Liu Yamei: inheritor of the Manchu embroidery

我叫刘雅梅，满族。

I’m Liu Yamei, a member of the Manchu ethnic group.

我是国家级非物质文化遗产项目满族刺绣国家级代表性传承人。

I’m a national-level representative inheritor of the Manchu embroidery, a national-level project of intangible cultural heritage.

我的家乡在黑龙江省齐齐哈尔市克东县，

My hometown is Kedong County, Qiqihar City, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province.

克东县也是满族人的聚居地（之一）。

Kedong boasts one of the largest concentrations of Manchu people.

海东青是我们满族的图腾 满族人最崇尚的一种猎鹰。

Gyrfalcon, the totem of our Manchu ethnic group, is the falcon species we admire the most.

在我的家乡的冬天，能看到一大片的白桦林矗立在雪中，

In my hometown, there’re large stretches of birch forests standing in the snow.

与天空和大地融为一体，特别的美，

It’s particularly beautiful, as the sky, the earth, and the birch forests are in perfect harmony.

我有一幅作品是反映我家乡的是《雪中白桦林》。

One of my embroidery works, “Birch Forests in Snow”, is the depiction of my hometown.

我从13岁的时候就开始绣满绣，

I started learning Manchu embroidery at the age of 13.

现在绣龄已经有40多年了。

It’s been 40 years since then.

在绣满绣的时候我们是以针代笔，这些绣样都在心里，

When we do Manchu embroidery, we use the needle in place of the pen, and we have all the embroidery patterns in our hearts.

这些绣样都是我们一代一代传承下来的，

These patterns have been passed down by Manchu people from generation to generation.

现在一点点的通过我们一代代的创意和创新，现在已经形成了具有民族特色的满族刺绣，

With continuous innovation for generations, we’ve developed a style with peculiar Manchu characteristics.

我们绣每幅作品的时候 真是发自内心的热爱，

We embroider our works with profound passion.

热爱自己的民族，热爱自己的家乡。

We love our ethnic group, and love our hometown.

为了让满绣能走入千家万户，让更多的人去了解它、走进它，

In order to make Manchu embroidery more popular, to let more people know about it, and go into it,

所以现在我们之所以满族服饰，像旗袍、一些小包、一些旅游纪念品、小挂件，要让人能买得起、能拿的走的一些小的文创作品。

we make the cultural and creative products more affordable and more portable. We produce Manchu clothes and accessories like qipao, handbags, souvenirs, and small pendants.

在十几年前，我绣的一幅作品《开国盛典》，

Decades ago, I embroidered a work named “The Founding Ceremony of the PRC”.

今年是建国70周年，我现在已经把它展出来了。

To mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of PRC, I’ve put it on display.

《伟业千秋》 记载是第一次人民代表大会，《初春》 是第一届政协会议的预备会议，

My embroidery work “Great Achievement” depicts the First National People’s Congress, and “Early Spring” describes the preparatory meeting of the First CPPCC.

还有一幅作品是2018年年末刚刚完成 是《丝路山水地图》，

At the end of 2018, I just finished an embroidery work titled “Map of the Silk Road Landscape.”

这里面记载的“一带一路”各个国家的211个地理标识。

It provides 211 geographical indications in the countries involved in the Belt & Road Initiative.

现在的满绣不仅能装点人们的生活，我们还用它记录伟大的时代。

Now, Manchu embroidery can be used not only to decorate people’s lives, but also to record this great time.

[ Editor: SRQ ]