Jiang Chaochun

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Jiang Chaochun, Male, Han, from Guangzong, Hebei, is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Willow Weaving (Ⅶ-55). The tradition is documented in Guangzong, Hebei. Within the regional tradition and school record of Willow Weaving in Guangzong, Hebei: Guangzong lies on the alluvial plain of the Yellow River, with land that is half sandy and half saline-alkaline. To guard against sand and resist salinity, villages in the area have widely planted willow clumps (liukezhi) around their outskirts, laying the material foundation for the development of the willow-weaving industry. Guangzong willow weaving uses liukezhi (qi willow) planted beside local villages as its material. Products include baskets, bolo (flat round winnowing baskets), badou (eight-dou grain measures), boxes, and miners' hats, with no fixed forms, mostly determined by the artisans' experience and practical needs. The techniques are dominated by warp weaving, weft weaving, twined weaving, and twisted weaving, supplemented by auxiliary processes such as splitting strips, 'shanglian' (chain linking), and 'butao' (cloth casing), as well as decorative treatments such as bleaching, dyeing, coloring, and oiling. Guangzong willow weaving is a traditional weaving handicraft popular in the area of Guangzong County, Hebei Province. It originated in the early Qing dynasty and has a history of more than three hundred years.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, of the Han ethnic group, born in April 1957 in Guangzong County, Hebei Province. From childhood he learned willow weaving from his father, Jiang Zongli; after graduating from senior middle school in 1972 he took up willow weaving professionally, and from 1980 he mastered the complete working process of Guangzong willow weaving, often going elsewhere to study other willow weaving techniques. Over forty years in willow weaving he has continuously taken up new auxiliary materials and improved the working processes of the craft, enabling it to develop substantially. His works include winnowing baskets, baskets, round shallow baskets, square shallow baskets and box-shaped baskets. In 1998 he founded the Guangzong County Willow Weaving Technique Research Society and served as its president; he has brought willow weaving into the classrooms of many schools and has published teaching materials including Jiang Chaochun and Willow Weaving and The Warp-and-Weft Dislocation Technique in Willow Weaving. Within the documented technical tradition of Willow Weaving in Guangzong, Hebei: Willow weaving is a traditional weaving handicraft that uses the branches of willow and other woody plants as its main raw material. Common raw materials for willow weaving include sand willow, white willow, qi willow, and ji willow; mulberry twigs and vitex twigs may also be used as weaving materials. After peeling, willow strips have a smooth surface and a fresh, moist luster; they are both soft and tough, so products woven from them are of stable quality and stand the test of long use. Willow-weaving techniques are extremely rich: different products and different forms require different weaving methods. Alongside the weaving techniques, there are auxiliary processes such as splitting strips, 'shanglian' (chain linking), and 'butao' (cloth casing), as well as decorative treatments such as bleaching, dyeing, coloring, and oiling. Willow-woven products pay close attention to the beauty of form, style, and texture. Finished products are mostly practical items such as baskets and hampers, carrying baskets, winnowing trays, tubs and basins, cases and bags, chairs and stools, and small stands and racks; there are also some display pieces made with greater refinement. Guangzong willow-woven products are mostly practical implements such as baskets, bolo (flat round winnowing baskets), badou (eight-dou grain measures), boxes, and miners' hats, along with some ornamental crafts; their forms follow no fixed pattern and are mostly determined by the artisan's experience and practical needs. Combining natural beauty with craft beauty, Guangzong willow-woven products are refined and practical daily necessities much loved by the local people. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Osier and the sandy-alkaline soil": To hold back sand and salt, Guangzong villages planted osier around their edges, supplying the raw material for willow weaving. "Displaced warp-and-weft technique": Guangzong weaving has many weaves plus splitting, bleaching, dyeing and oiling, documented by the inheritor Jiang Chaochun. "Transmitted orally within families": The craft passed orally within families; Jiang Chaochun learned from his father and mastered the full process by 1980.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

A national representative bearer of willow weaving (Guangzong willow weaving), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project.

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. Jiang Chaochun · National Representative Bearer Archive