Qiao Qiuyun
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Qiao Qiuyun, Female, Han, from Gugongbowuyuan, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Gongtingchuantongnangxia Making Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-260). The tradition is documented in Gugongbowuyuan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Gongtingchuantongnangxia Making Craftsmanship in Gugongbowuyuan: According to their different characteristics, nangxia may be divided into several types: soft, inverted, excavated, hard, and soft-and-hard combined. By category of cultural relic they may be divided into the book-slipcase type, the calligraphy and painting type, the ceramics and jade type, the bamboo, wood, ivory and horn type, and the metalwork and clock type. By style they may further be divided into the concealed-compartment type, the open-compartment combined type, the excavated-bed with concealed door type, the heaven-and-earth lid type and the sliding-drawer type. The traditional palace fitted-case (nangxia) making craft is a component of the ancient Chinese craft of packaging objects. It is a traditional handicraft that has come down from the Qing dynasty court to the present, transmitted within the Palace Museum and radiating to Tibet, Guangxi, Heilongjiang and a dozen or so other provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. From the Ming and Qing periods onwards, shops making brocade boxes of every size were found throughout the more economically developed regions of China, especially in the capital; the case workshop of the Qing imperial workshops (Zaobanchu) in the Forbidden City was particularly famed for its exquisite workmanship and singular ingenuity.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Qiao Qiuyun is anchored in the documented technical standards of Gongtingchuantongnangxia Making Craftsmanship in Gugongbowuyuan. Within the documented technical tradition of Gongtingchuantongnangxia Making Craftsmanship in Gugongbowuyuan: A nangxia is an outer packaging container made to protect a cultural relic; it is made with special materials and a range of methods chosen according to such factors as the object's material, shape, dimensions and weight, and it guards against shock, wind, sunlight, damp and dust. The folk rhyme that tells of fine antiques kept in brocade cases, of cut cardboard deftly matched, of pasted silk and damask fitted with a glass lid, so that knocking does no harm, is a vivid portrayal of how nangxia are made and what they do. The raw materials used for nangxia are mainly paper products and cotton, and the temperature and humidity of the environment have a certain effect on them. The craft is practised mainly by pure handwork. Its specific process includes setting the style, calculating the dimensions, cutting the cardboard, drawing the datum lines for the clasps, gluing the outer box, gluing the recessed strip of the upper lid, joining the inner and outer seams, attaching the facing, fastening the clasps, fitting out the inner tray, forming the fitted bed, gluing the turnover flaps and fitting the low inner walls. To transmit the nangxia making craft one must learn not only the technique but also the aesthetic matching of cloths of various materials, of brocade patterns and of the objects to be contained. Palace nangxia pay attention to the matching of fabrics and colours and are excellent in both practicality and visual appeal. The internal structure of a nangxia is ingeniously designed, offering useful formal reference and technical support for modern packaging design. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Documented process steps": The craft is practised mainly by pure handwork. Its specific process includes setting the style, calculating the dimensions, cutting the cardboard, drawing the datum lines for the clasps, gluing the outer box, gluing the recessed strip of the upper lid, joining the inner and outer seams, attaching the facing, fastening the clasps, fitting out the inner tray, forming the fitted bed, gluing the turnover flaps and fitting the low inner walls.
Documented process steps
The craft is practised mainly by pure handwork. Its specific process includes setting the style, calculating the dimensions, cutting the cardboard, drawing the datum lines for the clasps, gluing the outer box, gluing the recessed strip of the upper lid, joining the inner and outer seams, attaching the facing, fastening the clasps, fitting out the inner tray, forming the fitted bed, gluing the turnover flaps and fitting the low inner walls.
Core Technique I
A nangxia is an outer packaging container made to protect a cultural relic;
Core Technique II
it is made with special materials and a range of methods chosen according to such factors as the object's material, shape, dimensions and weight, and it guards against shock, wind, sunlight, damp and dust.
Core Technique III
The folk rhyme that tells of fine antiques kept in brocade cases, of cut cardboard deftly matched, of pasted silk and damask fitted with a glass lid, so that knocking does no harm, is a vivid portrayal of how nangxia are made and what they do.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Qiao Qiuyun was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Gongtingchuantongnangxia Making Craftsmanship, with Gugongbowuyuan as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Gongtingchuantongnangxia Making Craftsmanship in Gugongbowuyuan: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Gugongbowuyuan as its declared area, and Palace Museum 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
The traditional palace fitted-case (nangxia) making craft is a component of the ancient Chinese craft of packaging objects. It is a traditional handicraft that has come down from the Qing dynasty court to the present, transmitted within the Palace Museum and radiating to Tibet, Guangxi, Heilongjiang and a dozen or so other provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. From the Ming and Qing periods onwards, shops making brocade boxes of every size were found throughout the more economically developed regions of China, especially in the capital; the case workshop of the Qing imperial workshops (Zaobanchu) in the Forbidden City was particularly famed for its exquisite workmanship and singular ingenuity.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qiao Qiuyun | Gugongbowuyuan | — | 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。