Palm Weaving
01 · Historical Records
The Xinfan palm-weaving technique is said to have originated in the Jiaqing era of the Qing dynasty. According to documentary records, by the end of the Jiaqing era of the Qing dynasty the women of Xinfan already had the tradition of “splitting young palm leaves into threads and weaving sandals”.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Xinfan palm-weaving technique is mainly popular in the villages of Gongyi, Jinshui, Qushui, Tonglian, and Shiyun under Xinfan Town, Xindu District, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, and is a folk handicraft with local characteristics. In local villages and farmhouse courtyards, one can everywhere see women weaving handicraft products from white, fine palm fiber. Summer and autumn are each the peak production seasons for Xinfan palm weaving: in summer, mainly straw hats and slippers are produced, while in autumn, woven palm-fiber handbags are made. The raw materials for Xinfan palm weaving mostly come from the mountainous areas of Pengxian, Dayi, Qionglai, and Dujiangyan. Each April, the artisans comb the green young palm leaves they have gathered with rows of needles, turning them into strands of palm fiber resembling green hanging noodles. The palm fiber is then twisted into palm rope, and through process steps such as steaming, bleaching, and sun-drying it is made into white, soft material ready for use; at the same time, part of the fiber is dyed, for the special decoration of woven articles. Xinfan palm weaving has three main manual techniques. The first is the “pepper-eye” technique: warp threads of palm fiber arranged at equal distances are crossed to form diamonds, two weft threads are then passed through the four corners of each diamond, and so on in turn, weaving beautiful, regular patterns like paper-cut window flowers. The second is the close-weaving method: the artisan weaves densely, using a repeating method of identical spacing and equal intervals; this method is mostly used for weaving products such as shoes and fans. The third is the “herringbone” (ren-character) weaving method: the pattern shaped like the Chinese character “ren” (person) is used to design or control the warp-and-weft direction or composition of the weaving; this method is usually used in weaving daily-use items such as hats and mats, and has a handsome, decorous quality.
Archival Record of the Process Steps
The palm fiber is then twisted into palm rope, and through process steps such as steaming, bleaching, and sun-drying it is made into white, soft material ready for use; at the same time, part of the fiber is dyed, for the special decoration of woven articles.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Xinfan palm weaving circulates through the townships of Xinfan, Longqiao, and Banzhuyuan in Xindu District, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, and is most concentrated in the villages of Gongyi, Jinshui, Qushui, Tonglian, and Shiyun under Xinfan Town. The Xinfan area lies in the heartland of the Chengdu Plain, in the gravity-irrigated zone of Dujiangyan; the climate is mild and humid, palm trees grow in front of and behind houses, and the women weave vessels and utensils from locally available materials, gradually forming a local style different from other palm-fiber weaving in western Sichuan.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Xinfan palm weaving has not only considerable artistic and aesthetic value but also certain economic value. In recent years, the elderly artisans of Xinfan palm weaving have passed away one after another, leaving the technique on the verge of a shortage of successors and in urgent need of protection.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。