Miao brocade art

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Miao brocade art

Applicant: Majiang County, Guizhou Province

Project No.: 888

Project No.: VIII - 105

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Guizhou Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Majiang County, Guizhou Province

Protection unit: Majiang Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center

Brocade skills of Miao Nationality

Applicant: Majiang County, Guizhou Province

Guizhou Miao brocade has a history of more than 700 years. Before the 1990s, Miao brocade was handed down from generation to generation in the form of mother to daughter, and it was still popular. There are two kinds of Miao brocade in Majiang County: brocade cloth and flower belt. The width of brocade cloth is generally more than one foot; the width of flower belt varies according to the use, the width is 56 cm, the width is only 23 cm, and the length is also determined according to the needs. There are two kinds of silk yarn used in Miao Brocade: plain yarn and colorful yarn. Brocade patterns mostly come from production and life. They are mainly free and flexible decorative patterns. The main body is geometric figures, with a large diamond as the frame. Various patterns are connected with each other and full of pictures. The overall pattern is regular, compact, full, symmetrical and beautiful. There are two kinds of Miao brocade in Leishan County, which are hand-made and machine-made. The so-called hand weaving is that one end of the brocade belt is tied to a fixed tree trunk, the other end is tied to the Weaver's belt, and then the heald is used to pick up the warp and weft on the brocade belt. The heald of plain cloth needs only two healds, usually black and white; brocade needs at least five healds, interwoven with warp and weft, showing a strong three-dimensional pattern. In general, Miao brocade is woven on the reverse side, and the front side is shown in the picture. Red and green, black and white and other color lines are used alternately to create the color crisscross, so as to realize the harmony and unity of the pattern in the contrast.

Miao brocade is an indispensable item in Miao people's life. It is often used to make fabrics such as clothes, waistband, strap, backpack and belt. It reflects the history and social form of Miao nationality and has academic research value. Brocade itself has exquisite composition, flexible and symmetrical patterns, and strong three-dimensional sense, which is of great aesthetic research value. Because Miao brocade is all made by hand, which is time-consuming and laborious, and the younger generation of Miao people like to wear Han clothes rather than their own national clothes, so few people are engaged in Miao brocade weaving now, and few people are interested in and willing to learn. At present, this unique handicraft is on the verge of being lost. Only a small number of middle-aged and elderly women master it. It is urgent to protect the brocade art of Miao nationality.