NantongBlueCalico
LocatedinthealluvialplainoftheYangtzeRiverDelta,Nantong,inEastChina鈥檚JiangsuProvinceisaperfectplaceforacottonplantation.Backinthe14thcentury,aslocaltextiletechnologydevelopedandbecamepopularized,almosteveryhouseholdinNantonghadwoodenspinningwheelsandlooms,whichhelpedshapethelocationintoafamoustextilebase.
Asthelegendgoes,anaccidentledtothebirthofbluecalico:Oneday,whilelocalpeopleweredryingcottonclothintheopenair,agustofwindblewsomepiecesontoastackoftheindigoferaplant.Whenpeoplefoundthem,theyhadbeenstainedwithblueblotchesandlookedunexpectedlylovely.Itwasafterthisthattheindigodyeingprocessbegan.
Withriverscrossingthecity,theareasurroundingNantonghasbeenendowedwithawarmandhumidclimate,verysuitableforthegrowthofindigofera.Withtheinventionofthedyeingmethod,coupledwiththepopularizationoftextiles,thelocaldyeingandweavingindustryboomed.WhenitcametoMing(1368-1644)andQing(1644-1911)dynasties,thoseworkshopsspecializinginweavinganddyeingbluecalicoclusteredtogethertoformasizablemarket.Thelocalprintinganddyeingcraftsmanshipalsospreadnationwide.
Nantongbluecalicocanbedividedintotwocategories:bluebackgroundwithwhitepatternsandwhitebackgroundwithbluepatterns.
Selectionofgreigeclothisthefirststepneededtoproducebluecalico.Usuallyfirst-gradegreigeisfavored.Therequiredpatternisusuallyengravedinapatternboard,whichismadeoftwoorthreelayersofkraftpaperboundtogether.Aftertheengravingisdone,bothsidesoftheboardarebrushedwithboiledtungoilanddried.Oncethisprocessisrepeatedtwoorthreetimes,theboardcanbeflattened,readyforuse.Theboardcanbeusedrepeatedly.Indesigningthecalicopattern,thedesignershouldtakeintoaccountbothdurationoftheboardandfeaturesofthepattern.Usuallyinaboldandexaggeratedway,roughandvigorouspatternsarecreated,stirringpeople鈥檚imagination,leavinganevidentmarkofanancientart.
Thenextstepisstarching.First,thepatternboardisplacedonthegreigecloth,followedbyaspreadofthedye-resistantagent,amixtureofsoybeanpowderandpulverizedlime.Alongthehollowedpartsofthepatternboard,thedye-resistantmixturewouldseepthroughtothegreigecloth,thusformingaprotectivelayeroncertainpartsofthecloth.Ittakestwodaysforthegreigeclothcoveredwiththedye-resistantprotectivelayertodry.Itwouldthenbeputintothecoloringagentmadewiththeindigoferajuice.Thepartswithouttheprotectivelayeraredyedblue,leavingtheotherareaswhite.
Thedyeisstoredinalargevat,whichcanbeusedforgenerations.Thecoloringeffectisdeterminedbythequalityofdye,whichmakesthedyeacorepartofadyehouse.Theguardianofthedyevatisusuallythemostrespectedpersoninadyehouse,asheorsheistheonlypersonwhoknowstherecipeforthedye.
Oncethedyedclothisdry,thedye-resistantprotectioncovercanberemoved.Thewholeprocessisallcompletedmanually.Thelengthofabluecalicoclothislimitedtobelow12meters.Thesightoftheclothsflutteringinthebreezedryingonseven-meterhighracksisquitespectacular.
Thesereneblueandpurewhiteformadazzlingarrayofauspiciouspatternsonthecloths.In2006,theNantongbluecalicodyeingandprintingtech-niquewasincludedintoChina鈥檚nationalintangibleculturalheritagelist.
WomeninJijiaMiaoVillageofQiandongnanMiaoandDongAutonomousPrefectureinGuizhouProvinceareallmastersofbatikmaking.GuizhouBatik
Guizhoubatik,wax-resistantdyeingofcloth,canbetracedbacktoover2,000yearsago.Itstandsoutwithuniquecolor,simpleandelegantpatterns,andrichculturalconnotationsamongallformsoffolkartinGuizhouProvince.
Therearesomeincongruousconjecturesabouttheoriginandevolvementofbatik.Nonetheless,batikisadistinctivetextiletechniqueinGuizhou,andprevalentinethnicminorityareaswithsuchinhabitantslikeMiao,Bouyei,andShuipeople.
Inthoseareas,delicateorroughbatikworkscanbefoundinpeople鈥檚clothes,accessoriesorevensomesmalldailyusearticleslikehandkerchiefs.Guidedbytheirmothersorseniorfemalefamilymembers,localgirlsbeginlearninghowtomakeflowerpatternsattheyoungageofsixorseven.Whentheyreachtheirteens,theyhavealreadymasteredtheskillofmakingexquisitepatterns.Thentheybegintopreparetheirdowries,includingsetsofbatikgarmentsandarticlesofdailyuse.Amongthese,somesmallbatikdecorationsmaybetakenasatokenoflove.Itusuallytakesagirlfivetosixyearstoprepareherdowry.Themoreabundantthedowry,themoreadmiredthegirlwillbe.Thus,shewillhavemoreadvantagesinfindingherlovedone.
Dependingontheethnicgrouporthebranchofanethnicgroup,thepartsofadresswithbatikdecorationdiffer:Itmayappearonthetop,theskirt,orevencoverthewholedress.Somegroupsonlyhavebatikdecorationontheirheadadornmentsorbelts.Usuallythetraditionoftheirethnicgroupprescribesthespecificpartsoftheirdressorapparelitemsthatneedbatikadornment,whichcan鈥檛bechangedrandomly.
TheGuizhoubatikproductionprocessissimilartothatofHanpeople鈥檚traditionaldyeingandprinting.Thedifferenceliesintheuseofbeeswaxasthedye-resistantagent,whichmakesbatikpatternsmorediversifiedandflexible.Besidestheuseoftraditionalpatterns,themakercanalsocreatenewonestoshowtheirlikingsandaestheticpreference.Moreover,withoutalimitforclothwidth,inlightofitsexpectedpurpose,differentclothwidthscanbeusedwithsuitablepatternsappliedinrelationtothewearer鈥檚age,personality,andpreference.Inaddition,thewaxlayercanbeappliedtwicetothedyedclothpiece,inordertodiversifythecolorblue,givingitdifferenthues.
Peopledrawpatternswithacopperpendippedinmeltedbeeswax.Aftercooling,thewaxcovermayhavecracksinthedyeingprocesscausedbyincessantlyrollingandturningthefabricpiece.Thedyeseepsintothewhitegreigeclothalongthecracks,thuscreatingtherandomly-formedpattern,calledcrackpattern,whichresemblethecracksinporcelainglaze.Therefore,evenifforthesamedesign,inthedyeingprocess,differentcrackpatternscanbegenerated.
TheindigoferaplantisthemajordyeingmaterialfortraditionalGuizhoubatik.Withit,clothcanbedyedinaquitelowtemperature,andthebatikalsohasgoodoffastness,whichgivesthisplantanadvantageagainstothervegetabledyesthatcanonlydyefabricatahightemperature,orriskfading.However,athightemperatures,beeswaxwouldmelt,unabletomaintaintheoriginalpatterns,whichmadedyeinginothercolorsimpossibleinancienttimes.Modernwaxdyeingtechniqueshavemadeafullrangeofcolorspossible.
Asafolkart,GuizhoubatikhasbeenanindispensablepartofethnicculturalactivitiesinGuizhou,includingfestivals,weddings,funerals,andreligiousactivities.Thebatikproductionactivitiesarecloselyassociatedwiththelocalethnicculturalbackgroundandlivingenvironment,whichhasmadeitauniquevisuallanguagethattellslocals鈥檆ultural,religious,andhistoricalstoriestotheoutsideworld.In2006,GuizhoubatikwasincludedinChina鈥檚nationalintangibleculturalheritages.Tie-DyeingofBaiEthnicGroup
Tie-dyeing,alsoknownasplangiorbandhnu,isanancientdyeingskill.DaliinsouthwestChina鈥檚YunnanProvinceisthecentralplaceoforiginfortextileproductsfeaturingthisdyeingtechnique,andpeopleofthelocalBaiethnicgrouparetheirmajorproducers,earningtheprocessanameDalitie-dyeing,orBaitie-dyeing.Mostfamousforthedyeingcraftsmanship,ZhouchenginDaliwasnamedastheTownofEthnicTie-DyeingbythethenMinistryofCulture.
Evidenceshowsthattie-dyeingoriginatedintheYellowRiverbasin.Aroundthefourthcenturyasthedyeingcraftbecamemature,productionincreased.Apartfromsimplepatternsonsomepartsofafabricpiece,afullsetofpatternscoveringawholepieceoffabriccouldalsobeseenintie-dyedworksproducedduringthisperiod,whichwerewidelyusedinwomen鈥檚dresses.WhenitcametotheTangDynasty(618-907),thetie-dyedtextileproductsbecameevenmorepopular.Inparticular,theworkswithexquisiteflowerpatternspopularinthepalaceweretrendsetters.AttheheightoftheTangDynasty,thetiedyeingtechniquealsospreadtoneighboringcountriesincludingJapan,fromwhichthedyeingcraftwasbroughttoChina鈥檚YunnanProvince.Theancientdyeingcraftthentookroottherethankstoabundantwaterresourcesandafavorableclimate,whichsupportedavarietyofblue-dyeplants.Afterthe14thcenturyastheBaidyeingcraftinDalidevelopedtoitsfullpotential,thelocaldyeingguildcameintobeing,andlocaltie-dyedproductsearnedagreatreputation.Intheearly20thcentury,tie-dyeingbecameahouseholdcraft.PlacesrepresentedbyZhoucheng,renownedforitshighdensityofhouseholdtie-dyeingworkshops,becamecentersoftheancienttie-dyeingcraft.
Whitecottonclothandramiecottonfabricistakenasthematerialfortie-dyeingwithitsbluedyecomingfromplantssuchasindigofera,woadroot,andChinesemugwort,whicharenativetothenearbyCangshanMountain.Asthedemandsforthetiedyedproductsincreased,localpeoplebegantoplantwoadthemselves.FromMarchtoApril,theyreaptheplantandthensoakitinwaterbeforepouringtheliquidintothedyevat.Aftermixingtherequiredamountoflimeorsoda,thedyeliquidthencanbeusedincoloringcloth.
Asitsnamesuggests,theprocessisdividedinto鈥渢ie鈥漚nd鈥渄ye.鈥滷irsttieandsewsomepartsofthefabricpieceintopatterns,andthendyeit.Asthetiedpartscan鈥檛becolored,thepatternsareachievedwhenunfoldingthecloth.Tie-dyeingisanancientdyeingskillthatcontinuestothisday.Aftertheclothpieceisselected,workerswouldcrease,pinch,ortiesomepartsofit,andthentightlyseworbundlethemwiththread.Stringsofknotsappearonthefabricpiece,whichisthenimmersedinthedyevatbeforebeingtakenouttodry.Afterdrying,itisputbackintothedyevatagain.Witheachimmersion,thecolorwouldbemoreintensified.Theprocessisrepeateduntiladesiredhueisachieved.Oncedried,stitchesareremovedoutoftheknots,andtheclothpieceisthensmoothedouttoshowthepartswhichhavebeensewnanduncolored,formingpatternsinwhiteagainstthedeepbluebackground.
Duetodifferenceinstitches,thetiedknotsshowdifferencesintightness.Therefore,penetrationdegreeofthedyevaries.Actually,differencesevenappearinworksofthesamecrafter.Therefore,eachtie-dyedworkhasitsuniqueartfeatures,whichareunattainableinamachinedyeingprocess.Inaddition,inthedyeingprocess,duetothepenetrationeffect,boundariesofpatternswouldalsoshowthegraduallyvariedcolorsfrombluetowhite,whichistotallynaturallyformed,thusaddinganextradimensiontothetie-dyedpiece.
Inrecentyears,bycombiningtheancienttie-dyeingcraftsmanshipwithmoderndyeingandprintingtechnology,localBaiwomeninDalihaveintroducedmulti-colortie-dyeingtechniques.
In2006,thetie-dyeingcraftsmanshipoftheBaipeoplewasincludedintoChina鈥檚nationalintangibleculturalheritagelist.
(CompiledbyChinaToday)