The Forms and Overall Characteristics of Dong Brocade

This book， through field surveys， literature review， and classification， explores the origins and heritage of Dong Brocade. It analyzes the cultural， artistic， and aesthetic features of Dong Brocade in Xiangxi Corridor， along with its weaving techniques. It then proposes ideas for the innovative development and protective heritage of Dong Brocade and explains in detail how to apply Dong Brocade art in designing creative products.

Chen Xiaoling

Chen Xiaoling is a Masters degree holder and associate professor. She is currently a core faculty member in the Fashion Department at Hunan Institute of Engineering， responsible for provincial-level specialty construction， a committee member of the Clothing Subcommittee under the Textile Specialties Teaching Guidance Committee of the Ministry of Education， and vice chairman of the Clothing Arts Committee of the Hunan Artists Association. Her main research area is the inheritance and innovation of traditional costume art.

The Dong people have a glorious history and a unique， excellent ethnic culture， mainly reflected in language， religious beliefs， daily life， and customs and etiquette. Dong Brocade is not an isolated product but reflects the Dong peoples ethnic culture and artistic aesthetics. The patterns in Dong Brocade， as an important part of ethnic art， express the Dong peoples unique aesthetic concepts.

The Origins and Forms of Dong Brocade

The Corridor Dong Brocade， with a long history， is a traditional hand-woven fabric passed down through generations of working women， used to express emotions， aspirations for a better life， and ethnic sentiments and to record ethnic history. Dong Brocade comes in various forms and categories and is used in many aspects of life. The patterns of Dong Brocade often originate from mythological worship and the natural living environment， depicting subjects ranging from celestial bodies， landscapes， people， birds， and beasts to flowers， fish， and insects， encompassing just about everything. It uses transformation， exaggeration， and abstraction to turn real objects into continuous， easy-to-weave abstract geometric shapes like diamonds， squares， and triangles. The Dong people， originally a non-literate ethnic group， have Dong women abstractly weaving their totem worship， emotional wishes， and folk stories into Dong Brocade， turning them into auspicious visions passed down through generations.

The Long-standing Heritage of Corridor Dong Brocade

The art of Dong Brocade can be traced back to the era of the ancient Baiyue people. In 1979， a large number of textiles and textile tool components were unearthed from the cliff tombs of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods， which are consistent with the steep looms used by the Dong people in the Corridor today. The Corridor Dong Brocade inherits the weaving techniques of the ancient Baiyue people， with decorative patterns， totemic worship items， and textile tools showing continuity with those of the ancient Yue people. The octagram patterns used in the brocade are similar to those found in the early relics of the Gaomiao site in Hongjiang， Hunan， dating back about 7，000 years， and are identical to the octagram patterns on Dawenkou culture colored pottery bowls. The wave patterns on Gaomiao culture pottery are also consistent with those on Dong Brocade.

Dong Brocade， formerly known as “Lunzhi，” is notably challenging to weave. After examining Dong Brocade art， Mr. Zhang Bairu commented that the most exquisite brocade in the Corridor and the most splendid embroidered brocade are found in Guizhou and Guangxi. The Dong Brocade producing area in Corridor County， Hunan， focuses on the use of looms for weaving patterns， which are unique in ethnic artistic characteristics， making the Dong Brocade in the Corridor region a “woven brocade” type. Today， the woven brocade of the Dong people in the Corridor is mainly concentrated in Boyang Town， Yatunbao Town， Jingwuzhou Town， Dupo Town， Shuangjiang Town， Huangtu Township， Pingtan Township， Longcheng Town， and Xianxi Town， where these villages still retain a well-preserved Dong culture.

In August 1951， villages and hamlets like Yatunbao， Tousuo， Wusuo， Huangbai， Dile， and others in the Hongzhou District of Liping County， Guizhou， along with She， Dengtuan， Chila， Diyong， and other villages were incorporated under the jurisdiction of the Corridor. Liping， located in the Corridor at the junction of three provinces， shares a common water source. The styles of Dong Brocade in this area are notably similar.

The New Gazetteer of Guizhou records， “Womens clothing includes long pants and short skirts ... embroidered with mixed patterns like shou ... woven flowers as fine as brocade.” During the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty， Guo Zizhang， the inspector of Guizhou， wrote in Qian Ji， “Dong women are skillful in embroidering brocade.” The Dong Brocade of the Ming Dynasty improved upon its predecessors with continuous perfection in technique and ancient acclaim. During the Kangxi era， Hu Fenghengs Liping Bamboo Branch Words included the line， “Dong Brocade boasts its production in the ancient state， spun by women companions at night with pine fire， contributing to the government as tribute，” indicating that Dong Brocade was a taxable item at that time. Further， Zhang Yingzhaos poem during the Qianlong era states， “When the chancellor went south， he brought back millet and spring， with weapons and new clothes used according to place， incorporating patterns into fabric weaving， with evenly woven flower stems， even the skilled women of the barbarian lands had deft hands.” Li Dong Brocade， also known as “Zhuge Brocade，” is said to date back to the Three Kingdoms Period when Zhuge Liang personally led an army to quell the rebellion in the south and stayed in Liping， the Corridor， Qianyang， and Xinhuang， where he passed down the brocade weaving technique， hence the name Zhuge Brocade.

As early as the Qing Dynasty， Dong Brocade art was renowned domestically， with the finest quality brocade coming from the Corridor in Hunan Province， Liping in Guizhou Province， and Sanjiang and Longsheng in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. With the development of the Dong people， Tongdaos traditional culture has matured， and brocade weaving has entered a prosperous phase.

Field research reveals that there are still over a thousand looms in the Corridor area， with Boyangs backstrap weaving and headscarf weaving in Huangtu Township and Pingtan Township being particularly prominent， with nearly every household owning a loom. Boyang in the Corridor is renowned for its exquisite brocade weaving， known as “Boyang Brocade” or “Huabai Xi，” meaning “Flowers of Bei Xi.” Its name comes from a folk legend of the Dong ethnic group： More than a hundred years ago， there was a clever and skillful Dong girl named Bei Xi， who was brave enough to break tradition and became a popular idol for her innovative weaving technology and patterns. Dong girls start learning spinning， weaving， brocade weaving， and embroidery from the age of fourteen or fifteen. As they grow， they become skilled in these crafts， and by adulthood， they usually have a considerable amount of blue cloth and Dong Brocade stored. These include betrothal gifts， dowries， personal items for post-marriage use， and future childrens items， with the Dong Brocade woven by women before marriage often kept private.

Over time， Dong Brocade has become an integral part of daily life in the Corridor. Entering the 21st century， the economic and social development of Chinas ethnic regions has made rapid progress， and the traditional customs and lifestyles of ethnic minorities have been impacted by industrial civilization. The inheritance of Dong brocade， a traditional craft， has also been affected. Protecting traditional culture and the excellent ethnic craft of Dong Brocade is now an urgent matter. In 2009， Sutian Mei from the Corridor， Hunan， was recognized as a representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage Dong brocade weaving technique. In October 2011， the Dong Brocade Weaving Arts Development Co.， Ltd. in Yalouye， the Corridor Dong Autonomous County， Huaihua City， Hunan Province （hereinafter referred to as Yalouye Company） was named by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as one of the first national-level intangible cultural heritage productive protection demonstration bases.

Xiangxi Corridors Dong Brocade Art and Innovation Heritage

Chen Xiaoling， Peng Xiaoqin， Xiao Yuexiang

China Light Industry Press

September 2021

68.00 （CNY）