段怡然，这位从云南大理走出的白族女孩，曾在青少年时期“讨厌”家乡的传统靛蓝染色手艺。如今，她却在伦敦西北部的工作室里，用针线与染料，将这份非遗技艺传承并发扬光大。段怡然的故事，是对文化根脉的深情回望，也是东西方文化交融的生动注解。

Sitting on a lounge chair in her studio in northwest London, Duan Yiran, the founder of Yi Crafts, a handcrafts workshop that focuses on promoting the traditional indigo dyeing technique practiced by the Chinese Bai ethnic group, admits she used to "hate" the craft.

段怡然坐在伦敦西北部工作室的舒适躺椅上，坦然承认，自己曾经“嫌弃”过这门手艺。她所在的“彝族工艺”手工作坊，致力于推广中国白族的传统靛蓝染色技术，这门手艺在她心中有着特殊的地位。

"I grew up with it, but it wasn't something you felt cool about when you were a teenager. So, I never really liked it," she recalls.

“我是在它的熏陶下长大的，但年少时，总觉得它不够酷炫。所以，我一直没有真正喜欢过它。”段怡然回忆道。

Duan, a member of the Bai ethnic group, was born and raised in Zhoucheng village, in Dali city, Southwest China's Yunan province.

段怡然是白族人，在中国西南部云南省大理市的周城村度过了童年和青春。

At one time, in Zhoucheng, nearly every household boasted members who had mastered the tie-dyeing technique. Duan's family also ran an indigo farm that dated back five generations, alongside a business that produced handwoven, hand-dyed fabrics.

往昔，周城几乎家家户户都掌握着扎染这门技艺。段怡然家中，不仅经营着可以追溯到五代人的蓝靛农场，还生产着手织手染的布料。

To tie-dye pieces of cloth, the craftsperson uses needles and threads to create different folds in the fabrics before putting them in dye vats several times. Typically, the dye vats contain sky-blue-colored dye extracted from plants.

扎染的过程中，手艺人会用针线在布料上扎出各式各样的褶皱，再将其放入染缸中反复浸染。染缸内盛满的是从植物中提取的天蓝色染料。

Unfolding the fabrics reveals beautiful patterns, such as geometric shapes and flowers. The areas stitched and bound by threads remain white because they were not immersed in the dye, while other areas turn blue.

当布料展开时，几何图形和花朵等美丽的图案便映入眼帘。那些用线缝合和捆绑的地方，因为未被染料浸透，依旧保持着洁白，而其他部分则染上了深邃的蓝色。

In 2006, the tie-dyeing technique of the Bai ethnic group was listed as a form of national intangible cultural heritage in China.

2006年，白族扎染技艺被正式列入中国国家级非物质文化遗产名录，这无疑是对这门古老手艺的极高赞誉。

The 29-year-old Duan, who spent her childhood helping out by cutting the threads after cloth had been dyed, never thought about inheriting the craft until she moved to London in 2015 and enrolled at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, to study costume design.

段怡然今年29岁，从小便协助家人剪去染布上的线头。直到2015年，她移居伦敦，进入英国皇家中央演讲与戏剧学院学习服装设计，才萌生了传承这门手艺的念头。

"I learned a lot of Western techniques at the school, like making a suit, a Victorian dress, a corset, but I lost that connection because I don't have a history associated with (those garments)," she says. "And when making the Victorian-style costumes, I found myself unconsciously applying the Chinese embroidery stitching and knotting techniques that I learned from my grandmother."

她感慨地说：“在学校，我学习了很多西方的制衣技术，比如制作西装、维多利亚式礼服、紧身胸衣。但渐渐地，我发现自己与这些服装之间缺少了某种历史的联系。在制作维多利亚风格的服装时，我总是不自觉地运用从祖母那里学到的中国刺绣针法和打结技巧。”

It was at that moment Duan realized that a person may not be entirely separated from the land they were raised on and the cultural imprints that come with it.

那一刻，段怡然意识到，无论自己走得多远，都无法完全割舍与故土和文化的纽带。

"There are things that are always with me, I just tried to hide them. But no matter how hard I've tried to escape from the culture or try to be what's considered cool or edgy, I am still a girl from Dali," she says.

“有些东西，就像影子一样，始终伴随着我，我曾试图将它们隐藏。但无论我如何努力想要逃离这种文化，或者试图成为别人眼中的酷女孩或前卫者，我始终是那个来自大理的女孩。”她坦然道。

After graduating in 2019, Duan decided to set up her own handcrafts studio. In the five years since she launched her business, she has organized more than 500 online and in-person workshops, with in excess of 10,000 participants.

2019年毕业后，段怡然决定创立自己的手工艺品工作室。五年来，她已成功举办了500多场线上线下工作坊，吸引了超过1万名参与者。

With more UK-based young Chinese people, dedicated to showcasing their motherland's culture, joining Yi Crafts, the studio has evolved into a space where various types of Chinese handicrafts, including embroidery, lantern making, paper-cutting, bamboo weaving, and more, have been shared.

随着越来越多致力于展示祖国文化的英国华人青年加入“怡手作”，这个工作室已逐渐发展成为一个汇聚各种中国手工艺品的交流平台，包括刺绣、灯笼制作、剪纸、竹编等。

Yi Crafts also collaborated with some of the mainstream cultural organizations in the UK, including the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, to host Chinese handicraft workshops.

如今，“怡手作”还与大英博物馆、维多利亚与艾尔伯特博物馆等英国主流文化机构合作，共同举办中国手工艺工作坊，将中国传统文化的魅力展现给更多人。

编辑 | ETTBL商务英语翻译

翻译｜Romola