Bamboo Weaving
01 · Historical Records
During the Ming and Qing dynasties the number of Anxi bamboo-and-rattan weaving artists continually increased and the level of craftsmanship continually rose. In the 1970s Anxi bamboo-and-rattan weaving developed on the basis of transmitting its core techniques, refining processes such as floral ribbing, pasting, dyeing, and bleaching, and giving full play to the skills of carving, polishing, dyeing, and appliqué, so that products took on exquisite, beautiful forms in a great variety.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Anxi County abounds in bamboo. According to the “Products” section of the Anxi County Gazetteer (Qianlong-era edition of the Qing dynasty), the county contains more than twenty species, including mao'er bamboo, Jiangnan bamboo, snow-purple bamboo, fishing-rod bamboo, stone bamboo, bitter bamboo, mottled bamboo, arrow bamboo, square bamboo, human-face bamboo, ruo bamboo, sheng bamboo, ma bamboo, thorn bamboo, Guanyin bamboo, palm bamboo, and reed bamboo, providing sustainable raw materials for bamboo and rattan weaving. Anxi bamboo-and-rattan weaving has a long history. According to documentary records, more than a thousand years ago bamboo articles such as baskets used for carrying and roasting tea were already popular in Anxi. Anxi's thriving tea industry promoted the continuous improvement and innovation of bamboo-and-rattan weaving. For more than a hundred years bamboo-and-rattan weaving has been a household livelihood or sideline for the people of Anxi. Anxi bamboo-and-rattan weaving inherits weaving methods dating from the Tang dynasty. Its main raw materials are mao bamboo and some timber, Hainan rattan, dragon's-whisker rattan or local mountain rattan, mao'er rattan, as well as dyes of various colors and alkyd varnish. Technically it comprises six basic processes: planing and splitting, weaving, turning the bamboo skin (fanhuang), lathe patterning, patchwork patterning, and bead stringing.
Bamboo and rattan, six basic processes
Its materials include bamboo, Hainan rattan and local vines, worked through six processes: planing, weaving, turning, turning flowers, marquetry and bead stringing.
Fourteen categories, forty-odd kinds
Bamboo-and-rattan wares, from hoops and sieves to cages, fences and lanterns, run to fourteen categories and over forty kinds.
The Chen family lineage
Once passed down mainly within the Chen family, the craft now also moves through apprenticeship and school teaching; Chen Qinghe's works are held in Poland's national museum.
Bamboo species in the Qianlong gazetteer
The Qianlong-era Anxi gazetteer lists more than twenty local bamboos, giving the craft a sustainable supply of material.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Anxi bamboo-and-rattan weaving is a traditional fine-art form spread in the area of Anxi County, Fujian Province, combining bamboo and rattan weaving techniques. Bamboo and rattan woven articles are widely used in the daily life of the local people, comprising 14 categories and more than 40 varieties, including bamboo hoops, sieves, cages, fences, and lamps.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Shengzhou Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving · Bamboo Weaving.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The works are sturdy and handsome, with bright, clear pattern colors; they have important historical, economic, and cultural value and embody the character of agrarian civilization. Family transmission was once the main mode of transmission for Anxi bamboo-and-rattan weaving, represented by the lineage of the Chen family. Today diverse modes of transmission coexist, such as master-apprentice transmission and educational training, together supporting the protection and inheritance of Anxi bamboo-and-rattan weaving. Anxi bamboo-and-rattan weaving combines bamboo weaving with rattan weaving, possessing both the soft beauty and dexterity of bamboo weaving and the toughness and durability of rattan weaving; it has both practical value and creative character, integrating economic practicality and artistic aesthetics, and is deeply loved by the people. Chen Qinghe (from the official archive record of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in August 1940, from Anxi County, Fujian Province. National Model Worker. The bamboo-and-rattan artworks he makes are varied in pattern, simple and unsophisticated yet rich, and extremely exquisite. He originated numerous weaving structures such as “smooth-and-even weaving” (pingshun), enriching the craft of Anxi bamboo-and-rattan weaving. Many of his works are in the collection of the National Museum in Poland. He emphasizes transmission of the craft; two of his apprentices have now taken up the weighty responsibility of transmitting Anxi bamboo-and-rattan weaving. He is a representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the national intangible cultural heritage project “Bamboo Weaving (Anxi Bamboo and Rattan Weaving).” In 1987 he received the Fujian Province May Day Labor Medal, and in 1988 he was named a Model Worker by the Fujian Provincial People's Government.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Yu Zhanggen 01-0119
- He Fuli 03-1265
- Song Zengli 03-1266
- Mou Bingheng 03-1267
- Liu Jiafeng 04-1794
- Su Chengjun 05-2640
- Chen Qinghe 05-2641
- Tian Xianmin 05-2642
- Wei Lumian 05-2643
- Tan Sujuan 05-2644
- Chen Yunhua 05-2645
- Zhao Sijin 05-2646
- Ding Zhiyun
- Hu Zhengren
- Lvcheng
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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