Hong Guizhen
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Hong Guizhen, Female, Han, from Hangzhoushifuxingsichouchang, Zhejiang, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Cansi Weaving Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-99). The tradition is documented in Hangzhoushifuxingsichouchang, Zhejiang. Within the regional tradition and school record of Cansi Weaving Craftsmanship in Hangzhoushifuxingsichouchang, Zhejiang: Hangluo is a heavy silk fabric native to Hangzhou, standing alongside the satin industry of the Suzhou area and the brocade industry of the Yunjin area as the three great silk products of East China; its production long concentrated within Hangzhou city, today only Hangzhou Fuxing Silk Co., Ltd. still practices it, its director coming from a Hangluo family and directly inheriting this weaving craft. The Hangluo it produces has always been sold to various places through long-established houses such as Beijing's 'Ruifuxiang' and Suzhou's 'Qiantaixiang'; since the factory's founding in 1984 it took five years of trial to complete the loom renovation for the traditional Hangluo water-weaving secret formula, both preserving constant quality and markedly raising efficiency, and it has now also built a nearly 1,000-square-meter Hangluo museum to collect physical objects and historical materials. Hangluo has a long history; it was already recorded in local gazetteers as early as the Song dynasty, and by the Qing dynasty it had become a famous variety of Hangzhou silk. Since the 20th century, under the strong impact of chemical-fiber fabrics, traditional silk production has been extremely difficult, and Hangluo production has been especially hard-pressed.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Hong Guizhen is anchored in the documented technical standards of Cansi Weaving Craftsmanship in Hangzhoushifuxingsichouchang, Zhejiang. Within the documented technical tradition of Cansi Weaving Craftsmanship in Hangzhoushifuxingsichouchang, Zhejiang: Together with Suzhou satin and Nanjing Yunjin brocade, Hangluo is one of the three great famous silk products of East China. Hangluo originated in Hangzhou; it is woven from pure mulberry silk in a plain weave and a gauze (sha-luo) structure, its surface bearing evenly spaced vertical or horizontal strip-shaped gauze holes that are clearly defined, with a smooth, soft, and crisp texture. This fabric is comfortable, cool, and pleasant to wear and stands up to washing, and is mostly used for curtains, summer shirts, and casual-wear fabric. The looms that produce Hangluo have gone through several transformations, yet its production process still preserves a great deal of fine, meticulous handwork, demanding extremely high skill of the producer. After the raw silk enters the factory it must be strictly inspected and selected, and go through a series of processes including soaking, drying, reeling the yarn, warping, and quilling the weft, before it can be put on the loom to weave. The woven coarse blank must then go through refining, dyeing, and other steps before it becomes fine Hangluo. Because the craft is complex, Hangluo has throughout history had few successors. At present only the Fuxing Silk Factory produces Hangluo; its director comes from a Hangluo family and directly inherited the weaving craft. The Hangluo produced by Fuxing has always been distributed by long-established shops such as Beijing's 'Ruifuxiang' and Suzhou's 'Qiantaixiang', and is deeply welcomed by consumers at home and abroad. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Documented Process Record": The woven coarse blank must then go through refining, dyeing, and other steps before it becomes fine Hangluo.
Documented Process Record
The woven coarse blank must then go through refining, dyeing, and other steps before it becomes fine Hangluo.
Core Technique I
Together with Suzhou satin and Nanjing Yunjin brocade, Hangluo is one of the three great famous silk products of East China.
Core Technique II
Hangluo originated in Hangzhou;
Core Technique III
it is woven from pure mulberry silk in a plain weave and a gauze (sha-luo) structure, its surface bearing evenly spaced vertical or horizontal strip-shaped gauze holes that are clearly defined, with a smooth, soft, and crisp texture.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Hong Guizhen was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Cansi Weaving Craftsmanship, with Hangzhoushifuxingsichouchang, Zhejiang as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Cansi Weaving Craftsmanship in Hangzhoushifuxingsichouchang, Zhejiang: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Hangzhoushifuxingsichouchang, Zhejiang as its declared area, and Hangzhou Fuxingsichou 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
Hangluo has a long history; it was already recorded in local gazetteers as early as the Song dynasty, and by the Qing dynasty it had become a famous variety of Hangzhou silk. Since the 20th century, under the strong impact of chemical-fiber fabrics, traditional silk production has been extremely difficult, and Hangluo production has been especially hard-pressed.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhou Kangming | Huzhou, Zhejiang | 03-1357 | Other regional school |
| Yu Caigen | Hangzhoushiyuhang, Zhejiang | 05-2795 | Other regional school |
| Shao Guanxing | Hangzhoushifuxingsichouchang, Zhejiang | 05-2796 | Same declared area |
| Gu Mingqi | Huzhoushinanxun, Zhejiang | 05-2797 | Other regional school |
| Hong Guizhen | Hangzhoushifuxingsichouchang, Zhejiang | — | This page |
| Zheng Xiaohua | Huzhou, Zhejiang | — | Other regional school |
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。