Ma Huijuan
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Ma Huijuan, Female, Han, from Suzhou, Jiangsu, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Suzhou Kesi Weaving Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-15). The tradition is documented in Suzhou, Jiangsu. Within the regional tradition and school record of Suzhou Kesi Weaving Craftsmanship in Suzhou, Jiangsu: In the Southern Song dynasty, the Suzhou kesi silk industry had already achieved brilliant results. From the Ming dynasty onward, kesi silk techniques spread widely through the Suzhou urban area and the surrounding towns of Likou, Lumou, Huangqiao, Guangfu, and Dongzhu, becoming one of the most representative cultural expressions of the region. By the Qing dynasty, a new technique combining kesi weaving with painting had emerged. In the 1960s, starting from the reproduction of famous Southern Song kesi works, artisans revived kesi silk weaving, which had been on the verge of extinction before the founding of the People's Republic of China. By the 1970s and 1980s, five kesi silk factories had successively been established in Suzhou, and kesi weaving techniques underwent unprecedented development.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Ma Huijuan is anchored in the documented technical standards of Suzhou Kesi Weaving Craftsmanship in Suzhou, Jiangsu. Within the documented technical tradition of Suzhou Kesi Weaving Craftsmanship in Suzhou, Jiangsu: Kesi is an ancient silk-weaving technique of Suzhou, found mainly in Suzhou and its surrounding areas. Kesi silk weaving mainly uses an ancient wooden loom together with several bamboo shuttles and picks; through the technique of continuous warp and broken weft, multicolored silk threads are woven into a fabric rich in color and complete in tonal gradation. This fabric has the distinguishing feature that its patterns and designs look the same on both the front and the back. At the outlines of patterns and at tonal transitions, the surface of the fabric appears as if scored with a small knife, showing small gaps or breaks; viewed through the gaps, it has the appearance of carving, hence the name kesi (carved) silk. In the Ming dynasty, Suzhou kesi weaving techniques became even more exquisite, famed for imperial dragon robes in kesi and for kesi works of painting and calligraphy in which facial features are woven. The two double-faced kesi works with entirely different designs on each side, Twin Butterflies, Peony, and Camellia and Longevity Star, achieved a new breakthrough on the basis of traditional kesi and have attracted wide attention; they are collected as national-treasure-level rarities. As the earliest silk fabric used for artistic appreciation, kesi has long been celebrated for its fine workmanship and its artistic character — simple and elegant, with beauty glowing through splendor — and is praised as the sage of weaves. At the same time, because it withstands touching, rubbing, kneading, scrubbing, and washing, it has also earned the reputation of an art fabric that lasts a thousand years. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The wooden loom and bamboo shuttles": On an old wooden loom with bamboo shuttles, the warp runs unbroken while wefts change with each colour band, producing a fully graduated image. "The breaks at the colour change": The design reads the same on both faces, and at every contour and gradation the surface shows small knife-like openings unique to kesi. "Household looms at Zhenhu and Hushuguan": Household looms once stood in almost every household at Zhenhu and Hushuguan, supplying both the court and mounters of paintings.
The wooden loom and bamboo shuttles
On an old wooden loom with bamboo shuttles, the warp runs unbroken while wefts change with each colour band, producing a fully graduated image.
The breaks at the colour change
The design reads the same on both faces, and at every contour and gradation the surface shows small knife-like openings unique to kesi.
Household looms at Zhenhu and Hushuguan
Household looms once stood in almost every household at Zhenhu and Hushuguan, supplying both the court and mounters of paintings.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Ma Huijuan was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Suzhou Kesi Weaving Craftsmanship, with Suzhou, Jiangsu as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Suzhou Kesi Weaving Craftsmanship in Suzhou, Jiangsu: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Suzhou, Jiangsu as its declared area, and Suzhou Wangjinshandashikesi Studio 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
Historical origin
In the Southern Song dynasty, the Suzhou kesi silk industry had already achieved brilliant results. From the Ming dynasty onward, kesi silk techniques spread widely through the Suzhou urban area and the surrounding towns of Likou, Lumou, Huangqiao, Guangfu, and Dongzhu, becoming one of the most representative cultural expressions of the region.
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.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wang Jinshan | Suzhou, Jiangsu | 01-0133 | Same declared area |
| Ma Huijuan | Suzhou, Jiangsu | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
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。