Xinjiang (formerly known as the Western Regions) is a place where ethnic minorities live in compact communities. The Silk Road has a long history. Like other ethnic minorities in the world, it has a unique aesthetic taste and exquisite craftsmanship. In addition, it is a place where Chinese and western cultures meet, and it has rich and profound cultural accumulation in several countries, making Xinjiang a gathering place for ethnic handicrafts.
Speaking of Xinjiang, we have to mention four famous knives in Xinjiang, namely Yengisar Craft Knife, Ili Shamusak Folding Knife, Yanqi Chen Zheng Knife Set and shache Muhammad Folding Knife. But one of the most famous tools is the long-standing Yengisar knife, which shows its head with its exquisite shape, exquisite ornamentation and sharp cutting edge.
Historically, most ethnic minorities in China worshipped martial arts and knives. They are mostly nomadic people, and their non-staple food is mostly beef and mutton. Slaughtering and skinning cattle and sheep or cutting meat requires a suitable knife, and Ingisha knife has such an effect.
Because Yengisar Knife has both practical and decorative functions, it has always been called "user", "love home" and "rich family". They take this knife as a tool for daily life and production and carry it with them. They can cut melons, meat, wood and skins. In particular, herders have a hand, which is always used to slaughter cattle, sheep and livestock.
Yengisar Knife is a handicraft of Xinjiang Uygur people, which has a strong Uighur style and is carried by almost everyone. Its production process is the most exquisite and has the longest history. It pays great attention to the production process, which is not only beautiful but also convenient and practical. Especially the handle and scabbard.
For the sake of beauty, Xinjiang hilts are curved and straight, made into various styles, and some simply make Xinjiang hilts with horns and antlers. If it is a copper handle, it will be more decorative. Ingisha knives are usually inlaid with several colored glass or plastic blocks on the copper handle, and then inlaid with more than a dozen gem-like glass and plastic particles, which are sparkling and dazzling.
Ingisha knives are generally ten or twenty centimeters long. The largest is more than half a meter, and the smallest is only about two inches. They have different shapes. Such as crescent moon, fish belly, phoenix tail, eagle, red-billed mountain crow and lark head, no matter what style, the workmanship is very fine and the appearance is pleasing to the eye. Not to mention its incomparable sharpness, which is owned by many knives. Novel and unique is the characteristic of Yengisar Dao, especially on the handle, which is made of wood, horny, copper and silver, and is very particular.
The steel carefully selected by craftsmen is forged to form coarse and fine embryos, then polished with a file and then quenched. The core technologies such as quenching, forging, maintenance, cutting, etc. are all stunts handed down from generation to generation by craftsmen, and they are kept secret from each other and never revealed. The "best Yinjisha knife" made by "authentic traditional craft" has pure steel color and exquisite pyrotechnics. Its texture is like beautiful jade in steel, and its blade is sharp. It is used to scrape iron bars, but when iron chips rise, the blade never collapses or rolls.
There are many beautiful and touching legends about the appearance of Yengisar Knife:
It is said that a long time ago, a pair of Uighur brothers went hunting in the mountains. Each of them carries a knife except a shotgun. Shortly after entering the ravine, I heard a whoosh and looked up. Boy, a tiger jumped out! The younger brother who ran behind was taken away by the tiger. My brother chased the tiger desperately, but he couldn't catch up. He suddenly remembered that his brother had a knife pinned to his waist. He shouted, "Brother, there is a knife on your waist!" " "This suddenly reminded my brother, so he pulled out his knife and stabbed the tiger's chest and abdomen desperately. Soon the tiger was lying in a pool of blood. After this story comes out, all Uighur men should take a knife just in case. Over time, the custom of carrying a knife was formed.
The legend may not be credible, but the appearance of Yengisar Knife is undoubtedly related to the local people's living customs. Some of them live in agricultural areas, while others live in pastoral areas. They can't eat meat, melons, repair saddles, cover saddles, cut naan, cut meat and have no knives. For example, if you eat melons in the field in summer, you can use a knife as chopsticks and stick naan or melons into your mouth with the tip of the knife, which has a special taste. Knives, because of their various types and fine workmanship, have become decorations around men's waists, as a capital to show off to their companions, and at the same time, they can increase men's glory.