Pu Xiuxiang：inheritor of Dulong Traditional Hand-weaving Technique

我是普秀香，独龙族， My name is Pu Xiuxiang, a member of Dulong Ethnic Group.

我的家乡在独龙江乡巴坡村， My hometown is Bapo Village in Dulong River Township.

我是独龙族传统手工艺织布州级传承人。 I’m a prefecture-level inheritor of Dulong Traditional Hand-weaving Technique.

我从小就和妈妈学织布， I learnt weaving cotton cloth from my mother when I was young.

到现在一直还在织独龙毯， I still weave Dulong blankets even now.

因为我不想忘了妈妈的手艺。 Because I don’t want to forget the workmanship inherited from my mother.

所以就一直坚持下来了。 I have been sticking to it.

以前我们独龙毯只有三四种颜色， Before, there were only three or four colors on a Dulong blanket.

现在我们叫七彩独龙毯，有七种颜色， Now we call it Seven-color Dulong Blanket due to its seven colors.

披在身上，像彩虹一样， When you put on the blanket, it looks like a rainbow.

很好看的。 Very beautiful.

独龙毯白天可以当衣服披在身上， In the daytime, a Dulong blanket can be worn like clothes.

晚上还可以当毯子盖， At night, it can be used as a blanket.

我们独龙族现在有6900多人， There are over 6,900 Dulong people now.

大部分人都住在独龙江这儿。 Most of them live in Dulong River area.

以前我们这特别穷，也没有路， Before, we were very poor, and there was no road here.

后来政府都帮助我们， Then the government helped us.

最大的变化就是我们独龙江的路和房子， The largest change is the roads and houses here.

以前我们住木板房上面是茅草， We used to live in wooden houses with thatched roofs.

现在我们都住进了政府给建的安居房， But now we live in houses built by the government.

家里也买了电视和手机， People also have bought televisions and mobile phones.

我们的路也能通到外面了， The roads also lead us to the outside world.

日子就越来越好。 Our lives are getting better.

今年4月份， In this April,

习近平总书记给我们独龙江乡亲们回了一封信， in his reply to a letter from us Dulong villagers, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee,

祝贺我们脱贫。 Congratulated us for getting rid of poverty.

当时我也在，我们乡政府读了信之后， I was there when the township government officer was reading the letter.

我们都很开心， We were very happy.

村里面大家就一起唱歌跳舞。 We sang and danced together in the village.

就像总书记说的一样，我们独龙族更好的日子还在后头。 Just like the general secretary said, we Dulong people will live a better life in the future.