Chinese cotton fluffing (弹棉花 / tán mián huā) is a disappearing traditional handicraft where artisans use a large, bowed instrument and rhythmic plucking to separate, disentangle, and aerate raw cotton, transforming hard clumps into airy, cloud-like batting for warm quilts, a process now mostly replaced by machines. Master craftsmen use a wooden hammer and a special bow, creating vibrations to make the cotton soft, uniform, and ready for stitching into quilts or cushions, a skill passed down through generations but fading away.
https://i.redd.it/pj61g2rwba9g1.gif
You made me turn the sound on… thank you.
https://preview.redd.it/30ao9942sa9g1.jpeg?width=712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=56570257a233ffb3cec0c6282250db1786ec9f46
Was hoping to see this
The reason I opened the comments
Industrial Music
Is there a benefit to doing the craft by hand or is it just that it's traditional? Everything used to be done by hand, but not everything benefits from it, and those are the best things to automate.
I think its more about preserving tradition than finding any utility in it.
The are a steady number of curry houses in Birmingham, UK support a working 18th century watermill. The flour isn't better than the mass manufactured stuff, its slightly more expensive and the output is lower. They still insist on supporting the business anyway to continue the tradition.
The only weird bit in that line of thought is where the craftsman decides where tradition stops, eg a traditional Japanese cabinet maker whipping out out a band saw to quarter a tree branch instead of spending forever hand sawing it with blade larger than their torso.
China does a lot of investing into preserving traditional ways, they pay people money to support cultural preservation. YouTube accounts like this one is one such example of someone who gets government support for promoting and demonstrating traditional arts and life. It’s a little like those historical reenactment villages/ living history museums we can find in the U.S.
Oh, that's not background music, that's the actual sound. This seems fun.
Not one fluffer joke? Internet… I’m disappointed in you.
I'm glad they're wearing masks. Cotton fiber in the lungs is no joke.
Du! Du hast!
Welp. I'm ignoring the description and reposting this as the secret first step in traditional Squishmallow production.