Nantong blue calico printing and dyeing has been practiced in most parts of

Nantong Nantong (; alternate names: Nan-t'ung, Nantung, Tongzhou, or Tungchow; Qihai dialect: ) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province of China, province, China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth. ...

City,

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

Province, China, since the beginning of

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

. In modern times, blue

calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

is used to make daily clothes, mosquito nets, pillowcases, baggage cloth, etc. The blue and white printed calico was first worn by local farmers and fishermen. Among Nantong citizens, it is famous for its handmade printing and dying process, as well as the native and simple design. The patterns on the blue clothes originate from animals, plants, and fairy tales, and are used to express the good wishes for the future.

Printing and Dyeing Skill

The most typical feature is its design: blue background with white flowers or white background with blue flowers. The folk techniques maintained the traditional process for hundreds of years. A series of complicated processes is needed to produce blue calico, including selecting cotton material, soaking in water, gluing the template, dyeing, cleaning, and sunning. The pattern to be dyed must be cut into paper template, which is then covered in tung oil, dried, and glued to the fabric.

Historical Evolution

During

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

(song 宋) Dynasties, blue calico was called Yaoban Cloth(yào bān bù 药斑布), and during Ming (míng 明) and Qing (qīng 清) Dynasties, it was called Jiaohua Cloth (jiāo huā bù 浇花布). The patterns on blue calico are all from civil society, and they reflect the experiences of the common people. With the development of the textile technology during Qing Dynasty, there were large quantities of dyeing and weaving workshops.

Legend

Due to the long history of traditional manual printing and dyeing, a legend surrounds Nantong blue calico. The legend said Mei fell in the mud coloring his clothes yellow. The yellow color was difficult to wash out, but many residents found it attractive. So he told his good friend Ge this accident. They specialized in this yellow-stained cloth, but realized that the color faded quickly. However, when they hung the cloth out to dry on a tree, it was blown to a clump of indigo grass, which dyed the cloth blue. Mei and Ge learned how to use the grass to dye fabric blue.

Museum

In order to preserve and develop this art, Nantong Blue Calico Art Gallery was set up in 1996 near Haohe River (濠河) by Wu Yuanxin (吴元新). One thousand antique blue calicoes and drawings were collected here. In addition, the traditional hand-making process is shown in the art gallery.

References

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External links

Image

Women of China

Zhongguo kai fang cheng shi yu jing ji te ju
China Textile design Chinese art