Hu Chunfang
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Hu Chunfang, Female, Li, from Baotinglizumiaozuzizhi, Hainan, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Traditional Li Textile Techniques (Ⅷ-19). The tradition is documented in Baotinglizumiaozuzizhi, Hainan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Traditional Li Textile Techniques in Baotinglizumiaozuzizhi, Hainan: Within Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County, Li brocade technique is distributed among mountain villages, interspersed with Miao settlement areas; weaving in each village is undertaken mostly by women, and the products are used for tube skirts, headscarves, quilt covers, and ceremonial brocades. The composition of branches in Baoting gives its patterns a plural character: the same motif often has different color schemes and treatments in different villages, and weavers commonly give patterns to one another as gifts and congratulations. Compared with the counties of Wuzhishan, Baisha, Ledong, and Dongfang, Baoting brocade does not rank first in refinement, but it retains a place of its own in the diversity of its patterns. Li weaving in the Baoting area exists in an environment where Li and Miao peoples live interspersed; weaving, batik, and silver ornamentation grow up in the same place without blending into one another. Miao batik excels in full-width fabrics, while Li brocade is distinguished by its complex patterns; the two kinds of cloth run in parallel across the same mountainous region, each following its own path. This parallelism also shaped the orientation of Baoting brocade: its patterns favor three categories — human figures, animals, and plants — with complete compositions that do not strive to cover everything. Compared with monumental tribute pieces such as the Yazhou quilt, it is closer to the needs of everyday cutting and sewing. The formation of this orientation is related to the limited scale of local tribute in past dynasties alongside the continuing demand for daily wear.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Hu Chunfang is anchored in the documented technical standards of Traditional Li Textile Techniques in Baotinglizumiaozuzizhi, Hainan. Within the documented technical tradition of Traditional Li Textile Techniques in Baotinglizumiaozuzizhi, Hainan: The Li people's weaving and dyeing techniques have a long history and distinctive characteristics, encompassing ramie weaving, cotton weaving, brocade weaving, printing and dyeing (including tie-dyeing), embroidery, and dragon quilts. Li settlement areas are rich in raw materials for weaving and dyeing, such as kapok and wild hemp. Before cotton textiles became widespread, wild hemp textiles prevailed in Li areas. People generally strip the outer bark from wild hemp gathered during the rainy season and, through soaking, rinsing, and other processes, steep it into hemp bolts. Once the hemp bolts have been dyed, they are hand-twisted into hemp yarn or spun into thread with a spindle, and then woven into cloth. Wild hemp cloth is sturdy in texture and was mostly used to make outer garments and lower robes worn while working. Li brocade patterns are rich and varied, numbering more than 160 kinds; they consist mainly of human figures, animals, plants, flowers, everyday implements, and geometric motifs, with human, animal, and plant designs predominating. The looms used to weave Li brocade are mainly of two types: the foot-treadled loom and the backstrap loom. The backstrap loom is an extremely ancient loom; Li women can use it to weave exquisite and complex patterns. Different patterns, colors, and styles of Li brocade once served as important markers distinguishing tribal groups with different kinship ties, and thus possess extremely important humanistic value. Li printing and dyeing is dominated by tie-dyeing, known in ancient times as jiaoxie. The fabric passes through binding, dyeing, drying, and thread-folding steps, ultimately forming brilliantly colored printed cloth. The dyes used in printing and dyeing are derived mainly from plant leaves, flowers, bark, and roots, supplemented by natural mineral pigments. Li embroidery has two forms: flat embroidery and double-sided embroidery, the most famous being the double-sided embroidery of the Run-dialect Li people of the Baisha area, whose composition and patterns are exceptionally fine. The dragon quilt is a treasure among Li brocades; it integrates spinning, dyeing, embroidery, weaving, and other crafts in a single piece, with exquisite workmanship, brilliant colors, elegant patterns, and varied styles. It represents the most outstanding craftsmanship and the highest cultural and artistic value among Li brocades, and for this reason became a tribute treasure of the Hainan region in every dynasty. The dragon quilt is also called the great quilt, and is known in historical records as the Yazhou quilt. The weaving and embroidery of dragon quilts produced different artistic styles and characteristics according to the Li dialects and regions of residence, making them valuable physical material for studying the evolution of Li culture. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Changing the multicoloured warp": The warp is pre-coloured in several tones and shifted as the pattern demands, letting one length of cloth carry different grounds; the switching order is held in memory. "Weaving figurative motifs": Figures, animals and plants dominate Li motifs; figures cost the most, and Baisha-area weavers favour a readable whole figure over exhaustive detail. "Weaving skirts and headscarves": Skirts and headscarves are the most-used Li women’s textiles: narrow, voluminous and dense, woven long at the waist loom, their borders geometric and continuous. "Embroidery and cross-stitch": After weaving, cross-stitch and embroidery add colour and sheen, so weaving and needlework each contribute their strength across the making of one garment.
Changing the multicoloured warp
The warp is pre-coloured in several tones and shifted as the pattern demands, letting one length of cloth carry different grounds; the switching order is held in memory.
Weaving figurative motifs
Figures, animals and plants dominate Li motifs; figures cost the most, and Baisha-area weavers favour a readable whole figure over exhaustive detail.
Weaving skirts and headscarves
Skirts and headscarves are the most-used Li women’s textiles: narrow, voluminous and dense, woven long at the waist loom, their borders geometric and continuous.
Embroidery and cross-stitch
After weaving, cross-stitch and embroidery add colour and sheen, so weaving and needlework each contribute their strength across the making of one garment.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Hu Chunfang was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Traditional Li Textile Techniques, with Baotinglizumiaozuzizhi, Hainan as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Traditional Li Textile Techniques in Baotinglizumiaozuzizhi, Hainan: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Baotinglizumiaozuzizhi, Hainan as its declared area, and Baoting Li Miao 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
Li weaving in the Baoting area exists in an environment where Li and Miao peoples live interspersed; weaving, batik, and silver ornamentation grow up in the same place without blending into one another. Miao batik excels in full-width fabrics, while Li brocade is distinguished by its complex patterns; the two kinds of cloth run in parallel across the same mountainous region, each following its own path. This parallelism also shaped the orientation of Baoting brocade: its patterns favor three categories — human figures, animals, and plants — with complete compositions that do not strive to cover everything. Compared with monumental tribute pieces such as the Yazhou quilt, it is closer to the needs of everyday cutting and sewing. The formation of this orientation is related to the limited scale of local tribute in past dynasties alongside the continuing demand for daily wear.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rong Yamei | Ledonglizuzizhi, Hainan | 01-0139 | Other regional school |
| Liu Xianglan | Wuzhishan, Hainan | 03-1309 | Other regional school |
| Fu Linzao | Dongfang, Hainan | 04-1837 | Other regional school |
| Wang Ruimei | Baishalizuzizhi, Hainan | — | Other regional school |
| Hu Chunfang | Baotinglizumiaozuzizhi, Hainan | — | 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。