Straw Weaving

01 · Historical Records

From the 1840s onward, straw weaving began to be exported abroad. Since the mid-20th century, because it has met the needs of modern life, straw weaving has developed rapidly, with an ever-growing variety of patterns and designs. During the Yongzheng reign of the Qing dynasty, straw weaving technique was introduced from Yexian, Shandong, into Zhujia Village in Xifuji Township, Daming County, and from there spread further to the area east of the Wei River, eventually circulating throughout Daming County. Before the 1980s, Daming straw weaving had already gained a certain influence across the county and the surrounding areas, but most of its products were kept for the weavers' own household use, and only some straw hats were sold on the market.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Straw weaving is a traditional knotting and weaving handicraft that uses grasses and other herbaceous plants as its principal raw material. As one of the oldest crafts of humankind, knotting and weaving became an important means for the early people of China to make practical articles as far back as remote antiquity. Straw weaving techniques have circulated among the Chinese people for several thousand years and have been continually carried forward and developed in the process. Folk artisans across the country adapted their work to local conditions and to the qualities of their materials, making full use of the tough stalks, skins, pith, leaves, and roots of herbaceous plants, and creating and distilling a rich repertoire of weaving and knotting techniques — weaving, knotting, braiding, looping, binding, twisting, wrapping, netting, stringing, and coiling — making straw weaving an important source of everyday articles for the common people. Straw-woven products are mainly practical goods such as straw mats, straw curtains, straw cushions, straw baskets, straw fans, straw hats, and straw sandals, though some are ornamental pieces made for display. As a traditional handicraft very widespread among the Chinese people, straw weaving has a broad popular base and strong qualities of both practicality and artistry. Daming straw weaving is a traditional folk household knotting and weaving craft, popular in the area east of the Wei River in Daming County, Hebei Province. Daming straw weaving uses wheat stalks as its raw material, and its products are mainly straw hats and carrying baskets. After Daming County established a straw weaving factory, deep processing led to the development of about a thousand new products, including tote bags, tea coasters, seat cushions, floor mats, door curtains, fruit boxes, wastebaskets, and slippers, as well as wheat-straw appliqué pictures and appliqué boxes, which played a positive role in developing the local economy and increasing farmers' incomes. At present, the time-consuming and labor-intensive production of straw weaving, finding it difficult to meet market demands, has entered a stage of stagnation, and the number of practitioners is steadily declining.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

China is rich in herbaceous plant resources, and both north and south have many raw materials suitable for knotting and weaving, so straw weaving exists in a great variety of types from place to place, each with its own local characteristics. Daming straw weaving uses wheat stalks as its material; before weaving, the stalks must go through processes such as selection, splitting into strips, soaking in water, and smoking to whiten them. Finished products fall into two lines: 'pinched braid' (qiabian) and 'woven pattern' (bianhua). Beyond straw hats and carrying baskets, the local craft has also developed about a thousand styles, including tea coasters, seat cushions, floor mats, door curtains, fruit boxes, wastebaskets, and wheat-straw appliqué pictures and appliqué boxes. It circulates mainly around Zhujia Village in Xifuji Township, east of the Wei River in Daming County, and was introduced from Yexian, Shandong, during the Yongzheng reign of the Qing dynasty.

Other submitting regions for the same item: Straw Weaving · Straw Weaving · Straw Weaving · Straw Weaving · Straw Weaving.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Daming straw weaving now faces the danger of dying out and urgently needs support and protection. Wang Qunying (recorded in the official archive of the associated representative inheritor): Female, of the Han nationality, born in June 1966, a native of Daming County, Hebei Province. She learned traditional straw weaving technique from her mother from childhood. For more than thirty years, building on the inherited tradition, she has combined straw weaving technique with modern artistic elements, creating twelve straw-art series — Beijing opera masks, fashion items, Chinese paintings, screens, and others — comprising thousands of varieties, with considerable practical, appreciative, and collector value. She founded the Daming straw weaving workshop, taking on apprentices to pass on the craft, and produced Daming straw weaving handicrafts, raising the incomes of 1,500 farmers and laid-off workers. For many years she has actively carried out activities bringing Daming straw weaving technique into schools, and has established Daming straw weaving inheritance bases in a number of primary and secondary schools. Representative inheritor of straw weaving (Daming straw weaving), a national-level intangible cultural heritage item of the fifth batch.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

• Yu Fangze 03-1271
• Wang Qunying 05-2652
• Chen Huanbin 05-2653
• Saileihankakemuhazi 05-2654
• Yang Yuxing

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Straw Weaving (Daming, Hebei) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Wang Qunying · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗