Tie-dyeing Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The Bai tie-dyeing technique of Zigong City, Sichuan Province, is transmitted in the Ba-Shu region; it originated in the Qin and Han period, came into general use by the Tang dynasty, when it was called 'jiaoxie'. Dyeing also evolved from simple single-color dip-dyeing to multi-color repeated dip-dyeing; the tie-dyed pieces produced are richly colorful, the binding marks are durable, and the patterns radiate outward from the center, displaying a marvelous artistic effect.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Zigong tie-dyeing originally used pure cotton; developed to the present, cotton, linen, silk, and satin — all kinds of pure natural fabrics — as well as leather, can all be used. Taking ancient traditional techniques as its basis, and through continuous exploration and summarization by generations of folk artisans, Zigong tie-dyeing has systematized several dozen binding methods — twisting, stitching, tying, bundling, pinching, folding, binding, and clamping — forming a unique production technique. Using the needle in place of the brush, Zigong tie-dyeing binds and dyes so that geometric patterns and freehand designs — including figures, animals, flowers and birds, and calligraphy — emerge faintly visible on the tie-dyed pieces; the technique is masterly and strongly local in character. With the changes of society, mechanized production of textile printing became widespread, heavily impacting the hand printing and dyeing industry.
Eight ways of binding
Wringing, stitching, tying, binding, pinching, folding, tying and clipping — dozens of bindings worked out over generations.
Needle for brush
The needle replaces the brush, so geometric designs and figures, animals, flowers, calligraphy and writing all become possible.
Many cloths, one method
Cotton first, then hemp, silk, satin and leather — each takes dye differently, so one pattern must be timed anew per cloth.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Zigong tie-dyeing originally used pure cotton; developed to the present, cotton, linen, silk, and satin — all kinds of pure natural fabrics — as well as leather, can all be used. In the heyday of the Zigong salt industry, the transport and marketing of well salt and the movements of merchant groups drove the spread of tie-dyeing and blue-calico printing; tie-dyeing was known locally as a trade alongside colored lanterns and paper-cutting. Its methods have been systematized into several dozen — twisting, stitching, tying, bundling, pinching, folding, binding, and clamping — forming a unique production technique. Zigong Tie-Dyeing Craft Co., Ltd. is the protection unit for the project.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Bai Tie-dyeing Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Under these circumstances, the Zigong tie-dyeing technique has gradually lost its space for survival and development; the number of artisans has dropped sharply, production practice has ground to a halt, and it is now in an endangered state — if it is not rescued in time, it will surely speed toward extinction. Zhang Xiaoping (related inheritor, official archive record): female, Han ethnicity, born in February 1948, from Zigong City, Sichuan. Representative inheritor of the tie-dyeing technique (Zigong tie-dyeing technique), a national-level intangible cultural heritage item of the fifth batch. Master of Arts and Crafts of Sichuan Province. From 1990 to 1993 she worked in the design studio of the Zigong Towel and Bedsheet Factory, training tie-dyeing technicians. From 1993 to 2006 she worked in design and production at the Zhang Yuzhong Folk Arts and Crafts Research Institute, collecting and organizing tie-dyeing-related materials and accumulating a body of research results on traditional Chinese folk tie-dyeing. Through her research, she divided the zhaxie binding-dye technique into five major categories and more than a hundred binding methods, forming a unique set of zhaxie and dyeing methods, operating procedures, and quality standards, and compiled The Zigong Tie-Dyeing Technique, which records in detail the several dozen zhaxie methods of Zigong tie-dyeing and its various dyeing processes.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Zhang Shishen 01-0145
- Zhang Xiaoping 05-2738
- Duan Yinkai 05-2739
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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