Baoluan Bamboo Mat

Baoluan Bamboo Mat

　　A long time ago, there were cold bamboo and water bamboo in Baoluan, but people didn’t know how to weave mats. Back then, they would cut the bamboo into blocks and lay them on the bed, but the result was hard and uncomfortable to sleep on.

　　 One day, a man named Yang Sheng from Yangjiao’ao had a dream. In the dream, he saw many small coins of different designs. Just as he bent down to pick up the coins, an old man with a white beard appeared before him. The old man said to Yang Sheng, “Yang Sheng, don’t pick up these coins. If you want to get rich, remember the look of these little coins. When you go home, weave a mat with small copper coins using bamboo and sell it in the market — you’re sure to make money.” With that, the old man disappeared.

　　 After waking up, Yang Sheng found this very strange. He thought about it for a long time but still didn’t understand what use weaving such a thing would be. Eventually, he said, “Whatever, I’ll give it a try and weave one.” So he began splitting the bamboo strips and started weaving.

　　 He split and wove, wove and split. Just as he had finished weaving the coin design, that night he dreamed of the white-bearded old man again. The old man said to him, “You, you, your skills are still not good enough. The bamboo strips are rough — who would want that? Start over.” With no other choice, he had to take it apart and begin again.

　　 The second time Yang Sheng finished weaving the coin design, he dreamed again — and once more, it was the white-bearded old man. The old man told him, “You’ve made some progress, but those bamboo strips still won’t do. You need to shave the strips thinner.” When he woke up, he shaved the bamboo strips until they were thin and fine, then used them to weave a mat with hundreds of little coins. When it was done, it looked very nice. Worried that someone might see and take the mat, he folded it up during the day and kept it in his pouch, then laid it out on the bed at night and slept on it. It turned out to be extremely comfortable, so he took it to the market and sold it.

　　 Since then, the craft of bamboo mat weaving has been passed down in Baoluan. Now, the people of Baoluan can weave not only small coins, but also patterns like tigers, lions, dragons, and snakes.