Chinese knotting

Chinese knotting is a decorative handicraft arts that began as a form of Chinese folk art in the and Song Dynasty in China. It was later popularized in the and Qing Dynasty . The art is also referred to as ''Chinese traditional decorative knots''. In other cultures, it is known as ''"Decorative knots"''.

History

Archaeological studies indicate that the art of tying knots dates back to prehistoric times. Recent discoveries include 100,000-year old bone needles used for sewing and bodkins, which were used to untie knots. However, due to the delicate nature of the medium, few examples of prehistoric Chinese knotting exist today. Some of the earliest evidence of knotting have been preserved on bronze vessels of the Warring States period , Buddhist carvings of the Northern Dynasties period and on silk paintings during the Western Han period .

Further references to knotting have also been found in literature, poetry and the private letters of some of the most infamous rulers of China. In the 1700s, one book that talked extensively about the art was Dream of the Red Chamber.

The phenomenon of knot tying continued to steadily evolve over the course of thousands of years with the development of more sophisticated techniques and increasingly intricate woven patterns. During the Qing Dynasty knotting finally broke from its pure folklore status, becoming an acceptable art form in Chinese society and reached the pinnacle of its success. Knotting continued to flourish up until about the end of imperial China and the founding of the Republic of China in 1911 AD when China began its modernization period. From 1912 to the end of the cultural revolution in 1976, the art of Chinese knotting was almost lost.

In the late 1970s a resurgence of interest occurred in Taiwan, largely due to the efforts of Lydia Chen of the National Palace Museum who founded the Chinese Knotting Promotion Center. In the 1980s, Mrs. Chen focused her energies on the knotting artifacts preserved during the Qing Dynasty. Currently, Chinese knotting enjoys wide popularity in Taiwan with numerous specialty shops to be found.

Regional

China

Historically knotwork are divided into cords and knots. In the , a certain number of craftsmen were stationed in the court and outside the court to produce cords and knots in order to meet the increasing demand for them at various places of the court. Cord, knot and tassels were made separated and combined later.

Korea

In Korea, decorative knotwork is known as ''maedeup'' , often called ''Korean knotwork'' or ''Korean knots''. Inspired by Chinese knotwork, a wall painting found in Anak, Hwanghae Province, now in North Korea, dated 357 AD, indicates that the work was flourishing in silk at that time. Decorative cording was used on silk dresses, to ornament swords, to hang personal items from belts for the aristocracy, in rituals, where it continues now in contemporary wedding ceremonies. Korean Knotwork is differentiated from Korean embroidery.

The Bong Sool tassel is noteworthy, and the most representative work familiar to westerners, and often bought as souvenirs for macrame-style wall-hangings.

Japan

With greater emphasis on the that are used to create the knots, Japanese knotting tends to focus on individual knots.

Types of knots

Lydia Chen lists 11 basic types of Chinese decorative knotwork in her first book. More complex knots are then constructed from repeating or combining basic knots. They are:

One major characteristic of decorative knotwork is that all the knots are tied using one , which is usually about one-meter in length. However, when finished the knot looks identical from both the front and back. They can come in a variety of colours such as; gold, green, blue or black, though the most commonly used colour is red. This is because it symbolizes good luck and prosperity.

There are many different shapes of Chinese knots. The most common being flowers, birds, , fish, and even shoes. Culturally they were expected to ward off evil spirits similar to or act as good-luck charms for Chinese marriages.

Other

''Chinese knot'' also refers to a game in which the players hold their arms together in a complex pattern, while a bystander tries to give them directions to untie their arms.