Zheng Xiaohua

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Zheng Xiaohua, Male, Han, from Huzhou, Zhejiang, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Cansi Weaving Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-99). The tradition is documented in Huzhou, Zhejiang. Within the regional tradition and school record of Cansi Weaving Craftsmanship in Huzhou, Zhejiang: During the Song period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420–479), Shuanglin ling-juan was already renowned worldwide, and was exported far to more than a dozen Southeast Asian countries including Linyi (present-day Vietnam), Funan (present-day Cambodia), Tianzhu (present-day India), and Simhala (present-day Sri Lanka). By the Tang dynasty, the ling-juan of Shuanglin Town was designated as a tributary good presented to the imperial court, and was also exported far to Japan.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Zheng Xiaohua is anchored in the documented technical standards of Cansi Weaving Craftsmanship in Huzhou, Zhejiang. Within the documented technical tradition of Cansi Weaving Craftsmanship in Huzhou, Zhejiang: The traditional weaving craft of Shuanglin ling-juan in Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, has a long and distant origin. Ling-juan is a combined name for ling and juan: "patterned is ling, plain is juan." According to records, Shuanglin was already producing ling-juan in abundance during the Eastern Jin. During the Taiyuan era (376–396), the famed calligrapher Wang Xianzhi, when he served as governor of Wuxing Commandery (present-day Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province), wrote on white juan. According to the "Gazetteer of Wuxing County," the ling-juan weaving craft of Shuanglin Town became even more developed in the Ming dynasty; the woven goods varied ingeniously and in great number, with patterned and plain varieties and both heavy and light types. Especially fine was the Twin-Dragon satin woven by the Ni family of Dongzhuang — the satin bore two dragons whose eyes stood out and shimmered with light, and it was for a time called a supreme product, used exclusively for memorials to the court. The celebrated ling-juan of Shuanglin Town in Huzhou is an important component of China's silk-weaving culture, and its weaving craft has been handed down continuously to the present day. At the Fifth Asia-Pacific Exposition, the "Hangong" brand patterned ling won a gold award and received unanimous praise from people both within and outside the trade. Under present circumstances, however, the silk-weaving craft of Huzhou is gradually declining, and the inheritance of the Shuanglin ling-juan weaving craft is thereby affected; the protection of this traditional handicraft of important historical value should be given high priority by the relevant quarters. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Patterned ling and plain silk": Ling bears patterns and juan is plain; the same loom yields either by changing the heddles. "The twin-dragon satin": The Ming gazetteer of Wuxing records the Ni family of Dongzhuang weaving twin-dragon satin with glittering eyes for court memorials. "Soaking, reeling and warping": Raw silk is soaked, reeled and warped before it can be loaded; badly ordered filaments snap on the loom. "Calendering and finishing": The woven cloth is boiled, dyed and calendered, which closes the weave and gives lin silk its smooth handle.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Zheng Xiaohua was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Cansi Weaving Craftsmanship, with Huzhou, Zhejiang as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Cansi Weaving Craftsmanship in Huzhou, Zhejiang: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Huzhou, Zhejiang as its declared area, and Huzhou Yunheshuanglinlingjuan 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

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. Zhengxiaohua (Huzhou, Zhejiang) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Zhengxiaohua · China ICH Official Archive