Exploring the symbolism of Miao Hmong embroidery

Written by Helen McGlade

The Miao Hmong people are one of China’ 55 recognised ethnic minority groups, living predominantly in Southwestern China. Known for their breath-taking embroidery and silversmithing, the ‘Miao Hmong’ classification encompasses a wide diversity of peoples, cultures and languages. Originally a nomadic people, the Miao Hmong had no written language and so recorded their history and mythology in richly detailed, vibrant embroidery. Today let’s explore some of the symbolism woven into this beautiful textile art, recognised as National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Chinese government in 2006!

Check out the expressive faces of each character – how intricate!

The Butterfly

One of the most common symbols in Miao embroidery is the butterfly and I bet you’re all wondering why… Well, taking the needle for a pen and thread for ink, Miao women embroider their creation myth onto the garment, and guess who’s the most important figure in the Miao creation myth? Mother Butterfly of course! As legend has it, long, long ago when the world was at peace, the immortal maple tree gave birth to a butterfly. This beautiful butterfly fell head over heels in love with a water bubble and laid twelve eggs. The maple tree transformed into a big bird that hatched the eggs, one a year, for twelve years. Out of these eggs came a thunder god, a dragon, a buffalo, a tiger, an elephant, a snake, a centipede, a boy called Jiangyang, and his sister, from whom the Miao people are descended. So, as you can see the Butterfly is the mother of gods, animals and human beings – a very important symbol!

Can you spot the beautiful mother butterfly?

Here’s mother butterfly looking a bit angrier – I wonder who’s been naughty?!

The Pomegranate Blossom

Other symbols include the pomegranate flower, the sun and the moon and curling patterns of thread! The rich, red blossom of the pomegranate tree has many seeds and translates to a symbol of fertility in Miao embroidery. Multiple seeds mean thriving offspring, so by embroidering the flower, the Miao women represent their wish for a flourishing family.

Celestial Bodies

As for the sun and the moon, this harks back to another foundation legend of the creation of the universe: in the beginning, there were ten suns and ten moons in the sky. The ancestor of humanity arrived and shot down eighteen of these celestial bodies until there remained only one sun and one moon. Often, Miao women choose to embroider ten suns and moons on their garments to remember and celebrate the creation of the world. Finally, the curling pattern also links to the legendary beginning of the world, a world where there was as yet no earth or sky, simply this spiralling, waving entity. By adding this pattern, the old legends are remembered and passed down to future generations, ensuring the Miao people do not forget their origins.

How many of the patterns we’ve mentioned can you see? I spot at least three!

The Dragon

As I mentioned before, the ‘Miao’ name encompasses a wide variety of smaller ethnic groups. It is important to note how individual ethnic identity is expressed through adaptation of different important symbols. For example, the dragon, a symbol of imperial power for the Han ethnic groups, is also an important part of Miao culture. Yet, different Miao groups embroider this symbol in different ways. Miao women living Bala River basin tend to embroider dragons in a green colour, with leaf- or stalk-like bodies. These dragons usually do not have horns or feet, rather they have crests on their hands! However, the Miao women of Shidong town present the dragon in red or blue threads, with a scaley body, horns and big ears. By presenting a specific image of the dragon in the embroidery, the Miao women living in neighbouring areas establish the ethnic mark of their own subgroups, displaying their own affiliation and weaving multiple layers of identity into the cloth.

Miao women are passing on the traditional knowledge of how to make a ‘Hundred-Bird’ dress to younger generations.

Embroidery skills are passed on from generation to generation; mothers start teaching their daughters from the age of six or seven, as the skill is so complex to learn! In transferring the skills of embroidery, children learn the history and legends of their people, grounding and enriching their Miao identity. I hope you’ve enjoyed this small tour of symbolism in Miao embroidery. There are so many symbols still to explore and I encourage you to go and discover more for yourself!

A Miao women explaining the steps of the embroidery process, starting with the planning stage!

About Interact China

“A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide!”

Aileen & Norman co-founded Interact China in 2004 with specialization in fine Oriental Aesthetic products handmade by ethnic minorities & Han Chinese. Having direct partnerships with artisans, designers, craft masters and tailors, along with 13 years of solid experience in e-commerce via InteractChina.com, we are well positioned to bridge talented artisans in the East with the rest of the world, and directly bring you finely selected products that are of good quality and aesthetic taste.

So far we carry 3000+ goods covering Ladies Fashion via ChineseFashionStyle.com, Kungfu Fashion, Home Furnishings, Babies & Kids, Painting Arts, Textile Arts, Carving Arts, Tribal Jewelry Art, Wall Masks and Musical Instruments. Our team speak English, French, German, Spanish and Italian, and serve customers worldwide with passion and hearts.

P.S. We Need People with Similar Passion to Join Our Blogging Team!
If you have passion to write about Oriental Aesthetic in Fashion, Home Decor, Art & Crafts, Culture, Music, Books, and Charity, please contact us at bloggers@interactchina.com, we would love to hear from you!

Silk Crossroads: Chinese Brocade in The World

Written by Maria Giglio

Ever wondered where all that Shakespearian costume vibes that Brocade shoes evoke come from? Well that’s an interesting journey.

Back in Renaissance, Italian folks went crazy about silk brocade. As a matter of fact, the English word brocade derives right from the Italian word broccato (interestingly sharing roots with the word broccoli!) to refer to the embossed (broccus means sprout in latin) effect produced on the surface by the weaving technique. However, brocade carries far more remote origins than Italian renaissance, dating back to the Chinese warring states period (around the 5th Century B.C), a time when the silk-secret had not been unravelled yet.

The character Jin (锦), used to compose the Chinese name for Brocade Zhī jǐnduàn (织锦缎) literally means golden dragonfly and refers to the noble texture of the fabric which originally was refined with gold and silver filigree which nowadays are replaced by copper or alluminium powder. Silk brocade features a unique colourful pattern, usually displaying flowers and nature, the distinctiveness of which is given by an irresistible tri-dimensional effect.

But first, the technical stuff

Brocade is not an independent but an auxiliary weaving technique used to ornate the main fabric with a carving effect. It is usually realised on a draw loom, where the basic design is created on multiple wefts (continuous brocade) while extra inlay effect is created with a supplementary weft (non-continuous brocade).

Chinese Brocade styles: the ones to watch

Chinese silk brocade has a long, established tradition. Mentions of silk brocade can be found in the Book of Songs, the oldest known collection of classic Chinese poetry (11^th-7^th Century B.C.). During the 1980s, pieces of brocade were retrieved at the Chu tombs of Warring States Period in Hubei Province. Brocade varies from region to region, and many minorities have their own peculiar weaving style. Amongst the all, Yun, Shu and Song brocade are the most ancient and renowned types. To give an idea, Yun brocade developed over 1580 years ago during the Yuan Dynasty and is the most prestigious because of the use of gold and silver foil in weaving.

Shu brocade, coming from Sichuan and flourished between Han and Tang dynasties (3^rd Century BC to 10^th Century A.D.) is recognised worldwide as a textile gem, being characterised by a strong predominance of red.

Finally, Song brocade originates from Suzhou, in Jiangsu Province, the homeland of silk and reached its peak of popularity during the Song Dynasty because of its soft texture and the bright colourful design.

Today, Chinese silk brocade is acclaimed worldwide as a cultural relic. In 2006, Yun, Song and Shu brocade were enlisted in the national intangible heritage.

An intriguing history of weft and theft

Although silk textiles have been extremely popular in the Western world since Ancient Greece and Roman Empire, where they were being exported via the Silk Road, the Chinese Empire managed to keep the secret of silk production for over 30 centuries, which secured a China’s monopoly on the textile’s trade.

It was under Byzantine Empire that the secret of sericulture was finally revealed to the world. According to the legend, in 550 A.D. two monks sent by Emperor Justinian to discover how silk was made, stole mulberry cocoon, silkworm and eggs and brought them back to Constantinople.

Chinese influence on Italian fashion history

After the disclosure of sericulture to the world, the commercial relations between West and East slowly declined, and by the end of the 14^th century, brocade production was not an Oriental prerogative anymore. In Italy, the cultural fervour characterised by a pursuit of beauty and perfection during Renaissance, favoured the evolution of silk weaving techniques and the elevation of textile artisanry to a form of art, contributing to the establishment of Italy as a fashion sanctuary.

Long-lasting cultural interweaving

Sometimes we think of fusion as a concept that belongs to our modern times. Every culture claims its own, unique, virgin identity. And in part that is certainly true. But the fascinating history of humanity tells us something slightly different. Without interaction, there is no inspiration. Without inspiration, there is no progress. What if the silkworm had never slithered out the Silk road?

About Interact China

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Ikat, the ancient art of cloud weaving

Written by Maria

Feeling blue today? If you know what Ikat is, you may agree that it is not necessarily a bad thing. Coming from the Malay-Indonesian word mengikat (to tie), Ikat is an ancient textile art particularly diffused in Southeast Asia, particularly in China, Indonesia and Thailand.

The technique is complex and time-consuming, mainly consisting in dyeing the cotton yarns before weaving.

Local Woman wearing Ikat

Named after such technique, the Ikat fabric can come in a variety of colours and patterns, although one of the most popular variations is the blue-patterned one. Ikat weavers use pigments of indigo, the local plant which famously gives the characteristic colour to denim, to obtain the particularly dense, sky-like blue. This is probably why in Persia Ikat technique is known as abr brandi, which literally means tying the clouds.

Ikat in an online Magazine Insert

Origins

Although its origins are highly debated, Ikat is probably one of the most ancient and unique textile techniques of Asia. The earliest historical record was found in China and dates back to the 6^th Century, though there is track that the technique has been used in India at least since the 7^th century and developed in other Asian Countries such as Thailand and Indonesia.

Thailandese Woman Weaving Ikat

Surprisingly, Ikat has also widely flourished in Latin American countries such as Peru and Guatemala since ancient times, where it developed independently of the Eastern world.

Ikat in an Online Magazine Insert

Ikat was brought to Europe by Dutch and Spanish explorers from Asia and Latin America during Colonialism, started in the 7^th Century.

Ancient Ikat Piece of Cloth

The traditional patterns of Ikat used to be entrenched of spiritual meaning. In particular, Ikat used to be a symbol of wealth. Until recent times, in Southeast Asia only aristocrats were allowed to wear Ikat fabric. The rule, also sanctioned with death punishment, slowly disappeared because of the colonialist pressures to trade and diffuse the product abroad, which led to its largest diffusion in the 20^th Century.

Process

Just like batik and tie-dye, Ikat is obtained with a resist-dyeing method, mainly by controlling the colour spread so that it does not reach all the fabric. The purpose is to create the patterns out of the contrast between coloured and uncoloured areas.

Thailandese Women weaving Ikat

The difference between Ikat and other famous resist-dyeing techniques like Batik or Tie-dye, is that dyeing is applied before and not after weaving. First, the design is marked onto the yarns. Then, the unmarked areas are then tied with rubber, wax or other materials, to avoid that the colour penetrates them.

Ikat in the Making

The yarns are then dyed with the use of a straw. Finally, the yarns are untied and woven in the loom. Dyeing is fundamental to the creation of the patterns. A variation of Ikat is double Ikat, where both the warp and the weft are dyed.

If you want to know more about Ikat, watch the following video to see how ikat is made! https://youtu.be/3OAnnvPEOl8

If you have fallen in love with Ikat, please have a look on our new sleek line of blue scarves on InteractChina.com. Enjoy!

About Interact China

“A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide!”

P.S. We Need People with Similar Passion to Join Our Blogging Team!
If you have passion to write about Oriental Aesthetic in Fashion, Home Decor, Art & Crafts, Culture, Music, Books, and Charity, please contact us at bloggers@interactchina.com, we would love to hear from you!

Children’s shoes with Tiger’s Heads

Written by Juliette Qi

Tiger-headed shoes are an example of traditional Chinese folk crafts. These children’s shoes, made from a variety of soft fabrics, feature a tiger at the front of the shoe and embroidered soles. Their name comes from the from the front part of the shoe that looks like the head of a tiger. In northern China, people also refer to them as “cat-headed shoes”. Wearing these brightly colored cloth shoes which all have such special designs is a traditional custom for young Chinese people and symbolizes good fortune.

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In Chinese culture, tigers are considered auspicious, so women embroider the vamp of the shoe in the shape of a tiger, hoping that their children will become as strong and vibrant as this animal. In addition, the bright image of the tiger’s head has been thought to chase away evil spirits and to protect children from diseases or disasters in their lives. It is a complicated job to make tiger-headed shoes and it requires a lot of delicate work like embroidery and weaving, especially on the very front of the shoe. The main part of the shoe is largely red and yellow and the craftsmen generally use thick lines to draw the outline of the mouth, the eyebrows, the nose and the eyes of the tiger to express its power in an exaggerated way.

Tancheng County, Linyi, Shandong Province (East China),2017. Zhao Kaiying, 85, has been making tiger-headed shoes for more than 20 years.

These shoes, offered to the child from an early age, present a tiger head in the front of the vamp. As a guardian animal and devourer of demons, the tiger protects the child against evil spirits. Other symbols are also embroidered under the shoes.

The origins of the tiger-headed shoe have no historical records, but there are several popular legends about them. The following is one of the legends that would explain the origin of these shoes: a long time ago, there was a lady with skillful hands and good artistic taste. She was very good at embroidery, so that her child was always well dressed. One night a monster came to the village and took all the children except his son. From then on, people began to realize that the child’s shoes were decorated with a tiger’s head at their ends to scare the monster, leaving the child safe. As a result, people started to imitate this practice.

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In the eyes of the general public, the tiger is a robust and powerful animal with the title of “king of animals”. So when this animal is mentioned, it evokes in people the idea of power and fear. As a result, some expressions about tiger, such as the roar of the tiger, the scary aspect of the tiger (Chinese: 虎威, pinyin: Huwei) or vigorous as a tiger (Chinese: 虎虎有生气, pinyin: huhuyoushengqi) were invented along with this culture.

About Interact China

“A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide”

Aileen & Norman co-founded Interact China in 2004 with specialization in fine Oriental Aesthetic products handmade by ethnic minorities & Han Chinese. Having direct partnerships with artisans, designers, craft masters and tailors, along with 10 years solid experience in e-commerce via InteractChina.com, we position well to bridge talented artisans in the East with the rest of the world, and bring you direct finely selected products that are of good quality and aesthetic taste.

So far we carry 3000+ goods covering Ladies Fashion, Kungfu Clothing, Home Furnishings, Babies & Kids, Painting Arts, Textile Arts, Carving Arts, Tribal Jewelry Art, Wall Masks and Musical Instruments. Our team speak English, French, German, Spanish and Italian, and serve customers worldwide with passion and hearts.

P.S. We Need People with Similar Passion to Join Our Blogging Team!

If you have passion to write about Oriental Aesthetic in Fashion, Home Decor, Art & Crafts, Culture, Music, Books, and Charity, please contact us at bloggers@interactchina.com, we would love to hear from you!

Landscape All-around: The Four Famous Embroideries

Written by Juliette Qi

As a traditional handicraft art, Chinese embroidery has an important place in the history of Chinese art and the textile industry. Throughout its history and even today, it is still improving technically and is renewed for the new aesthetic designs . It is practiced throughout China and has different characteristics depending on the region, among which we invite you to discover the four best known modern schools.

Su Embroidery

Suzhou embroidery, which dates back 4000 years, is considered one of the four main schools of this Chinese handicraft, along with those in Hunan, Guangdong and Sichuan. All of the works are handmade on a silk material such as taffeta, satin and raw silk.

Su 2

The Suzhou School is renowned for the finesse of its products. To obtain the desired artistic effect, a silk thread is subdivided into 2, 4, 6, 8 or even 48 strands, each as thin as a single silk fiber.

Suzhou embroidery now has 40 styles instead of the traditional 18, while silk threads have six thousand subtle nuances. Consequently, almost all drawings such as traditional Chinese paintings, oil paintings, gouaches, color photos or calligraphy, can be reproduced using Suzhou embroidery.

Yue Embroidery

Yue embroidery refers to embroidered work done in the Guangdong Province. It is said that this style of embroidery was originally created by the Li ethnic minority about 2,000 years ago.

Yue2

Yue embroidery is best known for its ingenious designs that incorporate auspicious symbols and best wishes into its embroidery work, and it acts on the merits of various artistic forms such as painting and folk-art paper cutting. The Yue embroidery works collected at the Palace Museum (Forbidden City, Beijing) are the most representative and the most numerous works of this embroidery school.

Yue

There are two branches of the Yue Embroidery School which are “Chao Embroidery” and “Guang Embroidery”. In 2006, the “Guang Embroidery” was included in the representative list of the national intangible heritage and became an art protected by the Guandong Province as traditional folk culture legacy.

Shu Embroidery

“Embroidery Shu” is the general term for embroidery work mainly produced in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. It has enjoyed great fame since the Han dynasty and peaked in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). In the middle of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Shu embroidery gradually formed its own industry．

Shu

In this style of embroidery, satin and colored silk are the main materials. The unique sewing methods and embroidery techniques contribute to its expressive and artistic effects.

La broderie Shu est utilisée à la fois sur des pièces artistiques et sur des objets qui peuvent servir chaque jour. Des dessus de lit, des draps, des pantoufles, des vêtements peuvent être brodés en style Shu apportant couleur et beauté à l’utilisateur. De plaisantes pièces d’art sont également produites dans le style Shu. Elles peuvent être comprises de tentures murales, de paravents ou de rideaux. Les couleurs riches et les images vivantes que l’on trouve dans la broderie Shu sont censées rappeler au spectateur le plaisir que l’on peut trouver dans chaque chose vivante. C’est peut-être pour ce plaisir que la broderie Shu reste populaire de nos jours.

Shu2

Some artisans sum up the Shu embroidery as “rigorous and fine points, clear and elegant colors, along with beautiful and regular lines “. Shu embroidery is used for both artistic works and objects that can be used in everyday life. Bed covers, sheets, slippers, and clothes can all be embroidered in the Shu style, bringing color and beauty to the user’s possessions. Pleasant art works can also apply embroidery in Shu style, like wall hangings, screens or curtains. The rich colors and vivid images found in Shu embroidery are meant to remind the viewer of the pleasure that can be found in daily life. It is perhaps for this reason that Shu embroidery remains popular today.

Xiang Embroidery

Xiang embroidery is the general term given to embroidered work produced in Changsha and the surrounding areas (Hunan Province). This style of embroidery developed from folk Hunan embroidery and absorbed the very essence of embroidery schools like Su and Yue. The unearthed embroidery from tombs of the Chu Kingdom(1115BC-223BC) in 1958 and the 40 embroidered dresses dug out from Mawangdui tombs in Changsha in 1972 indicate that Hunan embroidery techniques reached a fairly high standard over 2000 years ago.

xiang2

During its long history, Xiang Embroidery developed a unique style, relying on traditional features of Chinese paintings. The Award of Excellence and the First Prize were awarded to Xiang Embroidery, at the Turin Exhibition (Italy) in 1911 and at the Panama World Fair in 1933 respectively.

Xiang

Inheriting styles and inventions from long-standing embroiderers and incorporating modern cross-cultural designs, today’s Chinese embroidery has a new development for new designs and modern products, not only for its local specialties, but also for its universal aesthetic traits.

About Interact China

“A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide”

Aileen & Norman co-founded Interact China in 2004 with specialization in fine Oriental Aesthetic products handmade by ethnic minorities & Han Chinese. Having direct partnerships with artisans, designers, craft masters and tailors, along with 10 years solid experience in e-commerce via InteractChina.com, we position well to bridge talented artisans in the East with the rest of the world, and bring you direct finely selected products that are of good quality and aesthetic taste.

P.S. We Need People with Similar Passion to Join Our Blogging Team!

If you have passion to write about Oriental Aesthetic in Fashion, Home Decor, Art & Crafts, Culture, Music, Books, and Charity, please contact us atbloggers@interactchina.com, we would love to hear from you!

Yunjin: from Traditional Art to Cultural Heritage

Written by Juliette Qi

The Yunjin云锦 brocade craft from Nanjing (Nanjing) has been the traditional Chinese art of weaving for over 1500 years. This technique is still used today in the Jiangsu Province in eastern mainland China. Recognized for its aesthetic values and use, it was named by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.

Recognized Cultural Heritage

Mainly preserved in the Jiangsu Province in eastern China, this artform has more than a hundred processes, including the manufacture of looms, the sketching of patterns, the creation of jacquard cards for the preparation of drawings, the assembly of the craft and the multiple steps of the weaving itself.

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Yunjin brocade crafts in Nanjing require the use of a large loom, which must be operated by two craftsmen. The first is on the side of the lower parts and the second on the upper parts. The particularity of this loom is that it allows you to weave fine and noble materials such as silk threads, gold threads and peacock feathers. The tissues obtained are therefore of very good quality. Generally selected to make royal clothes, including the dragon robe and the crown for emperors in the past, this technique continues to be applied to the manufacturing of sumptuous clothing and souvenirs today.

Aesthetic and Academic Value

Fabrics made using this technique have a good reputation all over China. Thanks to the fact that this technique has been passed down from generation to generation, we can still make the famous dragon robe of the emperor. Additionally, fabric made using this technique nowadays is mostly intended for use by researchers and museums.

The weavers used to perform their task by singing ballads, in order to memorize the technique which was used. Indeed, each rhythm corresponds to a very precise technique. While “passing the chain” and “separating the weft”, the weavers sing mnemonic ballads that help them to memorize the techniques they apply, thus creating san atmosphere of solidarity around the loom, as well as an artistic dimension.

For these weavers, their art is part of a historic mission: in addition to making fabrics for contemporary use, Yunjin is used for the reproduction of ancient silk fabrics for researchers and museums. Renowned for the splendor of its fabrics, Yunjin remains popular throughout the country.

In Chinese history, a Yunjin brocade is a symbol of status and an emblem of the aesthetic notions. Yunjin brocade patterns varied depending on the grade of mandarins. As Guo Jun, a weaver who owns his own workshop, says, “The motives are the soul of the Yunjin brocade. Without these allegorical motifs, the creation of brocades lacks value. Technically, one could change the motif of a unicorn into a portrait of Donald Trump, but the traditional national costume would then become a casual t-shirt”. After forty years of weaving Yunjin brocades, Guo not only takes on apprentices to learn to design brocade motifs, but also teaches them Chinese traditional culture.

Guo Jun, like many contemporary craftsmen, hopes that his workshop will train some apprentices who can make Yunjin brocade according to the modern aesthetic for that this craft can enter the international collection market and to suit modern styles. He thinks it is only with the recognition of collectors of art objects that the of Yunjin Brocade with noble character will be reborn.

About Interact China

“A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide”

Aileen & Norman co-founded Interact China in 2004 with specialization in fine Oriental Aesthetic products handmade by ethnic minorities & Han Chinese. Having direct partnerships with artisans, designers, craft masters and tailors, along with 10 years solid experience in e-commerce via InteractChina.com, we position well to bridge talented artisans in the East with the rest of the world, and bring you direct finely selected products that are of good quality and aesthetic taste.

P.S. We Need People with Similar Passion to Join Our Blogging Team!

If you have passion to write about Oriental Aesthetic in Fashion, Home Decor, Art & Crafts, Culture, Music, Books, and Charity, please contact us atbloggers@interactchina.com, we would love to hear from you!

The Weaving, Dyeing and Embroidery of the Li People: 2000-Year-Old Techniques

Written by Juliette Qi

The weaving and dyeing techniques of the Li* have a long history and unique characteristics. The Li mainly produce linen fabrics, cotton, brocade, printed and dyed products, embroidery and long bedspreads (a kind of brocade, the most delicate to make). Li women are skilled in spinning and weaving, and especially show their ingenuity in spinning and weaving “bombax” cotton and local cotton. Even before Song Dynasty (960-1279), Li women already knew how to weave and could weave colorful bed sheets and curtains.

According to historical records, the traditional spinning and weaving techniques of Li cotton have a history of more than 2,000 years. Since the Han Dynasty (207 BC-220 AD), Li brocade has been offered as a tribute to feudal emperors of later dynasties. Cheng Bingzhao, a poet of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) once praised the exquisite work of Li brocade in these terms: “Li brocade is as beautiful and brilliant as the sun in the sky “. “Li” brocade is appreciated because it is exquisitely manufactured, beautiful in its design, practical, and has the characteristics of the spinning, weaving, dyeing and embroidery of the ethnic group.

The Different Techniques

The Li minority has its own spinning, weaving, dyeing and embroidery techniques and, in different regions, has also developed them according to local preferences.

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Spinning: The main tools involved are the hand wheel and the wheel driven by a pedal. Spinning using the hand wheel is the oldest spinning technique. Before cotton sheets grew in popularity, wild linen sheets were predominant in areas inhabited by the Li minority. People peeled the wild flax fibers they picked up during the rainy seasons and turned them into a base material after soaking and rinsing. After dyeing, they spun it by hand or with the spinning wheel and wove it.

Dyeing: The dyes are based on wild or cultivated plants. They are characterized by bright colors, speed of catch and various resources. Dyeing is important empirical knowledge of the Li people. In the Meifu dialect area there was also a knot dyeing technique, called “Jiaoxie dyeing” in the old days. This unique process follows the process of “knotting first, then dyeing and finally weaving” and has obviously integrated these three techniques.

Weaving: There are mainly two types of looms, the loom powered by a pedal and the craft “Juyao”. The craft “Juyao” is rather old, similar to that used by the Banpo clan six or seven thousand years ago. Li women could use the “Juyao” craft to weave exquisite, sumptuous and complicated patterns. The loom is even far ahead of the big modern jacquards in jacquard weaving technology.

Li Knot Dyeing

Knot dyeing, known as “Jiaoxie” in the past, played a major role in the textile printing and dyeing of the Li. The raw materials are knotted, dyed, spun and woven into colored fabric. The dye is mainly made from leaves of plants, flowers, bark or tree roots. Natural mineral dye is also an addition.

Currently, Li-knot dyeing is widespread particularly in the Meifu dialect region. In this region, there are stands that support the fabric reserved for dyeing knots.The patterns are fine and exquisite. In the dialect region Ha, however, there is no support for knot dyeing. People tie one end of the vertical line to their waist and the other to their feet. The patterns consist of thick and irregular lines. The process of dyeing knots consists of drawing the pattern, tying, dying, re-dyeing, rinsing etc. However, the pattern decision process is often omitted by Li women, as various drawings are already in their memory.

Knotting, also known as “wrapping”, plays a crucial role in knot dyeing because it directly affects the result. When the knotting is finished, the skeins are lowered from the wooden bearing and then dyed. After being dyed repeatedly too? Does not make sense on its own), they are dried to allow the indigo to be oxidized and air dried. Then the hanks are dyed repeatedly, until they reach the required color. When the dyeing process is complete, the skeins are loosened, rinsed with clear water to remove the excess color, and then dried. The vertical lines (weft) will then present a pattern. People can then weave the horizontal lines of color (chain) with the loom “Juyao”. An exquisite piece of art will then be born.

The Li process of ” dyeing knots first and then weaving”, although different from the other ethnic methods of “weaving first and then dyeing knots”, not only allows the pattern to show all its fineness, but also adds more color changes and causes the pattern to have a distinct color gradation. Such a kind of naturally formed chromatic halo makes the brocade more exquisite and superior in its artistic efficiency.

NOTES*

The Li 黎族 (Lí Zú) is one of 56 ethnic minorities living in China. Their population was just over 1.2 million at the end of the 20th century. The majority of the Li live off the south coast of China on the island-province of Hainan, where they are the most numerous natives.

About Interact China

“A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide”

Aileen & Norman co-founded Interact China in 2004 with specialization in fine Oriental Aesthetic products handmade by ethnic minorities & Han Chinese. Having direct partnerships with artisans, designers, craft masters and tailors, along with 10 years solid experience in e-commerce via InteractChina.com, we position well to bridge talented artisans in the East with the rest of the world, and bring you direct finely selected products that are of good quality and aesthetic taste.

P.S. We Need People with Similar Passion to Join Our Blogging Team!

Kid’s Shoes with Tiger Head

Written by Juliette Qi

Tiger-headed shoes are an example of traditional Chinese folk crafts. These children’s fabric shoes feature a tiger at the tip and embroidered soles. Their name comes from their tip that looks like the head of a tiger. In northern China, people also call them “cat-headed shoes”. The wearing of these brightly colored cloth shoes with such special designs is a traditional custom for young Chinese people and symbolizes best wishes.

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In Chinese culture, tigers are considered auspicious and women embroider the toe as well as the upper part of the tiger-shaped shoe, in the hopes that their children will become as robust and vibrant as this animal. In addition, the bright image of the tiger’s head has been thought to chase away evil spirits and to protect children from diseases and disasters. It is a complicated job to make tiger-headed shoes and it requires a lot of delicate work like embroidery and weaving, especially on the tip of the shoe. The upper part of the shoe is mainly red and yellow and the craftswomen generally use thick lines to draw the outline of the mouth, the eyebrows, the nose and the eyes of the tiger to express its power of an exaggerated way.

Tancheng County, Linyi, Shandong Province (East China), December 24, 2017. Zhao Kaiying, 85, has been making tiger-headed shoes for more than 20 years.

These shoes, offered to the child from an early age, depict the head of a tiger on the front of them. A guardian animal and devourer of demons, the tiger protects the child against evil spirits. Other symbols are also embroidered under the shoe.

The origins of the tiger-headed shoe are not known, but there are several popular legends about them. (already mentioned in the paragraph above). One legend regarding their origin suggests that a long time ago, there was a lady with skillful hands and common sense. She was very good at embroidery, so that her child was always well dressed. One night a monster came to the village and took all the children, except his son. From then on, people began to realize that the child’s shoes that were decorated with a tiger’s head at their ends scared the monster, leaving the child safe. As a result, people started to imitate this practice. In the eyes of the general public, the tiger is a robust and powerful animal with the title of “king of animals”. So, when the tiger is mentioned, it evokes in people the idea of power and fear. As a result, tiger-like expressions, such as the roar of the tiger, the frightening appearance of the tiger (Chinese: 虎威, pinyin: Huwei) or strength of a tiger (Chinese: 虎虎有生气, pinyin: huhuyoushengqi) have taken shape in these crafts as part of this culture around the tiger.

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“A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide”

Aileen & Norman co-founded Interact China in 2004 with specialization in fine Oriental Aesthetic products handmade by ethnic minorities & Han Chinese. Having direct partnerships with artisans, designers, craft masters and tailors, along with 10 years solid experience in e-commerce via InteractChina.com, we position well to bridge talented artisans in the East with the rest of the world, and bring you direct finely selected products that are of good quality and aesthetic taste.

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Silk Padded Applique Embroidery (II) – Seemingly Easy Three-Dimensional Embroidery

Written by Gioia Zhang

Translated by Yuqing Yang

Silk padded applique embroidery is a decorative pattern made of fabrics. It is produced through a series of steps including embossing, weaving, embroidering, stitching, appliqueing, and silk-drawing. The choice of raw materials used in silk applique likewise shows great ingenuity and creativity. The main material for silk embroidery is called phoenix-tail yarn, since the color of this yarn is a gradient resembling the tail of a phoenix. The yarn is only produced in Beijing, and its beauty endures through time.

Silk padded applique embroidery made of phoenix-tail yarn

If you are interested in making this handicraft, maybe today you will be greatly inspired by this lesson. Let’s find out how this 3D effect can be achieved. The steps of making silk padded applique embroidery include:

Sample drawing (left), Reflected sample drawing (right)

Tracing

Put one piece of tracing paper above the sample drawing and one piece of carbon paper with a paperboard below the sample drawing. Trace the sample drawing with a pencil. The drawing will be transferred onto the paperboard.

Drawing the boundaries

Specify the areas that will be covered by another layer of fabrics with shadows. These marked areas keep their raw edges for further attachment to a new layer.

Marking the colors

Mark parts of the pattern with color-coding for different colored phoenix-tail yarns.

Cutting the paperboard

Cut the paperboard along the black marking line. Make sure to leave the edges smooth.

Pasting the cotton

Spread glue evenly on paperboard and glue cotton to the paperboard. Shape the cotton along the edge of the paperboards.

Cutting yarn

Cut phoenix-tail yarn to corresponding color codes along the shape of paperboard. Leave a margin of 3 to 5 millimeters.

Forming the shape

Spread glue on the edge of the phoenix-tail yarn and hide the margin at the back of the paperboards.

1466128091666副本.jpg

Organizing the pattern

Place the petals in order and spread glue on the seam. Press the seam flat to set the fabrics.

Mounting

Glue the piece to a suitable baseboard. Frame the work.

It seems not so difficult after all, right? However, to make silk padded applique embroidery requires not only a pair of dexterous hands, but it also demands one to treat every detail and the position of layered fabrics with extreme care. Only in this way will the whole art piece be lively and vivid.

20170111134746ve6mxjsy3yzuowta.jpg!s700副本.jpg Silk padded applique embroidery: Characters from Eight Immortals

Silk padded applique embroidery of flowers

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“A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide”

Aileen & Norman co-founded Interact China in 2004 with specialization in fine Oriental Aesthetic products handmade by ethnic minorities & Han Chinese. Having direct partnerships with artisans, designers, craft masters and tailors, along with 10 years solid experience in e-commerce via InteractChina.com, we position well to bridge talented artisans in the East with the rest of the world, and bring you direct finely selected products that are of good quality and aesthetic taste.

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Silk Padded Applique Embroidery（I） – The Once-Lost Hidden Gem of the Imperial Palace

Written by Gioia Zhang

Translated by Yuqing Yang

Speaking of Chinese embroidery, what comes to your mind other than the famous four major styles? Do you know any other styles? Today I want to introduce a special kind of Chinese embroidery – silk padded applique embroidery. It is made of little bits of cloth of different colors, and together they form a brush and ink painting. The finished work is a colorful and well-arranged collage. It is a combination of hard textures like woodcuts and gentle textures like fabrics. This silk embroidery has a long history; since it was initially produced only within the imperial palace, it was also called imperial embroidery of cloth bits or imperial padded applique (宫廷补绣gongtingbuxiu in Chinese). A more popular name among the people would be: patchwork drawing or patchwork flowers or simply jacquard.

Imperial Embroidery “Flowerpot Shoes”

月季花蓝.jpg Silk Embroidery: Chinese Roses in A Basket

More than one thousand years ago in the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589), a rudimentary form of these techniques already existed in the Jingchu area (nowadays known as Hubei). For festive occasions, the local custom was to cut colorful silks into shapes of flowers and birds and put them up on screens or use them as headwear.

财神（布堆画）.jpg Patchwork drawing: God of Wealth

This tradition was fully developed in the Tang dynasty (618–907) and transformed into a unique skill called silk sticker (贴绢 tiejuan in Chinese) and padded applique (堆绫 duiling in Chinese). Silk sticker is a patchwork made of a single layer of spun silk pieces, while padded applique consists of patterns made from multiple layers of silk and other fabrics. The latter, padded applique, was popular among the common people. For example, It was common to embroider patterns of mandarin ducks, Ruyi jade figures ((a filler word to keep all words in the list plural)), five-colored flowers and birds.

米色“纱贴绢”《桃树仙鹤图》乌木雕花柄团扇副本.jpg 1.Beige silk gauze sticker “Peach Tree and Red-crowned Crane” with carved ebony moon-shaped fan, Qing dynasty ; 2.Beige silk gauze sticker “Flower and Butterfly” with blue painted and gold lined moon-shaped fan, Qing dynasty

During the Qing dynasty, the skills and techniques of padded applique reached their peak. Silk and other fabrics were well-selected and exquisite, and workmanship was more than excellent. The whole production strove for perfection at all costs.

堆绫项羽魏豹戏像册2副本.jpg Profile Pictures of Xiang Yu and Wei Bao in a Playbook, from Guangxu’s reign, Qing dynasty (1875-1908).

This playbook has blue satin as the base and a patchwork of satin, silk, damask silk and paperboard on the top. Each layer is stuffed, so that the characters would look fuller. The paillette used on clothes and the red pompon on the crown also make the figures vivid and lively. Their faces are painted with a brush to compensate for the inadequate artistic expression of padded applique. This playbook shows some novel techniques that are rare among padded applique embroideries as well as other embroidery works.

The padded applique technique spread to the Tibetan region and evolved into a new kind of Thangka. For example, among the collection at Yonghe Temple in Beijing, there is a piece called “Padded Applique of Green Tara,” which is listed as a class A national cultural heritage. It was made by Emperor Qianlong’s mother with help from maids in the imperial palace, and now this Tangka is already more than 200 years old.

www.gongmeigroup.com.cn.jpg “Padded Applique of Green Tara” consecrated by Qianlong’s mother, Empress Xiaoshengxian

Unfortunately, padded applique skills were lost for a period of time, and nobody knew how to make them for a long time. However, in the 1990s, after three years of careful studies, the Beijing Drawnwork Institute rediscovered this once-lost technique. The padded applique skill now has transcended its previous boundaries; new variations of padded applique such as painting, embossment, silk-drawing, and tufting have been created. The silk embroidery produced shows meticulous work and patterns displaying the national features of China.

From the collection of Imperial padded applique embroideries – “Ode to Peace.” It pictures a peony surrounded by peace doves. Through this traditional imperial embroidery, we get a glimpse into the endless charm of the Chinese culture.

c77e13a5cb7e4043a5fa3f1f29bfa038副本.jpg Details of “Ode to Peace”

So, what if I told you there is a secret behind this embroidery skill of padded applique, the fate of which is full of ups and downs? Would you be curious to hear what it is?

Or, perhaps you have seen it already? Well, I will unveil the secret to you in the next article!

About Interact China

“A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide”

Aileen & Norman co-founded Interact China in 2004 with specialization in fine Oriental Aesthetic products handmade by ethnic minorities & Han Chinese. Having direct partnerships with artisans, designers, craft masters and tailors, along with 10 years solid experience in e-commerce via InteractChina.com, we position well to bridge talented artisans in the East with the rest of the world, and bring you direct finely selected products that are of good quality and aesthetic taste.

P.S. We Need People with Similar Passion to Join Our Blogging Team!