Wang Zhenxing

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Wang Zhenxing, Male, Han, from Nantong, Jiangsu, is a fourth-batch national representative bearer of Nantong Blue Calico Printing and Dyeing Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-24). The tradition is documented in Nantong, Jiangsu. Within the regional tradition and school record of Nantong Blue Calico Printing and Dyeing Craftsmanship in Nantong, Jiangsu: The traditional printing and dyeing techniques of Nantong blue printed cloth are found throughout the counties of the Nantong area; the more influential workshops were at Shizhuang in Rugao, Erjia and Shigang in Tongzhou, Sanyang in Haimen, Huilong in Qidong, and in the urban district of Nantong. The blue printed cloth of each place has its own preference in pattern boards and folding methods. Judging from the distribution of inheritors, the Erjia area is an important branch: Wang Zhenxing was transferred to the Erjia Printing and Dyeing Factory in 1959 to work in printing and dyeing, where he studied various dyes and dyeing methods, the most precious of which was the traditional small green vat fermentation dyeing method; in 1995 he founded the Zhengxing Dye House, insisting on using natural plant indigo as dye. In addition, the Nantong Blue Printed Cloth Art Museum undertakes the function of collecting and organizing patterns locally. The roots of Nantong blue printed cloth grew from two things: the indigo plant, and the foundation of an entire home of textile weaving. The practice of taking color from the indigo plant had long been followed in Chinese folk life; by the Song-Yuan transition at the latest, indigo had developed from a plant into a dyeing craft that could be transmitted. After the Yuan and Ming dynasties, every household in the Nantong area had its women weavers, and only then did blue printed cloth gain a stable base of production. It was under these conditions that blue printed cloth matured in step with cotton cloth: quilt covers, wrapping cloths, headscarves, and other daily articles were made by hand spinning, hand weaving, and hand dyeing, with printed patterns consisting mainly of plants, flowers, and animal motifs, as well as simple geometric figures. Its three strengths — resistance to dirt and wear, sturdiness and durability, and auspicious patterns — made blue printed cloth serviceable both in marriage trousseaus and in daily use, so it could be passed down over a long period without decline, and it holds a distinctive place of representativeness among the handicrafts of Nantong.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Han ethnicity, born in May 1939 in Nantong, Jiangsu Province. A national representative bearer of the Nantong Blue Calico Printing and Dyeing Craftsmanship, a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He is a Master of Arts and Crafts of Jiangsu Province. In 1959 he was transferred to the Erjia Printing and Dyeing Factory to work in printing and dyeing, where he studied various dyes and dyeing methods, most valuable among them the traditional dyeing method using fermentation vats, known as the small indigo vat. In 1973 he was appointed head of inspection for export products at the Erjia Printing and Dyeing Factory, and in 1975 head of its production technology section. After his retirement in 1990 he was engaged successively by the Nantong Tourism Craft Research Institute and the Nantong Arts and Crafts Research Institute to develop blue calico products, and in 1995 he founded the Zhengxing Dyehouse. He has persisted in using natural indigo plants as dyestuff and in producing blue calico in the traditional sense, so that people's memory of traditional indigo earth dyeing has been brought back to life. Within the documented technical tradition of Nantong Blue Calico Printing and Dyeing Craftsmanship in Nantong, Jiangsu: The traditional printing and dyeing techniques of Nantong blue printed cloth are found throughout the counties of the Nantong area; the more influential workshops were at Shizhuang in Rugao, Erjia and Shigang in Tongzhou, Sanyang in Haimen, Huilong in Qidong, and in the urban district of Nantong. The folk use of indigo plant pigment for dyeing can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods; later, blue indigo developed into a blue-dyeing technique that has continued for more than a thousand years. Nantong borders the Yangtze River and faces the sea, and is suitable for growing cotton. After the Yuan and Ming dynasties, every household in the Nantong area had its women weavers, and the area is a famous home of textile weaving and of blue printed cloth. The Nantong blue printed cloth printing and dyeing technique continues to the present day, making quilt covers, wrapping cloths, headscarves, and other daily articles by hand spinning, hand weaving, and hand dyeing, with printed patterns consisting mainly of plants, flowers, and animal motifs, as well as simple geometric figures. With characteristics such as resistance to dirt and wear, sturdiness and durability, and auspicious patterns, it is deeply loved by the masses and has been passed down without decline for a long time, becoming one of the most representative traditional handicrafts. However, the number of people currently engaged in blue printed cloth printing and dyeing is declining, and there is a gap between old and new professionals; some blue printed cloth has already shifted to automated or semi-automated production, and the traditional craft is gradually being altered. The relevant authorities are called upon to take note: the protection of blue printed cloth printing and dyeing techniques has reached a critical moment. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Making indigo from blue plants": Blue plants are soaked and fermented into indigo paste, then diluted to strength; experienced dyers test on small swatches and never alter the ratio without cause. "Cutting stencils and applying resist": Paper stencils are cut to the motif, laid on the cloth and scraped with lime-and-bean-paste resist; its thickness must block the dye yet wash out cleanly afterwards. "Dyeing by the small-vat fermentation method": The small-vat method concentrates the indigo's strength and shortens the feeding cycle so depth can be adjusted quickly; it is the method Wang Zhenxing still uses today. "Drying and checking the shade": Freshly dyed cloth is repeatedly dried and rinsed; sunlight both fades and tests the colour, and only cloth that stays even in daylight passes the check.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2012, Wang Zhenxing was announced in the fourth batch of national representative bearers for Nantong Blue Calico Printing and Dyeing Craftsmanship, with Nantong, Jiangsu as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Nantong Blue Calico Printing and Dyeing Craftsmanship in Nantong, Jiangsu: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Nantong, Jiangsu as its declared area, and Nantong Lan YinHuaBu Art Gallery 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. Wang Zhenxing · National Representative Bearer Archive