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. As early as the Qing dynasty, the Jiading yellow-straw slippers woven in Xuhang were already being exported to countries in Europe and Asia.
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. Xuhang straw weaving is a traditional folk knotting and weaving craft, found mainly in Xuhang Town, Jiading District, Shanghai. Xuhang is a famous straw weaving town in the Jiangnan region, where the local people habitually use yellow straw stalks grown in the area to weave everyday articles. Xuhang yellow straw is smooth and tough with an elegant color; handicrafts woven from it have clear, dense, and even textures with consistent tension, and are flat and smooth; after dyeing or the addition of bright decorative patterns, they appear all the more refined and beautiful. Xuhang straw weaving is made entirely by hand; weaving takes a great deal of time, so large-scale production is impossible. Its economic returns are modest, and it struggles to withstand the impact of the modern market economy. Today, artisans who make a living from straw weaving in Xuhang are few and far between; only a small number of rural women weave straw sandals and handbags in their spare time for occasional sale. In addition, urban construction has caused large areas of yellow straw to disappear rapidly, leaving the raw material for Xuhang straw weaving increasingly scarce.
Jiading yellow straw
Xuhang is famed for weaving with locally grown yellow straw, whose smooth, tough stalks give even, lustrous textures.
Straw slippers exported to Europe and Asia
As early as the Qing dynasty Jiading straw slippers were exported to Europe and Asia; today over a thousand varieties are made.
Vanishing straw and a shrinking trade
Hand weaving is slow and unprofitable, and urban growth has destroyed much of the yellow-straw habitat.
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. Xuhang straw-woven products include slippers, handbags, fruit bowls, cup covers, basin mats, and others — more than a thousand varieties in twenty major categories; they are rich in color, handsome in style, light and convenient to use, with distinctly local characteristics and a strong rustic flavor. Xuhang straw weaving uses the local specialty yellow straw as its material; after the autumn harvest the straw goes through processes such as selection, soaking, dyeing, and sun-drying, and artisans then shape it with techniques such as weaving, coiling, and twisted patterning. Products include slippers, handbags, fruit bowls, cup covers, and basin mats — more than a thousand varieties in twenty major categories. Yellow straw is smooth and tough, and the articles woven from it have clear textures and consistent tension, appearing all the more refined after dyeing or the addition of floral patterns. The area around Xuhang Town has long been known as a straw weaving town of the Jiangnan region; in the late Qing and early Republican period nearly all local women engaged in the craft, and Jiading yellow-straw slippers and handbags were once exported to Southeast Asia, Europe, and America. After the 1950s, cooperatives and factories were established and their products were sold overseas; in recent years, with the decline in yellow straw cultivation and the time-consuming nature of handwork, the craft has fallen into contraction.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Straw Weaving · Straw Weaving · Straw Weaving · Straw Weaving · Straw Weaving.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Nowadays, yellow straw has shifted from wild growth to artificial cultivation; when used for straw weaving, its quality is even better. Under these circumstances, the active and comprehensive protection of the transmission and development of Xuhang straw weaving technique has become a task that brooks no delay.
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
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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