texts, which describes an ancient system of cosmology and philosophy that is at the heart of Chinese cultural beliefs, he says that “in prehistoric times, events were recorded by tying knots; in later ages, books were used for this.” In the second century CE, the Han scholar Zhen Suen wrote in his book Yi Zu, “Big events were recorded with complicated knots, and small events, simple knots.” Chapter 81 of the Tsui Chronicle also records that “... no writing, hence must carve on woods and tie cords....” Moreover, the chapter on “Tufan” in the New Tang Chronicle reveals that due to a lack of writing, the ancient Chinese tied cords to make agreements. This was practiced in other countries as well. For example, in Peru, there was a similar system called “Qui’ pu,” whereby a single knot means 10, a double knot 20, and multiple knots 100. Special government officials were available to explain the knots. The only indigenous evidence of this practice of making records with knotted cord consists of simple pictorial representations of the symbolic use of knotting on the surface of bronzeware from the Warring States Period (475–221 BCE).
Ancient calligraphy from the late Western Zhou Period (770–256 BCE) in the 12th year of Emperor Wei’s reign.
Calligraphy from the 27th year of Emperor Wei’s reign.
Calligraphy from the 31st year ofEmperor Wei’s reign.
Jade xi tools in the shape of a phoenix and dragon, Warring States Period (475–221 BCE).
Knots in Stone Carvings and Fabric Paintings
The double coin knot is the oldest knot to be recorded, although the prototype, a series of vertical double coin knots found on a pedestal box excavated from Zhao Qing’s tomb in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province (page 2), appears to be more of a design concept than an actual knot. A stone carving depicting a single dragon and two dragons intertwined at their tails, taken from the relic site of Xianyang Palace, Shaanxi Province, dated to the Qin Dynasty (221–207 BCE), is thought to bear a strong correlation to the fabric painting depicting two dragons in the shape of a double coin knot at Ma Wang’s tomb in Changsha, Hunan Province (page 10). More specific correlation can be seen in the recent discovery of stone and brick carvings at the Western Han tombs in Henan Province or the Eastern Han tombs in Shandong Province. In these artifacts, we can see double coin knots in the form of intertwined dragons (page 2) or the intertwined ancient deities Fu Xi and Nu Wo in the form of a human head linked to a dragon’s body (page 10). (Nu Wo was the ancient goddess who created Man with mud and cords.) The carving of the intertwined Fu Xi and Nu Wo, besides showing them as the initiator of marriages, also signifies that the Chinese are descendants of dragons. This is one reason why the double coin knot is the love knot popularly referred to in ancient poems. In the stone carvings at an ancient tomb in Shandong, dated to CE 424, Six Dynasties Period, we can see a multiple double coin knot in the form of four intricately intertwined dragons (page 11). Apart from double coin knots, other Chinese knots are depicted in frescoes, for example, the button knot in a stone carving from Shandong (page 3). In terms of structure, the button knot and double coin knot belong to the same system; the former is, in fact, a variation of the latter.
Cords tied in this way show the number of cattle, goats and horses in Okinawa, Japan. This indicates a total animal count of 188.
Part of a fabric painting depicting two dragons intertwined in the shape of a double coin knot, Western Han Period (206 BCE–CE 8), from Ma Wang’s Tomb, Changsha, Hunan Province.
Rubbing from a decorative brick, Han Dynasty (206 BCE–CE 200), from Yang Kuan Temple, Nanyang, Henan Province.
Rubbing from a stone carving depicting the Superior Mother Goddess, Deity Fu Xi and Goddess Nu Wo intertwined in a dragon’s body in the shape of a double coin knot, Eastern Han Period (CE 25– 220), from Tung Wei Mountain.
The Poetic Use of Chinese Knots
According to the Ci Hai dictionary, a knot is the hook-up of two cords, and hence the knot has always been euphemized as the love between a man and a woman. The famous Tang Dynasty poet Meng Jiao wrote in his poem “Knotting Love”:
One knot after another
Knotting true and deep love
Upon my love’s departure
I make a thousand knots on his sleeve
I swear to wait faithfully
Hope these knots will prompt him to come home early
But what’s the use of tying knots on his garment?
It is better to knot our hearts together
We knot our hearts in whatever we do
We knot our hearts for eternity
The love knot has always been synonymous with true love. The Ci Hai goes on to explain that “In ancient times, gold cords were intertwined countless times to signify true love, and thus were appropriately euphemized as the love knot.”
Among Chinese knots, the double coin knot most resembles the love knot, another reason for us to extrapolate that the love knot mentioned in ancient poems is actually today’s double coin knot. Indeed, the love knot is the earliest knot mentioned in ancient poems, such as “Yu So Si” by Emperor Liangwu of the Southern Dynasty, “Dao Yi” by one of China’s most renowned poets, Li Bai, “Willow” by Liu Yu Xi, “Farewell Song” by Wang Jian, “Spring in Wulin” by Ou Yang Siu and “To the Pipa Girl” by Li Qun Yu. In each case, the poet revealed his love with the love knot. In Meng Liang, Wu Zhimu wrote that in ancient marriages, the red cloth covering the bride’s face was graced with a double love knot, as were the bride and bridegroom’s wine cups, which were quickly drained and turned upside down under the bed for good luck.
Besides the love knot, there is the happy together knot mentioned in Emperor Liangwu’s poem “The Autumn Song.” We do not know what the happy together knot looks like. However, the History of the Liao Kingdom mentions that every year, on May 5th, the Liao people tied cords of five different colors on their arms and called this the happy together knot. Given that the Han and Liao used their knots for different purposes, the two happy together knots may be altogether different.
There is a third knot that is quite
