Traditional Cotton Textile Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The weaving technology of the Yellow River basin can be traced back to a very early period; the loom sounds of "click-clack, working the shuttle" in an anonymous Eastern Han poem depict the scene of women laboring in the Hedong area. The spread of Huang Daopo's textile techniques in the Yuan dynasty further brought the homespun of the Yongji area to gradual maturity. According to the records of the Hu family ancestral hall, the Hu family's hand-woven cloth has a history of over four hundred years, and since the Ming and Qing the Hu lineage's transmission has been the most continuous.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Huichang homespun-making craft is a traditional cotton-textile technique distributed around Yongji City, Yuncheng, Shanxi Province, with a long history. Yongji lies in the southwest of Shanxi Province, at the center of the "Yellow River Golden Triangle" region where the great bend of the Yellow River meets and the three provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan converge. The area has a warm-temperate continental climate with distinct seasons and abundant light, heat, and water resources; its cotton has long staple and white color, making it a national high-quality cotton production base. The weaving technology of the Yellow River basin is said to date back as early as the Yin and Shang period. The anonymous Eastern Han poem "Far, far the Cowherd star; bright, bright the Weaving Maid; slender, slender her pale hands; click-clack, she works the shuttle" describes the beautiful scene of women weaving in the Hedong area. Under the influence of Huang Daopo's textile reforms in the Yuan dynasty, the Yongji Huichang homespun-making craft gradually matured. The craft is fairly complex: from picking cotton to mounting the loom, it passes through some seventy-two large and small process steps—ginning, fluffing, spinning, twisting yarn, sizing yarn, dropping yarn, warping, and brushing yarn. Its most important steps number six. First, cotton selection: the cotton must be white in color and long in staple. Second, fluffing, spinning, and dyeing the yarn: according to different patterns, the warp is set and the weft made, then the yarn is brushed with a brush to keep the threads smooth and free of dead knots. Third, drawing the threads—that is, mounting the warp; the hand holding the thread must stay balanced, so that the drawn threads are uniform in tension. Fourth, tying the heddle knots: the knots must be uniform in length so that the upper and lower warps separate cleanly and the shuttle passes without obstruction. Fifth, hand-pushing and foot-treading: the rope frame (the wooden frame holding the reed) used in weaving must be pushed by hand; pushing hard and lowering slowly makes the cloth tight, while pushing lightly and lowering fast makes it sparse and uneven. Sixth, finishing the cloth: scrape off the small lumps on the cloth, spray with starch and fold, then hang flat, so the cloth becomes smooth, even, and dense. Homespun is also called "hand-woven cloth"; in the agrarian society of men tilling and women weaving, cloth was made entirely by hand. Among the folk artisans who transmit the Huichang homespun-making craft, the most representative is the Hu family lineage. According to the records of the Hu family ancestral hall, the Hu family's hand-woven cloth has a history of over 400 years. The Huichang homespun-making craft now has more than 180 specialized personnel and over 800 weavers, a workshop area of 3,600 square meters, an annual output of more than one million meters of cloth, and has developed seventy-two varieties of coarse-cloth series products—bed sheets, quilt covers, pajamas, shirts, pillows, and the like—deeply loved by the public. The Huichang homespun-making craft embodies the wisdom of the working people and has important historical and craft value. Huichang homespun uses pure cotton yarn as raw material; the products are soft in texture, gentle on the skin, and highly breathable, making them very comfortable to use. In composition, by repeating, paralleling, continuing, spacing, and contrasting abstract patterns, it forms a distinctive rhythm and cadence, embodying many beautiful legends and meanings, and possessing high historical, cultural, and craft value.
Archived Process-Step Records
The craft is fairly complex: from picking cotton to mounting the loom, it passes through some seventy-two large and small process steps—ginning, fluffing, spinning, twisting yarn, sizing yarn, dropping yarn, warping, and brushing yarn. Its most important steps number six.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The transmission of Huichang homespun centers on the Hu family of Yongji City; it is now organized for production by Yongji Huichang Cultural Creativity Co., Ltd., bringing together more than 180 specialized personnel and over 800 weavers, with a workshop area of 3,600 square meters and an annual output of more than one million meters of cloth, and has developed seventy-two varieties of coarse-cloth series—bed sheets, quilt covers, pajamas, shirts, pillows, and so on. Apart from family transmission, establishing study centers and running training classes have become the main ways of transmitting the craft locally.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present, apart from family transmission, establishing study centers and running training classes are also important means of transmitting this item.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Chang Zhangqin 03-1358
- Tuerxunmusha 03-1359
- Paretanmu Tuerdi 04-1878
- Chen Aiguo 05-2798
- Wang Guifeng 05-2799
- Li Conghui 05-2800
- Yu Yanping
- Liu Yune
- Zheng Yunxiang
- Su Jinfang
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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