Fun with chinese Knotting-(Berkeiey)
D1006-54 -- 4225 --01 Resurg of Ch Knot (4-26)FIN_ 10/16/06 7:17 PM Page 4
Fun with chinese Knotting-(Berkeiey)
D1006-54 -- 4225 --01 Resurg of Ch Knot (4-26)FIN_ 10/16/06 7:16 PM Page 4
4TBThe Resurgence of Chinese Knotting
Chinese knotting, sometimes referred to as Chinese macramé, is a craft that is
increasingly gaining popularity in both the East and the West as more and more
people come to realize the benefits of traditional handwork in a frenetic world of
urban industrialization, mass production, modern transportation and computer
technology. This traditional craft provides not only a wonderful means of relax-
ation but also allows the artistic satisfaction of producing a personalized work of
art, especially on clothing and objects and in home décor. Asian fashion design-
ers often add the finishing touches to their work with knots, while homemakers
add elegance to their houses with this fine art. Nowadays, handcraft traders in the
East send huge quantities of Chinese knots overseas, while specialty shops selling
ornamental Chinese knots have mushroomed in both the East and the West.
Chinese knotting, literally “the joining of two cords,” is an ancient and revered
art form in China and an integral part of Chinese life. Since ancient times,
Chinese knots have been fashioned from cotton and silk for a variety of practical
and decorative purposes: to record events, aid in fishing and hunting, wrap and
tie items, embellish personal attire, ornament other works of art such as ancient
portraits, and communicate. Knots in the form of tassels were used to enhance
the appearance of chopsticks, fans, scepters, talismans and even spectacle cases in
the later Ching Dynasty. The earliest recorded use of decorative knots is on
bronze vessels dating to the Warring States Period (700 BC). Chinese knots have
decorated both the fixtures of palace halls and the daily implements of country
folk. They have also appeared in paintings, sculptures and folk art. In Chinese
poetry, knots symbolize the emotional ties of lovers, and ornamental knots are
traditional keepsakes exchanged by lovers.
In China up until the late 1930s, decorative knotting was a widely practiced
pastime in both rural and urban areas. On festive occasions and during impor-
tant rites of passage such as weddings, intricate and beautiful knots, tied by
family and friends, were visible everywhere, lending both a festive and personal
air to important occasions. The knots were an aesthetic expression of Chinese
folk symbolism, expressing wishes for good fortune and wealth or the joys of love
and marriage. From the 1930s up until the late 1970s, when the art of macramé
became popular in the West – causing a simultaneous revival of interest in
Chinese knotting – traditional knotting was barely seen except in museums where
examples were shown as relics of an ancient culture or in antique shops where
they were greedily snapped up by foreign buyers intrigued by the intricate crafts-
manship and magnificent color combinations of the exquisitely symmetrical
knots on sale. Today, the art of knotting has attracted worldwide attention,
achieving breakthroughs in both design and application.
This second book by Lydia Chen, a well-known and highly respected author-
ity on Chinese knotting and a pioneer in the revival of the craft, builds on her first
one,Chinese Knotting: Creative Designs That Are Easy and Fun!(Tuttle, 2003) and
opens up a brand new world of Chinese knotting applications. In this book, the
author focuses on the use of Chinese knots as fashion accessories – hair orna-
ments, earrings, necklaces, pendants, brooches, belts, bracelets and rings – and as
accents on clothing, as well as accessories on other objects, in the hope that read-
ers will be encouraged to revolutionize the art form by developing their own
styles. The author builds on the basic knots by introducing more complex exam-
ples – combinations and variations of the simple knots – and also teaches readers