Zhangjiajie Tujia Brocade
Tujia brocade is a handmade art form woven by Tujia women on an ancient wooden waist loom, using cotton yarn as warp and colorful silk or cotton threads (now sometimes wool) as weft, entirely by hand. Through one to two thousand years of evolution, Tujia brocade has developed over 100 patterns. Besides the original "Xilankapu" (bedspread flower)...
This article has been compiled from historical materials on 'Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network' (33519.com · Specialty Foods / Cuisine / Customs section). Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated. Before traveling, please refer to the latest announcements from merchants, scenic areas, and local competent authorities; the parts involving folk legends and folk customs are local historical and cultural anecdotes, provided for cultural reference.
Tujia brocade is a handmade artwork woven entirely by hand by Tujia girls using an ancient wooden waist loom, with cotton yarn as the warp and colorful silk threads or cotton threads (today wool is also used) as the weft. After one to two thousand years of evolution, the artistic varieties of Tujia brocade have now developed to more than 100. In addition to the original "Xilankapu" (that is, quilt-cover flower), various patterned wall hangings, sachets, clothing, travel bags, sofa covers, cushions, carpets, interior decorations, and many other arts and crafts have also been woven according to changes of the times. The clever Tujia girls are ingenious and deft, depicting mountains and waters, figures, trees, flowers, birds, and beasts with vivid and lifelike images.
The main production areas of Tujia brocade are distributed in Miao'ertan, Zhangjiajie, Laoche, Dianfang, and Pojiao in Longshan County; Duishan and Fengqi in Yongshun County; and Purong and Qingshui in Baojing County. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, "biao cloth" (that is, Tujia brocade) had already become a tribute item.
In local folk life, Tujia brocade is mainly used for quilt covers and children's nest quilts, foot quilts, and cover skirts. It is also used as armor for girls' dowries, tokens of love, and folk activities such as hand-waving dance, as well as wall hangings used in front of the hall for sacrifices. The patterns of Tujia brocade mainly come from life, and more than 100 are known by name, roughly divided into 6 major categories: animal themes include Mabi (little horse), Shibi (little animal), yangque flower, swallow flower, large dragon pattern, small dragon pattern, snake flower, cat footprint, phoenix pattern, butterfly peony, and mouse marrying a daughter; plant themes include lotus, chive flower, nine plum blossoms, rock wall flower, large thorn flower, vine flower, and so on; daily utensil themes include chair flower, table flower, box eight-hook, tofu rack, bucket flower, boat flower, sawtooth flower, shuttle flower, basket flower, and so on; abstract geometric hook-shaped patterns include single eight-hook, double eight-hook, forty-eight hook, twelve hook, twenty-four hook, and variant hook patterns; auspicious characters include fu lu shou xi, ten-thousand-character flowing water, first rank at court, and field-character pattern, longevity-character pattern, and so on; themes drawn from celestial phenomena include sun flower, full moon flower, half moon flower, suoluo flower, starry sky, and so on.
The weaving method of Tujia brocade has used the waist-loom type inclined loom since the Han Dynasty through successive dynasties. Folk looms are generally about 5 chi long, more than 2 chi wide, and about 3 chi high. The materials used are silk or cotton thread, dyed with cotton leaves, cotton stalks, madder, native indigo, purple berry, native red, yellow beads, and other substances.
Tujia brocade has a long history. As early as the Han Dynasty, it first showed its prominence. The Book of Later Han: Biographies of the Southwest Barbarians records, "The Wuling Man weave and twist tree bark, dye it with grass, and their clothes are brightly colored..." The Yongding County Gazetteer compiled during the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty also says: "Tujia brocade is made by twisting five-colored warp threads, with a colorful and lovely pattern. It is used as a quilt, or made into clothing, or made into a towel, so it is also called 'tube towel.'"
Tujia brocade is commonly called "Xilankapu." So-called "Xilan" means quilt cover; so-called "Kapu" means flower. Joined together, the two terms mean a kind of "flowered quilt cover." This traditional handicraft was formerly produced and used by the Tujia people themselves, that is, Tujia people planted their own cotton, spun their own yarn, and wove and embroidered their own cloth. It was little known throughout the country, let alone famous throughout the world. From the 1950s to the early 1980s, it slowly moved out of Xiangxi and toward China and the world. In 1957, the elderly Ye Yucui, known as the Tujia "goddess of beauty," cooperated with Mr. Li Chang'e, a Hunan folk arts and crafts artist, to create a large wall hanging called "Developing the Mountain Area." This wall hanging was sent by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the London International Expo in Britain for exhibition and won high praise from British audiences. Later, the elderly Ye Yucui successively created a number of Tujia brocade works, many of which were collected by the Ministry of Light Industry, the National Art Museum of China, and the Nanjing Brocade Center. Some were even sent as artistic treasures for exhibition in the United States, Japan, Britain, Canada, France, the Philippines, and other countries, winning many honors for the motherland. In February 1989, former U.S. President Bush visited China. In addition to giving Mr. and Mrs. Bush two "Flying Pigeon" brand bicycles, Premier Li Peng of the State Council also specially presented two Xiangxi Tujia brocade sachets. After seeing them, Mr. and Mrs. Bush praised them in unison, saying they were a rare "treasure of the world."
The Tujia brocade produced in Wulingyuan has become a hot item snapped up by large numbers of tourists, and some has been bought by compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan and by foreign guests for collection.
The artistic characteristics of Tujia brocade mainly lie in its emphasis on expression and creation, with its brilliance in spiritual resemblance. It has bright, leaping colors, strong contrasts, and symmetrical lines. The products are durable and are handicraft treasures that are convenient for tourists to use and handle.
In the 1950s, Li Lü'e, a craft artist from the Hunan Provincial Artists Association, invited Ye Yucui, a skilled Tujia brocade weaver, from Yejiazhai in Miao'ertan, Longshan County, and together they created five works including the large wall hanging "Developing the Mountain Area." These were selected for the Chinese Arts and Crafts Exhibition and later recommended for exhibition at the London International Expo in Britain, winning praise from experts of various countries. Subsequently, "Welcoming the New" completed independently by Ye Yucui was collected by the National Cultural Palace.
In 1978, the Fenghuang Ethnic Craft Factory trial-produced 5 traditional wall hangings such as "Eight-Hook Flower" and sent them to Libya, Canada, Tanzania, and other countries to participate in art exhibitions, and they were also exhibited on tour in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and other places in China, receiving favorable reviews. In September 1979, the Hunan Provincial Arts and Crafts Company and the research institute jointly sent personnel to the Huayuan County Ethnic Folk Craft Factory, cooperating with the factory's technical personnel to go deep into Shijiazhai in Qingshui Commune, Baojing County, to investigate and collect folk material, excavate, collect, and organize more than 70 traditional color patterns such as "Rooster Year" and "Dog Claw," and develop patterns such as "Xiangxi Journey," "Tujia Girl," "Old Longevity Star," "Hundred Longevity Picture," as well as Tujia mountain villages, figure stories, and various flowers, birds, insects, and fish. Eight new varieties including shoulder bags and wall hangings and 112 color designs were newly put on the market and sent respectively to Japan, Italy, Canada, and other countries as well as Beijing, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and other cities for exhibition and sale.
In October 1982, Xiangxi Prefecture formed a delegation to Beijing to participate in the National Exhibition and Sales Fair of Ethnic Special-Need Products for Ethnic Minority Areas. Shoulder bags made of Tujia brocade were also welcomed.
In September 1986, at the invitation of Japan's Asahi World Company, a delegation of the Xiangxi Prefecture government took Tujia brocade to Osaka and Tokyo, Japan, for exhibition, with more than 50,000 audience visits.
In 1988, the extra-large Tujia brocade "Zhangjiajie Scenery," designed by Wang Weiyi, an artist of the Hunan Provincial Arts and Crafts Research Institute, and woven by the Longshan County Tujia Brocade Factory, was hung on the front high wall of the waiting hall of the new Changsha Railway Station for domestic and foreign passengers to enjoy. The large wall hanging "Yueyang Tower" was hung in the Hunan Hall of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Hunan Provincial Governor Xiong Qingquan wrote an inscription in his own hand: "Tujia brocade has great prospects."
Zhangjiajie brocade
More than 1,400 years ago, brocade weaving techniques already existed among the people in the Xiangxi area, but in ancient times brocade was exclusively a tribute item for the imperial palace, and only later did it spread to a small extent in folk life. Since reform and opening up, as Dayong City's tourism industry rose, brocade weaving techniques developed rapidly. There are now factories producing in batches, and large quantities of products are on the market. The Tujia brocade produced by the Dayong Zhangjiajie Ethnic Craft Factory has diverse varieties, including hanging screens and screens. In addition to depicting Dayong City's ethnic customs and mountain and river scenery, its pictorial content also includes birds and beasts, flowers, insects, and fish. Its compositions are novel and concise, its use of color bold and bright, and its weaving craftsmanship exquisite. It has both the brightness and elegance of watercolor painting and the rich temperament of oil painting. It is a uniquely styled craft masterpiece full of decorative beauty. At present, the products are not only sold in more than 30 famous scenic areas in China, but also supply contracts have been signed with factories in 15 countries and regions including Japan, Thailand, Australia, and Taiwan. In 1990, it was designated as a specially supplied product for the Asian Games.
Some of the images above are from the internet, and their sources are unknown. Authors, please contact this website.