Chuantongzhangpengbianzhijiyi
01 · Historical Records
According to tradition, the earliest black tent in Baqing County was pitched in 1650 by Gonqog Gyatso, ninth leader of the Hor tribe, and was called "Chidui Dongxiong", meaning "gathering thousands and holding ten thousands"; it has a history of more than three hundred years to this day.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Baqing yak-hair tent weaving (in Tibetan, "Baqing" means "large yak-hair tent") is a traditional building craft handed down in the northern Tibetan region. Baqing lies in northeastern Nagqu City and has a plateau sub-frigid semi-humid monsoon climate, with severe cold and oxygen deficiency and thin air; the terrain in the north is flat and open, and it is an important pastoral base. The harsh natural environment and the nomadic way of life fostered the emergence and development of the craft of weaving yak-hair tents, and Baqing County takes its name from this. Baqing yak-hair tents are usually made by sewing together a coarse woollen cloth called "riya". The size of a tent depends on economic circumstances and on the size of the household; sewing one tent generally requires twenty or thirty panels of "riya", and some require forty or fifty - the larger the tent, the more "riya" is needed. Making "riya" is time-consuming and laborious work; the whole process passes through six process steps: shearing the wool, carding the wool, twisting the thread, winding the thread, laying out the thread and weaving. A Baqing yak-hair tent is made up of the tent top, the four walls, cross poles, support poles and pegs. When pitching it, the "qiongta" (guy ropes) at the four corners of the tent top are pulled out to a distance and tied to wooden pegs that have been driven in. The "qiongta" are generally sturdy yak-hair ropes or oxhide ropes; the ropes are seven or eight metres or a dozen metres long, and there are usually eight of them. Then a wooden pole is set up inside the tent as a crossbeam to prop up the tent top, uprights are used to support the two ends of the crossbeam, next the guy ropes around the tent are adjusted in tightness to secure the tent, and finally pegs are driven through the small rope loops at the bottom of the four walls so that the four walls are stretched tight and fixed. Baqing yak-hair tents expand with heat and contract with cold, are warm in winter and cool in summer, are convenient to pack and carry, resist sun and rot and keep out rain; they are the mobile home of the pastoralists of northern Tibet. Tents in the pastoral areas of northern Tibet fall mainly into the categories of "black tents" (yak-hair tents), "white tents" (wool tents), "flower tents" (thick-cloth tents) and "cloth tents", among which the "black tent" is most closely bound up with people's production and life. The weaving of yak-hair tents has a complex procedure and a long history; it reflects the nomadic way of life in which herders graze where the grass is and pitch their tents by the water, and it is also an important vehicle for studying the politics, economy and history of Tibet. Its rich cultural connotations and exquisite making skills are vivid testimony to the wisdom and creativity of the Tibetan people.
Archival Records of Process Steps
Making "riya" is time-consuming and laborious work; the whole process passes through six process steps: shearing the wool, carding the wool, twisting the thread, winding the thread, laying out the thread and weaving.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The craft of weaving Baqing yak-hair tents is concentrated in the northern grasslands of Baqing County, Nagqu City, where herding households in more than ten townships such as Laxi, Ya'an and Zase almost all have tents, and the tents are divided by the quality of water and grass into black tents, white tents, flower tents and cloth tents. Tent-making begins with making "riya": a large tent takes twenty or thirty panels of coarse woollen cloth, and the six steps of shearing, carding, twisting, winding, laying out and weaving are time-consuming and laborious.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Chuantongzhangpengbianzhijiyi.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The ten townships of Laxi, Ya'an, Zase and others in Baqing County, Nagqu City, Tibet Autonomous Region, are the areas of concentrated transmission of this item. At present the community transmitting this craft extends across six townships in northern Baqing County; inheritors and related staff have actively set up training and exhibition bases and regularly hold activities such as pitching traditional yak-hair tents, which has powerfully advanced the protection and transmission of the craft. Protecting this cultural heritage well is of positive significance for carrying forward traditional culture, strengthening cultural identity and promoting social harmony and sustainable development.
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。