Weaving and Dyeing(2)

 

Dai Brocade It is a brocade of the Dai Nationality. The local people call it "sal cloth." As the historical document records, they made muslin early in the Han Dynasty. It subcategorizes into cotton and silk brocades. The weaving of cotton brocade is initiated by incessant weft while the weaving of silk brocade is initiated by intermittent weft. The cotton brocade takes the yarn of original colour as its material; the silk brocade is woven by the weft dyed in red or black. The Dai brocade in Dehong is dyed in the blending of red, black, emerald green and green. Its patterns are lion, tiger, peacock, tree and figure, etc.

---

 

Zhuang BrocadeIt is a brocade of the Zhuang Nationality. It is produced in the densely populated areas of Guangxi Province. The women of Zhuang Nationality use the weaving machine operated by one person to weave the brocade. The silk down and locally-produced silk threads are woven into the quilt facing, table cloth, scarf, etc. Its patterns are figures, flora and fauna and geometrical grains.

---

 

Li BrocadeIt is a brocade of the Li Nationality. It is produced in the Li people's inhabitats of Hainan Island. The Textile History of Ding Brook says that Li people weave the colourful cotton yarn and silk threads into brocade. In the Song Dynasty they called it "Li cloth" and "Li curtain." It is mainly used as the material for women's tube- shaped skirt, bag, etc.

---

 

Tujia Brocade It is a brocade of the Tujia Nationality. The General History of the Ming Dynasty calls it "striped cloth." In the Song Dynasty they called it "brook cloth" and "brook-cave facing." Tujia brocade is made by waist weaver. It takes yarn as warp and silk as weft. The weaving method is "interweaving the intermittent warp and incessant weft."

---

 

Lu BrocadeIt is a type of checked fabric in Shandong Province. There are simple geometrical grains on it. It is bright in colour and strong in texture. In the nineteen eighties it is further developed and adapted to the need of modern life. It is mainly woven by women in the south and north of Shandong Province.

---

 

Uygur Patterned FeltIt is a traditional handicraft work of the Uygur Nationality. It is divided into four types: embroidered felt, applique felt, rolled felt and printed felt. The Uygur patterned felt is mentioned in the Book of Wei Kingdom. The embroidered felt is produced by embroidering patterns on the coloured felt with colourful silks. The applique felt is produced by sewing onto the felt the rags of cloth with the shapes of goat horn, deer horn, bone, twig and cloud. The rolled felt is made by rolling the wool in original colour and dyed cotton onto the black or white wool. The printed felt is printed by fixed wood mould.

---

 

Xinjiang CarpetIt is woven manually by the Uygurian people, and generally called Hetian-styled carpet. They stretch tight seven ropes as the base on a wooden frame, on which colourful wool threads are knit according to the designed pattern draft. Then the threads are knotted by a knitting knife and knitted densely. Finally the abundant wool is cut off and the carpet is scratched to a even surface on which the patterns come into relief. Xinjiang carpet is named after the style of its pattern, its producing locale or its usage.

---

 

Folk Embroidery It is a traditional handicraft of China. Along the Chinese history, it has been once called "zao", "needle embroidery", "patterned embroidery" and is generally called "embroidering patterns." For it is made by women, it is also called "woman"s needlework." As recorded in the Book of Shan, the garments donned by ancient kings and emperors are manually embroidered. Since the Han Dynasty the embroidering skill has been greatly improved with a large variety of embroidery methods. The calligraphy and drawing can be embroidered since the Tang and Song Dynasties. The embroidery is widely employed in making clothing, tobacco bag, extra pocket, perfume bag, pillowship cushion, hat, shoes, screen and tapestry, etc. The embroidery is also applied to making cloth portraits of gods and spirits, the curtain for Buddha sculptures in temples and the stage costumes. The traditional skills of embroidery include sparse needling, manual needling, side needling and many other innovative skills. Many embroidering skills with local characteristics have come into being.

---

 

Gu EmbroideryIt originated from the household of Gu Mingshi in Songjiang, Jiangsu Province. Gu Mingshi was a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination of the Ming Dynasty. In his late years he lived in Shanghai. Almost all the female members in his family would embroider. Thus Gu embroidery came into being. Among the family members, a woman with the surname Miao and another named Han Ximeng were most skilled at embroidering. After the death of Gu Mingshi, the living condition of the family began to deteriorate and so the Gu embroidery was put onto the market. Initiated by the men of letters such as Dong Qichang in the south of the Changjiang River, some government- run or private embroidery workshop called their products Gu embroidery so as to cultivate the fame.

---

 

Su Embroidery It is one of the most famous Chinese embroideries. It is the general name for the embroidered products in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. There emerged many embroidery workshops and embroidery markets in the Song Dynasty. Up to Ming and Qing Dynasties its embroidery flourished for a time. Su embroidery is famous for its elaborateness and elegance. It used to be made by the unmarried daughters of noble families, and so it is also called "boudoir embroidery. " Its characteristics include elegant colours, fine needling, the application of halo dyeing, and the vacant lines left between colours. Its needling skills include looping needling, even needling, net embroidering, etc. Later they created double-faced embroidery, which is used to embroider screen, palace fan, handkerchief, scarf and window lattice. Its pattern themes vary from "the celebration of harvest", "wealthy family", "dragon and phoenix symbolic of propitiousness", "well-being through hundreds of years" to "abundance in grains and happiness in life", "richness in fruits", "happy encounter", and "twin lotus flowers." The embroidered pictures have "the Hunting Picture", "the Scroll of Plum and Crane", "the Scroll of Osmanthus Under the Moon" as their themes. There are many other embroidered products, such as dress and adornments, beddings and ornaments attached to the waist.