ection>
CHINESE
KNOTTING
CHINESE
KNOTTING
Creative designs that are easy and fun!
by Lydia Chen
TUTTLE PUBLISHING
Boston • Rutland, Vermont • Tokyo
Published in 2003 by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions by arrangement with Echo Publishing Co. Ltd.
Copyright © 1982 Echo Publishing Co. Ltd.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission from Tuttle Publishing.
ISBN 0-8048-3399-0
ISBN 978-1-4629-1658-0 (ebook)
Distributed by:
North America, Latin America & Europe
Tuttle Publishing
Airport Industrial Park, 364 Innovation
Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436
Tel: (802) 773 8930 Fax: (802) 7736993
Email: [email protected]
Japan
Tuttle Publishing
Yaekari Building, 3rd Floor, 5-4-12 Osaki,
Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0032
Tel: (03) 5437 0171 Fax: (03) 5437 0755
Email: [email protected]
Asia Pacific
Berkeley Books Pte. Ltd.
61 Tai Seng Avenue, #02-12
Singapore 534167
Tel: (65) 62801330 Fax: (65) 6280 6290
Email: [email protected]
09 08 07 06 05 04
7 6 5 4 3
Printed in Singapore
CREDITS: Cover, Huang Yung-sung; pages 13-15, courtesy of Lydia Chen; 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 24, 30, 31-39, Huang Yung-sung; 18, Yao Meng-chia; 21, 95, 100, 102, 105, 108, 110, 112, Chuang ling and Huang Yung-sung; 23, 89, 91, 97, Chuang Ling; 42-58, 60-87, 90-115, illustrations by Li Sheng-ta, Li Li-wen, Lai Chun-sheng, and Kuo Chuan-chu.
This book is dedicated
to the countless Chinese women who
left us the knotting legacy and
people all over the world
working to keep their folk arts
alive and growing.
PUBLISHER’S FOREWORD
This book introduces readers and crafts people to the fascinating world of Chinese knotting. Sometimes referred to as Chinese macramé, Chinese knotting is a craft increasingly gaining popularity in both the East and the West as more and more people come to realize the benefits of traditional handwork in a world of urban industrialization, mass production, modern transportation, and computer technology. This traditional craft provides not only a wonderful means of relaxation but also allows the artistic satisfaction of producing a personalized work of art.
Chinese knotting, literally “the joining of two cords”, is an ancient and revered art form in China and an integral part of Chinese life. Since ancient times, Chinese knots have been fashioned from cotton and silk for a variety of practical and decorative purposes: to record events, aid in fishing and hunting, wrap and tie items, embellish personal attire, ornament other works of art, and communicate. The earliest recorded use of decorative knots is on bronze vessels dating to the Warring States Period (700 BC). Chinese knots have decorated both the fixtures of palace halls and the daily implements of country folk. They have also appeared in paintings, sculptures, and folk art. In Chinese poetry, knots symbolize the emotional ties of lovers, and ornamental knots are traditional keepsakes exchanged by lovers.
In China, up until the late 1930s, decorative knotting was a widespread pastime. On festive occasions and during important rites of passage such as weddings, intricate and beautiful knots, tied by family and friends, could be seen everywhere, lending both a festive and personal air to important occasions. The knots were an aesthetic expression of Chinese folk symbolism, expressing wishes for good fortune and wealth or the joys of love and marriage.
From the 1930s up until the late 1970s, when the art of macramé became popular in the West - causing a simultaneous revival of interest in Chinese knotting - traditional knotting was barely seen except in museums where examples were shown as relics of an ancient culture or in antique shops where they were greedily snapped up by foreign buyers intrigued by the intricate craftsmanship and the magnificent color combinations of the exquisitely symmetrical knots on sale.
In this book, the author, Lydia Chen, a well-known and highly respected authority on Chinese knotting and a pioneer in the revival of Chinese knotting, first traces the evolution of the craft, piecing together scraps of evidence that have trickled down through research into historical texts, the examination of both archaeological finds and items in public and private collections, and interviews with aged Chinese folk artists.
This knowledge has been assembled in a practical manual that takes readers through the fundamental elements necessary for tying Chinese decorative knots: the materials and implements required, and the processes of tying, tightening, and adding the finishing touches to knots. There are step-by-step instructions for the eleven basic knots, which are named according to their distinctive
