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Gulinazi Jianimuhan

Kazakh EmbroideryTraditional Fine ArtsChangjihuizuzizhizhoumuleihasakezizhi, XinjiangBatch 6 (2025)

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Gulinazi Jianimuhan, Female, Kazakh, from Changjihuizuzizhizhoumuleihasakezizhi, Xinjiang, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Kazakh Embroidery (Ⅶ-133). The tradition is documented in Changjihuizuzizhizhoumuleihasakezizhi, Xinjiang. Within the regional tradition and school record of Kazakh Embroidery in Changjihuizuzizhizhoumuleihasakezizhi, Xinjiang: In the late 18th century, some Kazakh people migrated from the Altay region of Xinjiang to Mori Kazakh Autonomous County in Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, where the art took root. It is now mainly distributed throughout the Kazakh settlements of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and is also found in Aksai Kazakh Autonomous County, Jiuquan City, Gansu Province. Kazakh embroidery is a traditional decorative art of the Kazakh ethnic group. It has a long history, but its date of origin cannot be verified by any historical records.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Gulinazi Jianimuhan is anchored in the documented technical standards of Kazakh Embroidery in Changjihuizuzizhizhoumuleihasakezizhi, Xinjiang. Within the documented technical tradition of Kazakh Embroidery in Changjihuizuzizhizhoumuleihasakezizhi, Xinjiang: Kazakh embroidery is divided mainly into two types: felt embroidery and cloth embroidery. It is widely used for clothing, pa bags (embroidered pouches), bedding and kang furnishings, and interior decoration. Its patterns are rigorously composed, its colors magnificent, its lines bold, and its overall forms open and generous; the craftsmanship is refined at every stage, from material selection and pattern drawing to embroidery and the finishing decoration of the finished piece. The embroidery grounds are mostly locally produced cloth, wool felt, leather, and similar materials. The compositions are full, with emphasis on the four borders, and attention to symmetry between inside and outside, left and right, and the whole and its parts. The motifs are bold and simple with a strongly decorative character, encompassing plant, animal, and natural motifs such as sheep horns, deer antlers, camel hooves, camel humps, clouds, tree branches, flowers, and grasses. Among them, the "horn pattern" is the richest and most representative, giving the art a distinctly steppe-cultural character. Black and white serve as the basic colors of Kazakh embroidered pieces, with bright contrasting colors as the principal palette. The color combinations are highly symbolic: blue stands for the sky and freedom, white for purity and joyous occasions, green for spring and youth, red for the sun and light, yellow for knowledge, wisdom, or melancholy, and black for the earth and harmony. More than ten stitching techniques are used, including mouse-print stitch, hook-needle stitch, couching (thread-pressing) stitch, and edge-locking stitch. Historically, Kazakh embroidery was transmitted mainly within families, from mother to daughter. Kazakh embroidery has a long history and is closely tied to the traditional culture, customs, and social life of the Kazakh people. It embodies the consummate craftsmanship and aesthetic ideals of the Kazakh people and reflects their honest, simple, and kind-hearted national character, their love of life, and their aspiration to harmony and beauty. Kazakh embroidery is widely used for clothing, pa bags (embroidered pouches), bedding and kang furnishings, and interior decoration. Because the embroidered pieces mostly use black or white grounds, the patterns must be raised on the dark ground with bright threads. The pa bag (embroidered pouch) is an item a bride must take with her when she marries; its patterns are mostly the sun, moon, stars, flowers, and grasses, carrying blessings for married life. This system, which develops felt embroidery and cloth embroidery side by side and centers on the horn pattern, is the product of combining the felt-tent culture of the grasslands with the embroidery tradition. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Felt and cloth embroidery": Worked in coarse felt for warmth or in cloth for a finer line, the two forms are often combined in a single costume. "The horn motif": Ram's horn, deer antler, camel pad and hump patterns, symmetrically set, dominate a repertoire plainly derived from pastoral life. "The distribution in Mulei": Since settlers arrived from Altay in the late eighteenth century, the craft has spread across the Kazakh regions of Xinjiang and to Aksai in Gansu. "The embroidered bag and the tent": With its bright pattern and plain form, the work is at once decoration and necessity, appearing in the tent and on the bride's list of gifts.

Felt and cloth embroidery

Worked in coarse felt for warmth or in cloth for a finer line, the two forms are often combined in a single costume.

The horn motif

Ram's horn, deer antler, camel pad and hump patterns, symmetrically set, dominate a repertoire plainly derived from pastoral life.

The distribution in Mulei

Since settlers arrived from Altay in the late eighteenth century, the craft has spread across the Kazakh regions of Xinjiang and to Aksai in Gansu.

The embroidered bag and the tent

With its bright pattern and plain form, the work is at once decoration and necessity, appearing in the tent and on the bride's list of gifts.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Gulinazi Jianimuhan was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Kazakh Embroidery, with Changjihuizuzizhizhoumuleihasakezizhi, Xinjiang as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Kazakh Embroidery in Changjihuizuzizhizhoumuleihasakezizhi, Xinjiang: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Changjihuizuzizhizhoumuleihasakezizhi, Xinjiang as its declared area, and Muleihasake Autonomous County Cultural Center 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

Historical origin

Kazakh embroidery is a traditional decorative art of the Kazakh ethnic group. It has a long history, but its date of origin cannot be verified by any historical records.

Declared area
Changjihuizuzizhizhoumuleihasakezizhi, Xinjiang
Safeguarding unit
Muleihasake Autonomous County Cultural Center
Inscription batch
Batch 5 (2021)
Item code
Ⅶ-133
Category
Traditional Fine Arts

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.

BearerDeclared areaRoster codeRelation
Gulinazi JianimuhanChangjihuizuzizhizhoumuleihasakezizhi, Xinjiang—This page

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

  1. Gulinazijianimuhan (Changjihuizuzizhizhoumuleihasakezizhi, Xinjiang) · China ICH Official Project Archive
  2. Gulinazijianimuhan · China ICH Official Archive

This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。