Willow Weaving
01 · Historical Records
In the early years of the Qing dynasty, folk-woven willow goods — willow chests, deep and shallow baskets, sheng and dou measuring vessels, winnowing trays, and poluo (flat round baskets) — were generous in style and sturdy in use, and were once shipped to commercial ports in Jiangsu and Zhejiang for sale. Since the 1950s the locality has held the 'Huanggang Willow Weaving Commodity Exchange Fair' every year, promoting the development of the willow-weaving craft.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Huanggang and its surrounding area are dotted with rivers, lakes, and mudflats; qi willow (Salix integra), which thrives in damp conditions, grows readily there. Historical records state: 'Huaiming abounds in shuijing (water thorn — i.e., qi willow); felled and processed, it is as white as jade and as tough as rattan' (Yingzhou Gazetteer, Zhengde reign of the Ming dynasty). In modern times, Huanggang has held a temple fair on the twenty-eighth day of the third lunar month each year. At the fair, trade in willow-weaving raw materials and products thrives, and it has become a distribution center for willow-woven products known far and wide. Huanggang willow-woven products are hand-woven. The production process is complex, running from setting the warps (shangjing) and weaving the base (pandi) to closing the mouth (shoukou) and finishing the rim (nayan) in essentially one continuous flow; even the ridge rods and molds used for special purposes are themselves woven. Woven products include trays of all kinds for holding bread, fruit, and sweets; bookshelves for storing books and periodicals; and vases and flower stands for fresh flowers — used in every aspect of daily life. There are both plain-lath weavings (guangtiao bian) of spotless white and colored weavings (sebian) of brilliant hue — finely made, densely structured, rounded in form, sturdy, and durable.
Archival Record of Process Steps
Huanggang willow-woven products are hand-woven. The production process is complex, running from setting the warps (shangjing) and weaving the base (pandi) to closing the mouth (shoukou) and finishing the rim (nayan) in essentially one continuous flow; even the ridge rods and molds used for special purposes are themselves woven.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Huanggang willow weaving is distributed in Huanggang Town and the surrounding area of Funan County, Anhui Province; it is the principal sideline occupation of local farmers, and among the folk sayings in circulation there is the phrase 'weave baskets and make hampers to support your family.' Huanggang willow weaving runs from setting the warps and weaving the base to closing the mouth and finishing the rim in one continuous flow; even the ridge rods and molds used for special purposes are woven from willow. Products fall into two lines: plain-lath weavings of spotless white and colored weavings of brilliant hue. They include trays of all kinds for holding bread, fruit, and sweets, bookshelves for storing books and periodicals, and vases and flower stands for fresh flowers — densely structured, rounded in form, sturdy and durable, and used in every aspect of daily life.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Willow Weaving · Willow Weaving · Willow Weaving · Willow Weaving · Willow Weaving · Willow Weaving · Willow Weaving.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Wang Wenzhong (from the official file of the associated representative inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born April 1962, a native of Funan County, Anhui Province. As a youth he loved weaving and was taken as a disciple by the skilled willow weaver Yang Fuyong. He has fully mastered the traditional mixed technique of warp weaving and twisted weaving, and has newly developed techniques combining willow with reed matting, willow with grass, willow with wood, and cattail (pucao) strung in. He uses a wide variety of materials; the products he weaves and develops are elegant and bold, uniting practicality, artistry, and visual appeal, and giving an effect of returning to simplicity that pleases the eye. In craft furniture, he has applied willow-weaving techniques to develop a range of products that have been widely recognized by the market. He established a willow-weaving enterprise, leading his fellow villagers to prosperity through willow-weaving skills, and has trained more than two hundred willow-weaving technicians. He is a representative inheritor of Willow Weaving (Huanggang Willow Weaving), a national-level intangible cultural heritage project of the fourth batch.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Wang Wenzhong 04-1796
- Jiang Chaochun 05-2655
- Pan Tongli 05-2656
- Yang Jinbang
- Zhang Wanfu
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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