Decorative knotwork in East Asia
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[edit] Overview
Decorative knotwork in East Asia is a kind of characteristic folk decoration of handicraft arts practised in East Asia. Such knotwork appeared in ancient times, developed in the Tang and Song Dynasty (960-1229 A.D.) in China and was popularized in Ming and Qing Dynasty (1368-1911 A.D.). For this reason, the knots are often referred to as Chinese knots or Chinese traditional decorative knots. The Chinese knot has now become a type of elegant and colorful craft, removed from its original practical use.
In Korea, decorative knotwork is known as maedeup (매듭), 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. Knotwork is differentiated from Korean embroidery which is quite different.
Historically knotwork divided into cords and knots.
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. They worked only on those days fixed for work and on other days they did their own. Cord, knot and tassels were made singly and used in combination.
The Bong Sool tassel is noteworthy, and the most representative work familiar to westerners, and often bought as souvenirs for macrame-style wall-hangings.
Chinese knot also refers to a game in which the players hold their arms together in a complex patten while a bystander tries to give them directions to untie their arms.
[edit] 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 (481-221 BCE), Buddhist carvings of the Northern Dynasties period (317-581) and on silk paintings during the Western Han period (206 BCE-CE6). Further references to knotting have also been found in literature, poetry and the private letters of some of the most infamous rulers of China.
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 Ching Dynasty (1644-1911) 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 1911 AD when China was began its modernization. Due to the effects of industrialization and the cultural revolution in China, the art of Chinese knotting was almost lost. However, in the late 1970's a resurgence of interest occurred in Taiwan, largely due to the efforts of Lydia Chen (Chen Hsia-Sheng) 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 Ching Dynasty. Currently, Chinese knotting enjoys wide popularity in Taiwan with numerous specialty shops to be found.
[edit] Types of knots
Lydia Chen lists 11 basic types of Chinese decorative knotwork in her first book. They are:
- the 4 Flower Knot
- the 6 Flower Knot
- the Chinese Button Knot
- the Double Connection Knot
- the Double Coin Knot
- the Sauvastika Knot
- the Cross Knot
- the Square Knot
- the Caisson Ceiling Knot
- the 2x2 Mystic Knot
- the Good Luck Knot.
One major characteristic of decorative knotwork is that all the knots are tied using one thread, 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, dragons, fish, and even shoes. They were often used to wards off evil spirits (similar to a Ba Gwa) or as good luck charms during weddings.