Brocade art of Tujia Nationality

The name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Tujia brocade art

Applicant: Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan Province

Item No.: 368

Project No.: VIII - 18

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Hunan Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan Province

Protection unit: Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture

Introduction to Tujia brocade technique:

Applicant: Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan Province

The brocade skills of Tujia people in Youshui valley of Western Hunan are mainly distributed in the Tujia inhabited areas of Yongshun, Longshan, Baojing and Guzhang counties. Tujia brocade is woven with cotton thread, commonly known as "Dahua". There are mainly two varieties of Dahua blanket (in Tujia language, Xilankapu) and huadai. Among them, Xilankapu is the most representative and typical. It adopts the "warp cutting and weft cutting" flower digging technology, and is divided into two major schools: the "diagonal" plain color series and the "up and down diagonal" twill color series. Xilankapu uses the ancient pure wood waist type oblique loom to weave. Its technical process is mainly composed of 12 processes, such as spinning and twisting, dyeing, rewinding, drawing, reeding, rolling, heald picking, pole turning, flower picking, strapping, weaving and picking. In addition, it uses the "reverse weaving" method to pick up the pattern. Flower belt is a more popular variety of Tujia brocade. It adopts the ancient "warp and flower" technique of "warp and weft". It can be finished between the weavers' knees almost without special tools.

The brocade art of Tujia Nationality in Western Hunan has a long history of more than 1500 years, which reflects the basic characteristics of the brocade art system of China's ethnic minorities.

More than 400 kinds of traditional patterns of Tujia brocade are the unique expression of its national cultural psychology and cultural accumulation of different times, which fully demonstrates the creativity of Tujia people and has a positive witness to the formation and development of Chinese multi culture.

Tujia area in Youshui valley of Western Hunan is the original place and the last hot spot of Tujia brocade handicrafts, and it is also the only area of Tujia Nationality in China that still retains folk weaving fashion. However, with the change of society, economic structure and cultural consciousness, the brocade skills of Tujia people are gradually losing the soil and environment for survival, and falling into a situation of overall endangerment. Therefore, it is urgent to take strong measures to protect them.