Carpet Weaving Techniques (Beijing Palace Carpet Weaving Techniques)
The handmade wool-tufted carpet weaving technique is a handmade technique with ethnic characteristics in my country. It coils the wool thread into knots and plants it on the carpet base made of warp and weft cotton threads to form a raised velvet surface. my country began to weave carpets with wool thread in the Neolithic Age. Judging from the double-strand wool-tufted carpets unearthed from the Han tombs in Lop Nur and Minfeng County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, carpet weaving had reached a very high level in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Carpets were laid in the palace and the mansions of the rich in the Tang Dynasty. In the Yuan Dynasty, influenced by the Mongolian lifestyle, the palace set up workshops for shearing carpets. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, carpet weaving in Gansu, Xinjiang, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Beijing and other places developed rapidly. The weaving techniques of carpets include design, weaving, flat work, cutting (cutting the flat pattern into a three-dimensional shape with scissors), carpet washing, and finishing. Some of the wool threads for carpet weaving are still printed and dyed with ancient plant dyes. my country's carpets are not only a necessity for the lives of ethnic minorities, but also exported in large quantities overseas. The patterns of carpets absorb the characteristics of ancient bronze, embroidery, brocade, porcelain and other patterns. The carpets of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Ningxia, Tibet and other places show their own unique artistic characteristics. Beijing handmade carpets were formerly known as "official carpets" or "palace carpets". Carpet weaving technology was introduced to my country from the Western Regions during the Western Han Dynasty. By the Tang Dynasty, carpet weaving in the Central Plains had been roughly mature. The carpet weaving industry flourished in the Yuan Dynasty, and large-scale carpet weaving workshops emerged. In the Ming Dynasty, official carpet weaving institutions began to weave high-quality official carpets. After the Qing Dynasty, the patterns of Beijing official carpets gradually formed an artistic style that integrated multi-ethnic colors and patterns. Since the 20th century, Beijing palace carpets have been further developed. In 1900, Beijing palace carpets won the gold medal at the Paris World Expo in France. In 1920, there were 354 Beijing palace carpet workshops, making it one of the main production areas of Chinese carpets. In 1956, the first public-private Beijing carpet factory was established. It was later merged with the carpet company and renamed "Xicheng Carpet Factory". In 1965, it was renamed "Beijing Carpet Factory No. 5". From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, Beijing's palace carpet exports were at their peak and gained wide international reputation. Beijing's handmade carpet weaving skills mainly include three aspects: first, the use of professional equipment for carpet weaving, namely the machine beam; second, special tools and measuring tools for carpet weaving; third, carpet weaving can be divided into two types of skills according to tradition: twisted carpet weaving and twisted carpet weaving. The production process of Beijing's palace carpets mainly consists of three processes: preliminary preparation, carpet shaping, and beautification and finishing. Its characteristics are: first, the pattern design is exquisite and the conception is perfect; second, the material selection is careful and the wiring is accurate; third, the processing is meticulous and strives for perfection. Beijing's handmade carpets fully reflect the characteristics of Chinese traditional culture and Beijing's palace art. The industry calls it "Beijing-style carpets", and on this basis, it is expanded to the folk, making it both royal and folk. The art of weaving Beijing palace carpets has always been passed down through oral transmission. However, due to the impact of the modern carpet industry, carpet weaving companies are struggling and lack successors. The weaving art is in danger of being lost and needs to be actively rescued and protected.