Page 7 - Lydia Chen - The Complete Book of Chinese Knotting

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A Unique Handicraft

The Shuowen Jiezi, the first comprehensive Chinese character dictionary, compiled around CE 100, defines the word “knot”
as “the joining of two cords.” Knotting is an ancient and highly regarded art form in China and an integral part of Chinese
life. Because such knotwork appeared in ancient times, was developed in the Tang and Song dynasties in China and was
popularized during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the knots are naturally enough referred to as Chinese knots.Moreover,
knotting in China spawned a tradition of decorative knotting in other East Asian countries, especially Korea and Japan.
Archaeological studies in China indicate that the art of tying knots dates back to prehistoric times. Recent discoveries
include 35,000-year-old bone needles used for sewing and bodkins used for untying knots, proof that knotting existed.
Baskets for carrying a multifarious array of goods, ropes for making hunting and fishing snares, lacing for pulling togeth-
er garments and cords for wrapping and tying items were as crucial to the development of human civilization as spear
heads made of flint, boats made of wood and ploughs made of bronze. But, because of the delicate and perishable nature
of the materials used to tie knots – mostly fibers from plants and strips of animal hide – few examples of prehistoric
Chinese knots exist today. Moreover, the art is generally very poorly documented.
Over the centuries, Chinese knots began to take on a life of their own, eventually being appreciated for their intrinsic
beauty in addition to their functional use. Wherever utilitarian knots appeared, decorative knots were not far behind, and
nowhere was the art of decorative knotting as highly developed as in Imperial China. A magnificent array of complex

SUI DYNASTY (CE 581–618) TANG DYNASTY (CE 618–906)

Double
Cross knot connection
knot
Buddha knot

Cross knot on a silk belt. Photo courtesy Tokyo Double connection knot deco-
National Museum. rating the back of a sash on a
Buddha knot on a waist terracotta statue of a maiden.
cord adorning a statue of Photo courtesy Royal Ontario
Kuan Yin. Photo courtesy Museum,Toronto.
Nelson-Atkins Museum
of Art, Kansas City.

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