Читать книгу The Complete Book of Chinese Knotting - Lydia Chen - Страница 5

Contents

A Unique Handicraft

Chinese Knots in Ancient Times

Special Characteristics of Chinese Knots

Chinese Knotting Techniques

FOUR MAIN METHODS OF TYING BASIC KNOTS

NINE WAYS OF MODIFYING BASIC KNOTS

EXTENSIONS AND VARIATIONS OF BASIC KNOTS

Cloverleaf Knot

Pan Chang Knot

Round Brocade knot

Constellation Knot

Good Luck Knot

Buddha Knot

Double Connection Knot

Plafond Knot

Double Coin Knot

Button Knot

Creative Chinese Knotting Designs

CONCEIVING A DESIGN

Real and Imaginary Creatures

Flowers and People

Painting Chinese Knots

Plafond Designs

Jewelry and Ornaments

Born first out of practical necessity in ancient times, Chinese knots were soon employed as decorative motifs on artifacts, both functional and ornamental. Between the Warring States Period, when the prototype of the double coin knot evolved, to the Qing Dynasty, to which the plafond knot has been dated, there is ample archaeological evidence that twelve basic knots were developed by Chinese master craftsmen over the centuries before the modern era.

WARRING STATES PERIOD (475–221 BCE)

Prototype vertical double coin knots on a pedestal box from Zhao Qing’s tomb, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province.

WESTERN HAN PERIOD (206 BCE–CE 8)

Double coin knot

Horizontal double coin knot on a rubbing taken off a stone carving, Western Han Period, from Feng Lu Jiu’s tomb, Tang He, Henan Province.

HAN DYNASTY (206 BCE–CE 220)

Flat knot

Button knot

Flat knot on the top of a jade pendant. Photo courtesy Palace Museum, Taipei.

Button knot on a rubbing taken off a stone carving from an ancient tomb in Shandong Province.

NORTHERN ZHOU PERIOD (CE 557–588)

Good luck knot on a statue of Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, from cave 55, Maiji Caves, Tianshui, Gansu Province.

Prototype of the good luck knot.