Heavenly Dyeing

Dyes derived from plants have an extensive history in communities worldwide, however, nowadays natural pigments have almost been completely replaced with synthetic dyes and, unfortunately, traditional dye and its knowledge are being threatened by globalization.

This is especially true for China, where the persistence of plant-derived dyes and associated cultural practices is threatened by the astonishingly rapid socio-economic change. 

Nevertheless some ethnic minority groups in remote areas continue to utilize dye plants for coloring clothing. Speaking of Chinese natural dyeing technique, the most popular is certainly batik dyeing of Miao, Yao, Buyi ethnic groups etc. in the southwest region, which uses hot wax to create designs.

In this post though I want to talk about a less known dyeing technique, which uses maple resin instead of bee wax, called maple resin dye (“枫香染” in Chinese).

The maple resin dye is a dyeing technique with a history of nearly 200 years invented by the Buyi (or Bouyei) ethnic minority group, the second largest minority group in Guizhou Province. 

Instead of using wax and wax spatula the raw material and tools for drawing the patterns are painting brushed and the oil boiled from mixed maple resin and butter.

This technique features simple and elegant colors and patterns and is hence hailed as the “Blue and white porcelain on canvas”.

In 2008 the maple-resin dyeing of Huishui County (Guizhou Province) was included in the China National Intangible Cultural Heritage List. 

a dyed cloth

detail

The process:

After collecting it from the tree, the resin is simmered with some butter and other materials to filter impurities.

collecting the resin

 The craftsmen then use the resin at a temperature of 50-60°C to draw patterns on a white canvas.

the artist at work

When the drawing is finished the dyeing process begins. The painted cloth is soaked in a bucket with indigo (like batik) for many times, and when the indigo dip-dyed the white linen thoroughly the maple resin is washed out in hot water until the patterns come to our sight. The linen is then bleached to wash away the remaining indigo.

drying cloths

The artist you see in the pictures is Yang Guangchen, heritor of maple-resin dyeing technique as a state intangible cultural heritage. He took on the technique from his father at the age of 13, and nowadays, at the age of 80, struggles to find heritors that will learn this technique.

In China Today`s video China Today`s video you can watch an interview with Yang Guangchen, showing the dyeing process.

In the next post I will introduce some exquisite creations made using the resin maple dyeing technique. Stay tuned for more!

The pictures in this article are a courtesy of Xiaomujiang. If you read Chinese you can visit his blog here.