Ditan Weaving Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
During the Tang dynasty, both imperial courts and the residences of the wealthy laid out carpets. In the Yuan dynasty, influenced by the Mongolian way of life, the imperial court established workshops for sheared floral carpets, among others. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, carpet weaving in Gansu, Xinjiang, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Beijing, and other places developed rapidly. In 1959, Chinese archaeologists discovered a fragment of Eastern-Han-period woolen fabric in an ancient tomb in Minfeng. In 1983, a Han-dynasty saddle carpet with tree motifs was unearthed from the Shanpulu ancient tomb in Lop, and a fragment of a Han-dynasty carpet with animal motifs was unearthed in Yuli County. At present, Hotan-region carpets have 16 traditional patterns. Among them, the Iran Nuska was introduced from Iran; the Alabani Nuska (also called "tray motif") came from Azerbaijan; the Zayinamazi Nuska is a prayer rug introduced with Islam; the Anargul Nuska is a pomegranate-flower patterned carpet; the Qachman Nuska is a scattered-flower patterned carpet; and the Oygul Nuska is a moon-motif patterned carpet.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The handcraft of hand-knotted wool pile carpet weaving is a Chinese manual craft rich in ethnic character; it coils wool yarn into knots that are looped onto a carpet base woven from interlacing cotton warp and weft threads, forming a raised pile surface. Carpet weaving with wool yarn in China began roughly in the Neolithic period. The two-ply wool pile carpets unearthed from the Lop Nur area of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and from a Han-dynasty tomb in Minfeng County show that carpet weaving had already reached a high level by the Eastern Han period. The craft of carpet weaving comprises stages such as design, weaving, surface leveling, clipping (cutting flat patterns into three-dimensional relief with scissors), washing, and finishing. Some of the wool yarn used for weaving is still dyed with ancient plant-based dyes. Chinese carpets are not only daily necessities for ethnic-minority communities but are also exported abroad in large quantities. Carpet patterns draw on the characteristics of ancient bronzes, embroidery, brocade, porcelain, and other decorative arts, while carpets of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Tibet each display their own distinct artistic features. The Uygur carpet-weaving craft has a history of two thousand years in the Hotan region of Xinjiang. These archaeological finds provide vivid material on the development history and early state of the Hotan carpet-weaving craft. In addition, there are various types such as the clustered-flower style, the eight-point scattered-flower style, the Jok Nuska style, and the peony style introduced from the interior.
Sixteen traditional types
Sixteen types include carpets from Iran and Azerbaijan, a prayer rug, and pomegranate, scattered-flower and moon designs.
Weaving the prayer rug
A prayer rug is oriented to the direction of worship, with the mihrab arch at the centre of the field.
Medallion and eight-petal scatter
Beyond the sixteen, medallion, eight-petal, chok and peony types bring a Chinese influence into the range.
Clipping the design
Clipping with scissors raises the flat design into relief, and is where the rug's three-dimensionality is set.
Levelling and washing
Levelling and washing bring out the true colour and pattern of each of the sixteen types.
The Twelve Muqam tapestry
His works include Twelve Muqam, Kanas Scenery and Silk Road; he trains local farmers and helps them earn a living.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Lop County in the Hotan region of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region lies in the alluvial plain of the Yurungkash River valley, extending northward into the Taklamakan Desert. The climate here is dry, a typical continental arid desert climate; animal husbandry and sericulture are comparatively developed, and hand-made carpets are a famous local handicraft.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Ditan Weaving Craftsmanship · Ditan Weaving Craftsmanship · Ditan Weaving Craftsmanship · Ditan Weaving Craftsmanship · Ditan Weaving Craftsmanship · Ditan Weaving Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Uygur carpet-weaving craft of the Hotan region has a long history; in its more than two-thousand-year development it absorbed the strengths of Iranian and interior carpet-weaving techniques, giving it high historical and cultural research value that should be actively protected and transmitted. Maitusong Tudi (per the official archives of the associated inheritor): male, Uygur ethnicity, born November 1959, a native of Lop County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Representative inheritor of the third national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item "Carpet Weaving Craft (Uygur Carpet Weaving Craft)," and a Uygur carpet-weaving technician. He has thoroughly mastered the weaving techniques of the sixteen traditional Hotan carpet patterns, has taken on local farmers as apprentices, imparting the craft and helping solve employment, leading the community to increase income and prosperity. He has participated many times in various handicraft exhibitions and competitions; his representative works include "The Twelve Muqam," "Kanas Scenery," and "Silk Road," among others.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Kang Yusheng 03-1367
- Liu Fuguo 03-1368
- Maitusong Tudi 03-1369
- Wang Guoying 05-2806
- Liu Jingbo 05-2807
- Li Yukun
- Lu Xingqiong
- Duan Lizhen
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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