Lu Yi straw hat is a traditional specialty in Luyi County, Henan Province. According to legend, it was made by the daughter of Dong's bodyguard in the Southern Tang Dynasty. Through the continuous improvement of the masses, this craft product has been handed down among the people. According to The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival, straw hats were very common in the Northern Song Dynasty. In the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, the "Luyi County Zhiyi Real Estate" was also recorded in detail. Straw hat braid, also called "straw braid", is a crystal made by farmers by hand. Straw hats are made from Lu Yi straw hats, and the products are yellow and white. The masses summed up the advantages and functions of straw hats: the grass is soft and the shape is beautiful; People call it "living grass", which does not break; Durable and easy to carry; Shelter from the rain as a fan; Sitting on the ground can replace the cushion. Therefore, it is well received by domestic and foreign merchants and users. Before the middle of Qing Dynasty, straw hats were only for farmers' own use or as gifts for relatives and friends. In the first summer after a girl gets married, she should get some straw hats for her husband from home, which are called "returning hats". This custom has been maintained since its publication. With the increase of social demand, straw hats gradually turned into commodity production, and professional businessmen appeared-Braid Village and straw hat shop. Farmers have spent many years of famine by making braids and hats, and it is still a sideline. There is a folk song that says "wheat straw is a treasure, and farmers can't live without it;" Pinch a braid to make a hat and eat salt with oil. You can buy food in a disaster year and add clothes in a good year. "

Before liberation, merchants from Shandong, Hunan, Tianjin, Shanghai and Hankou set up tongjuxiang, hengtaixiang and other 18 braids in Lu Yi all the year round, and purchased about 200,000 yuan of grass braids every year. There are straw hat shops such as "Dry Expedition" and "Hengshun" 15, and the value of straw hats purchased every year is about 65,438+12,000 silver.

After liberation, the people's government supported the establishment of villages and factories, and vigorously developed this traditional specialty. In the 1980s, most processes were mechanized, and more than 0/0000 bales of straw hats/KLOC-were purchased, with 5 million straw hats, and more than 20 new arts and crafts products could be produced. Making handmade hats is an exquisite craft, which requires "one stitch and three braids, with no exposed threads inside and outside." The finished hat should be smoked with sulfur, which is called "gold plating and silver plating" by hat farmers-the yellow hat is like gold and the white hat is like silver, which is what people often say. Lu Yihuang and Lu Yi's white handmade straw hats have the shapes of saddle bridge, hat, doctor's hat, horn and children's flower straw hats. There are many kinds of machine-made straw hats, such as workers' and peasants' hats, embroidered flower-spraying youth hats, embroidered flower-spraying children's hats and so on 100, which are suitable for the customs and hobbies of people of all ethnic groups in China. Lu Yi straw hat enjoys a high reputation in the international market. Foreign users, especially princesses and young ladies in some western European countries, think that Lu Yi straw hats are beautiful and noble decorations. Straw straw hats are one of the main export commodities in Henan, with an annual output of 6.5438+0.5 million, which are exported to nearly 20 countries in Europe, Asia and Africa.