Silk Appliqué
01 · Historical Records
Since the twentieth century, a group of outstanding piled-brocade artisans has emerged in the local area. In the early 1970s, the artisan surnamed Gong devoted painstaking effort to research and, on the basis of inheriting the tradition, carried out reform and innovation, bringing the piled-brocade craft to further development.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Shangdang piled brocade (duijin), commonly known as 'Changzhi duihua' (Changzhi piled flowers), is a traditional handicraft unique to the Shangdang region of Shanxi Province (present-day Changzhi City). In the third year of the Shenlong era (707) under Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang dynasty, Li Longji — then enfeoffed as Prince of Linzi — took up the post of biecha (assistant prefect) of Luzhou (present-day Changzhi City) and brought the court's piled-silk (duijuan) technique to the Shangdang region. It later spread among the people and, after more than a thousand years of practical exploration, gradually developed into the exquisite craft of Shangdang piled brocade. Today's Shangdang piled brocade, while preserving the elegant and sumptuous beauty characteristic of silk art, presents a new look with contemporary features: its products have both the brush-and-ink flavor of Chinese painting and the modeling effect of oil painting, while also producing a relief-like sense of three-dimensionality. Through careful selection of materials and technical processing, Shangdang piled brocade does not breed moths and does not fade, enabling it to be preserved in the world for a longer time and passed on to later generations. The process steps of Shangdang piled brocade proceed in order as material selection, pattern cutting, piling, and mounting; the 'piling' relies entirely on hand cutting and pasting, secured with needle and thread, without glue or ironing. Traditional subjects are mostly drawn from the 'Luoshen fu' (Rhapsody on the Goddess of the Luo), the Western Chamber story, the Investiture of the Gods, and landscapes, flowers, and birds, emphasizing 'painting within the pile and pile within the painting.' The Changzhi area still preserves fragments of piled brocade and design drafts from the Qing dynasty through the Republican period, providing evidence for the reconstruction of the craft.
Li Longji and the court silk-stacking craft
In 707 Li Longji, then Prince of Linzi and assistant governor of Luzhou, brought the court's silk-stacking craft to Shangdang, where it entered folk hands.
Silk stacking and relief-like volume
The core technique stacks and shapes silk in layers so that the panel unites the brush feel of painting, the modelling of oils and the volume of relief.
The Changzhi silk-stacking institute
The Changzhi institute is the safeguarding unit, handling documentation, research and the creation of works — the organisational base of the craft today.
Teaching integrated with production
The Yellow River arts-and-crafts school pairs instruction with production, training successors while turning out work.
Material treatment against insects and fading
Careful selection and treatment keep the work free of insects and fading, giving this silk craft a durability rare among its kind.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Shangdang piled brocade, commonly known as 'Changzhi duihua' (Changzhi piled flowers), takes Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, as its core area of transmission. Its works have both the brush-and-ink flavor of Chinese painting and the modeling effect of oil painting, while also producing a relief-like sense of three-dimensionality. Changzhi has established a piled-brocade research institute and an arts-and-crafts school: the former focuses on the collation of techniques and the creation of works, while the latter persists in integrating production with education to cultivate successors. Because of careful material selection and technical processing, Shangdang piled brocade does not breed moths and does not fade, and can be preserved and handed down for a long time, which gives it a distinctive advantage among silk-based crafts.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Silk Appliqué.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Shangdang piled brocade grew out of the piled-silk technique of the Tang-dynasty court and, after more than a thousand years of transformation in the folk milieu of Luzhou, developed a distinctive method of piling silk and satin to form human figures, objects, flowers, and birds and shaping them by layers; it is an important sample for the study of silk crafts and folk aesthetics in the Shangdang region. The materials and techniques of piled brocade form their own system in the Changzhi area; the works mostly take auspicious flowers and birds, opera figures, and religious images as their subjects, serving both display and gift functions. The continuation of the craft today relies mainly on the teaching of research institutes and arts-and-crafts schools, and the ranks of inheritors and the markets for the products still need further expansion.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Gong Chunxiang 04-1810
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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