Chuantongzhangpengbianzhijiyi
01 · Historical Records
According to ancient Tibetan documents among the scrolls preserved in the Dunhuang caves, as early as the mid-3rd century CE the Tibetan people twisted yak hair into thread and wove it into woollen sheets to make simple shelters against wind and rain. This was the prototype of the tent, and through continuous development and evolution it became the tent of today.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The craft of making Tibetan black yak-hair tents is a traditional building craft mainly distributed in Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, with the towns and townships of Xinyuan, Muli, Jianghe, Suli, Longmen and Zhouqun in Tianjun County, Haixi Prefecture, as its core transmission area. Tianjun County lies at the northeastern end of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, in the southern part of the central Qilian Mountains. It has an alpine cold climate, and animal husbandry is well developed. Yak hair is both tough and elastic and has excellent heat-retaining properties, making it very suitable for making tents. Yaks are mostly black, and so the tents made from their hair are called black yak-hair tents. The tent-making process mainly comprises selecting the hair, tearing it apart, twisting thread, weaving the sheets, sewing the tent and pitching the tent. Yak hair is first woven into long strips of brown woollen sheet, and the strips are then sewn together in sequence into a whole tent. Generally 12 strips of woollen sheet are used for the top of the tent and 16 for the front and back, two of which serve as the hanging edges. The ridge of the tent top has one purlin-like crossbar (the beam), along which five tent ropes are laid lengthwise. Two long poles are used to prop up the two ends of the crossbar as tent pillars, and the joints between the pillars and the crossbar beam are supported by the spinal joints of cattle. When all the poles have raised the tent, ropes are pulled tight from all four sides to secure it, and the tent is considered complete. The tent has a total span of about 6-7 metres. A skylight is left at the ridge for smoke to escape and air to circulate, and a tent door is set in the front, with its two sides decorated with black-and-white door curtains known in Tibetan as 'guoyou'. Black yak-hair tents are easy to dismantle, reassemble and transport, and are movable dwellings suited to nomadic life. The craft of making black yak-hair tents has a long history and has accompanied the life of herders for generation after generation. The craft of making black yak-hair tents is an important component of Tibetan architectural art and folk custom. With the development of local tourism, demand for tents has continued to rise, and the craft of making black yak-hair tents has become one of the sources of herders' income, with positive significance for promoting ethnic cultural exchange and economic development.
Selecting the yak hair
Yak hair is picked for its softness and elasticity; since the animals are mostly black the hair is called black yak hair, and it is exceptionally warm.
Splitting and spinning the hair
The hair is split into fine strands and spun; the thickness and tightness of the thread set the blanket-cloth's density and its ability to shut out wind.
Weaving the hair cloth
The spun thread is woven into long cloths that roof and clad the tent; the tent is sewn from panels rather than woven whole.
Sewing the tent
Panels are allocated by part: twelve cloth lengths for the roof, sixteen each at front and back with two left as hanging borders, a fixed structural count.
Raising the frame
One purlin-style beam lies at the ridge with five guy ropes running along it; two long poles raise its ends as posts, braced at the joints by joints of cow spine.
Doorway and the Guo-You curtain
A doorway faces front, hung at both sides with black-and-white curtains called Guo-You in Tibetan, a bold pattern visible on the grassland.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Black yak-hair tents are durable, warm in winter and cool in summer, and convenient to carry; they suit the local temperature range and meet the needs of nomadic life. The Qinghai Tibetan black yak-hair tent is made from locally sourced yak hair, mainly from the yak, known as the 'boat of the plateau'.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Chuantongzhangpengbianzhijiyi.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present the craft of making Qinghai Tibetan black yak-hair tents has one provincial-level representative inheritor, two at prefectural level and two at county level. The local government continually advances the transmission and dissemination of the related skills by supporting inheritors in organising training classes and taking part in the local 'Zhigeluru' culture and arts festival and similar activities.
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)
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