Click on the video to learn more about Mutsvene Emmanuel's experience of indigo print in Rui'an, Wenzhou. [Video provided by Wenzhou Medical University]
Driven by his interest in indigo printing, Mutsvene Emmanuel, a Zimbabwean student currently studying at the Wenzhou Medical University in Zhejiang province, recently visited an indigo print museum in Rui'an, a county-level city of Wenzhou.
Indigo printing, called Lanjiaxie in Chinese, is a traditional cloth dyeing technique that originated in Wenzhou during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
During his trip, Emmanuel was taken on a tour of the museum by curator Wang Hesheng, who shared how indigo prints evolved from being the gift of choice to foreign envoys during the Tang Dynasty to common wedding items found in nearly every household during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).
Emmanuel also got to try his hand at indigo printing and learn how the traditional craft requires not only craftsmanship but also a passion for culture.
