Liu Chenxi

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Liu Chenxi's grandfather and father both engaged in the handicraft brocade technique of tiaohua jieben (pattern-pulling and warp-tying), and were especially known for their excellence in it. Within the regional tradition and school record of Shujin Weaving Craftsmanship in Chengdu, Sichuan: Shu brocade is rooted in Shu culture and has distinct regional characteristics. It rose in the Qin and Han dynasties, flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties, declined in the late Ming, recovered in the middle and late Qing, and fell into crisis again in modern times.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Liu Chenxi, a male of Han ethnicity, was born in 1944 in Chengdu, Sichuan. He is a national representative bearer of Shujin Weaving Craftsmanship, a first-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. Influenced by his family from an early age, Liu Chenxi developed a fondness for this handicraft; at the age of 14 he entered the Chengdu Shujin Factory to study tiaohua jieben (pattern-pulling and warp-tying) systematically, and was later sent out to study the tahua (pattern-treading) technique. Liu Chenxi is the only artisan in his family to have mastered the entire range of hand techniques of Shujin weaving; his principal contribution to the transmission of Shujin lies in the collation, research and reconstructive design of ancient Shujin patterns, and he was the first to systematize the tiaohua jieben technique. He completed the tiaohua jieben designs for patterns such as Su Wu Herding Sheep, Liu Hai Playing with the Toad and The Fairy Maidens Scattering Flowers, as well as the linked-pearl hunting-scene brocade imitating Tang-dynasty work, the lantern brocade and eight-reply halo brocade imitating Song-dynasty work, and the modern Sanxingdui gold mask; in cooperation with pattern-lifter and shuttle-thrower Ye Yongzhou and others, these designs were woven into exquisite finished Shujin products. The Panda he created in 2007 represents a further peak in his artistic career. Within the documented technical tradition of Shujin Weaving Craftsmanship in Chengdu, Sichuan: Chengdu is famed as the land of abundance, and hand-brocade weaving techniques have continued on this land for more than two thousand years. Shu brocade refers to figured brocade produced in the Chengdu area of Sichuan; its earliest written record dates from the reign of King Huiwen of the Qin state in the Spring and Autumn period. In the Warring States period, Shu brocade had already become an important trade commodity. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Shu brocade enjoyed a period of brilliance, but with the advance of industrialization hand looms were gradually replaced by modern looms, and it has shown a tendency to shrink and decline. Shu brocade weaving techniques, which are inseparable from the hualou (figured-tower) loom, from pattern design and pattern-card drafting to the cooperative production of pattern-drawers and weavers, have always adhered to ancient traditions. The shuttle mechanical looms that later replaced traditional brocade looms operate on the same technical principles. Shu brocade is a signature technique of Chengdu, and the city's abundance of brocade production has earned it the names Brocade City and Brocade Official City. The Min River flows around Chengdu, and Shu brocade was washed in its waters, so the Min River is also called the Brocade River. As early as the Qin, Han, and Three Kingdoms periods, Shu brocade had already spread beyond Sichuan into minority regions, contributing to economic development, social stability, and ethnic unity. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Building the pattern book by knotting picks": The design is first translated into a workable pick book locating every colour block; the drawboy follows it. Liu Chenxi systematized this step to restore ancient Shu brocade patterns. "Lifting the harnesses": Following the pick book, the drawboy raises the matching warp threads so the pattern floats on the surface; one misplaced harness means starting that pass again. "Shuttle throwing": The weaver throws the shuttle left to right and catches it on the return in step with the draw; a clean throw avoids breaking warp threads, a skill Ye Yongzhou mastered. "Small-shuttle excavated brocade": A technique developed by Ye Yongzhou and Liu Chenxi: switching to a small shuttle to excavate each motif locally, freeing fine patterns from the limits of the large shuttle.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2007, Liu Chenxi was announced in the first batch of national representative bearers for Shujin Weaving Craftsmanship, with Chengdu, Sichuan as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Shujin Weaving Craftsmanship in Chengdu, Sichuan: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Chengdu, Sichuan as its declared area, and Chengdu Shujinzhixiu Co., Ltd. as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Liu Chenxi · National Representative Bearer Archive