teach young villagers how to make roe-deer-skin products.

我们也在狍皮和狍皮手套上绣花，

We also embroider on roe deer skin and roe-deer-skin gloves.

每个手套上手指上都绣的花纹，像波浪一样的花纹。

All the gloves have fingertips embroidered with wavelike patterns.

我们在狍皮上绣这些图案，不仅代表着吉祥，

The graphic patterns we embroider on the roe deer skin represent not only auspiciousness,

也代表着我们鄂伦春人对美好生活的向往。

but also our yearning for a beautiful life.

我们现在已经下山66周年了，

We’ve been living at the foot of the mountains for 66 years now.

党和政府给我们盖了新的房子，

The government built new houses for us.

刚开始办的，用木头垛盖的房子，后来又盖砖瓦房，

At first they built wooden houses, then they built brick ones.

盖三批了，我就住三批了，

They carried out three batches of housing project successively, and each time I could move into a new house.

日子过得更好了，

Our lives are getting better,

所以我们的村子就叫新生。

so the name of our village is Xinsheng, which means rebirth in Chinese.

[ Editor: SRQ ]