Page 387 - The Ashley Book of Knots
P. 387
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS
Chinese priest cords are very uniform in character, although there
is a great diversity in the knots that compose them. The material is
invariably heavy silk-covered cord about a quarter of an inch in
diameter. There are always two pairs of strands and each pair is
parallel throughout the cord, except generally in the initial and final
knots, and occasionally in the large knot, which is second from the
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end, in which the strands are led independently.
All the cords I have examined have each contained eight or nine
knots. The length of a cord varies from about four and one half to
five feet from the top of the upper knot to the bottom of the tassels.
They are presumably either part of a Buddhist priest's costume or
else they are temple ornaments on curtains or banner staffs.
To tie: Pin the cords out on a board, using four cords, two in
each set. Work two parallel strands as a unit. The order of tying
is alternately over and under throughout, with one important excep-
tion. In order to prevent torsion, the order between two knots is
either under, under or else over, over. That is to say, if the cord
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leaves one knot "under," it enters the next knot "under" in the same
way. Otherwise the priest cord would tend to "corkscrew" or twist.
The end of each cord is finished off with twist braid, and each of
these braids terminates in a tassel.
2361. The first knot shown here is the JOSEPHINE KNOT, which in
form does not differ from the CARRICK BEND. It appears on every
priest cord that I have seen, as both the second and the final knot
before the twist braids and the tassel.
2362. This is another knot that is on almost every priest cord. The
reason for the almost universal use of the last two knots is probably
that they are the smallest to be found that fulfill all requirements of
a priest cord.
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