The Folk-Dyeing Whisperer

Gu Ran learned the art of batik from her grandmother, who always said, “The patterns in batik hold the words of our ancestors. Only certain people can read them.” After her grandmother passed away, Gu Ran was sorting through the batik cloth when she found a piece covered in strange patterns. The outlines of a “flood” and a “village” could just be made out, and one corner bore the same pattern as her scarf.

An elderly batik artist from the village told her, “This is a ‘warning cloth.’ Its pattern foretells a flood threatening the village. Your grandmother used it to evacuate the villagers in time.” Following the pattern’s directions, Gu Ran found her grandmother’s batik diary in a cave behind the village. The last page showed a blueprint for a flood-control dam. That night, Gu Ran recreated the design using her batik skills, and the villagers built the dam according to the plan. On the “warning cloth,” the flood pattern slowly transformed into a calm river.