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. Laizhou straw braiding is a traditional knotting and weaving craft popular in Laizhou City, Shandong Province; it originated earliest in the countryside around Shahe Town, Laizhou, and is said to have a history of 1,500 years. According to the Laizhou City Gazetteer, during the Ming dynasty straw braiding from the Shahe area spread within the country through Zhili, Yuzhou, and other places. Since the mid-20th century, Laizhou straw braiding has developed rapidly; the two specialized factories Yixin and Yuxin were established in succession, the patterns and varieties of straw braiding increased to more than two thousand, and people from all over the country came to Shahe to learn the straw braiding craft.
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. After the Opium War, Laizhou straw braiding became one of the earliest Chinese commodities to enter Western markets; it won a special award at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition held in San Francisco, United States, and was praised as 'the finest straw braiding in the world'. Laizhou straw braiding techniques are divided into the three-straw pinch method, the five-straw pinch method, and the seven-straw pinch method; different pinch methods produce different patterns. In general, however, all the pinch methods work on the same principle: the thumb pinches the front face and the index finger the back, after which pressing and picking motions are applied. A few wheat stalks fly and change this way and that in the artisan's hands, swiftly transformed into an elegant work of art; the refinement of the technique is truly in a class of its own. In Laizhou, straw braiding became the main source of income for many farm households, making a major contribution to the development of the rural economy.
Three, five and seven stalk twists
Leizhou straw braid uses three-, five- and seven-stalk twists, the thumb working the face and the forefinger the reverse.
Shahe town and the county gazetteer
The braid originated in Shahe town, said to be fifteen centuries old; the Leizhou gazetteer records its spread inland in the Ming.
A Panama Exposition prize
After the Opium War Leizhou straw braid was among China's earliest exports to the West and won a special prize at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco.
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.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Straw Weaving · Straw Weaving · Straw Weaving · Straw Weaving · Straw Weaving.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Laizhou straw braiding uses wheat stalks grown in the area around Shahe Town as its material, with three pinch methods — three-straw, five-straw, and seven-straw; the thumb pinches the front face and the index finger the back, followed by pressing and picking motions, and different pinch methods produce different patterns. In the mid-20th century the two specialized factories Yixin and Yuxin were built locally, the patterns of straw braiding increased to more than two thousand, and the products were sold both at home and abroad; income from straw braiding was for a long time an important source of revenue for Laizhou farm households.
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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