Rongchang Summer Cloth Woven Through the Warp and Weft to Carry on a Thousand-Year Heritage

By Yang Yan

In the Tianyun Grass Linen （Summer Cloth） Workshop located in Rongchang District， Chongqing， a quaint wooden loom emits rhythmic sounds， like jumping notes that are pleasant to listen to. The weaver skillfully passes the shuttle back and forth with both hands， continuously weaving the warp and weft threads together， inch by inch， until grass linen is produced...

The interior decoration of the workshop is elegant and unique. In addition to clothing with various styles， there are also handicrafts such as folding fans， hanging paintings， creative daily necessities， and tourist souvenirs. The design not only embodies the soul of ethnic elements but also has contemporary characteristics. Among them， the grass linen silver jewelry series made of grass linen and pure silver wire drawing technique is a cross-industry cooperation between the two national intangible cultural heritage techniques. The products were selected as the “Chongqing Gifts for Foreign Affairs in 2021”.

Ingenuity and Craftsmanship that Cannot Be Replaced by Machines

The weaving technique of Rongchang grass linen is a cumulative experience passed down through generations， which combines and showcases the rich and time-honored folk art deposits in China.

Why is grass linen so precious？ Ma Renfen， promoter of Rongchang grass linen culture and head of Tianyun Linen Textile Art Company， has worked in the grass linen industry for more than 30 years. She explained， “This is due to the extremely fine craftsmanship. Making linen requires manually stripping the ramie into individual fibers as thin as a strand of hair， and then hand-connecting them together. These two steps of craftsmanship determine that high-end grass linen can only be handmade and cannot be replaced by machines. ”

“During the weaving process of grass linen， the force must be even， and the flat edges of the linen must be woven smoothly and stretched without any breakage or loose ends. The joints between the threads should not be visible， ” added Ma Renfen. Grass linen production requires several processes such as planing the ramie， bleaching， twisting hempen thread， winding hemp bundles， pulling thread， stringing the thread through the shuttle， brushing starch， weaving， rinsing， printing and dyeing. With a history of thousands of years， these are still the main production processes of Rongchang grass linen.

Thousands of Years of Development Since Its Inception in Han Dynasty

“The cloth is as light as clouds and its color is as white as the moon in the Milk Way. ” This is a description of grass linen in the Book of Songs. Originating from the Han dynasty， Rongchang grass linen has been popular for thousands of years， so it has been reputed as a “living fossil” in the textile industry.

During the Han dynasty， grass linen was called “Shu cloth”. Later in the Tang dynasty， the technique of weaving grass linen underwent significant advancements. At that time， grass linen was highly regarded for its lightness comparable to cicada wings， thinness akin to rice paper， smoothness like water and mirrors， and delicacy similar to silk. The best grass linen would be selected as a tribute and became a cherished treasure among the imperial family and aristocrats. It was not until the late Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty that Rongchang grass linen was produced as a commodity and exported to Korea， Japan， and other regions， becoming a famous specialty at that time.

In 2008， the weaving technique of Rongchang grass linen was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage item， and in 2013， the cloth was approved as a national geographical indication trademark.

In the early days， Ma Renfen mainly organized villagers to plant and recover ramie and process it into grey fabric. At last， the grey fabric would be exported to foreign countries. In recent years， the company has transformed its strategy： According to customer needs， the grey fabric has been processed into grass linen products， which are the final product to be exported. This change results in their inheritance of the intangible cultural heritage technique passed down for thousands of years， and a significant increase in profits.

Inheritance and Development Through Adherence to and Innovation of the Technique

Under the influence of Ma Renfen， Ma Linqin continued the work of her predecessor and actively engaged in the inheritance and development of the traditional grass linen culture. She has now become a city-level inheritor of the national grass linen weaving technique and one of Chongqings first batch of famous teachers for extracurricular education on intangible cultural heritage （grass linen）.

Ma Linqin and Ma Renfen share a common viewpoint that the inheritance and development of this intangible cultural heritage item cannot be separated from the path of innovation driven by market demand and should take the daily life of modern people into consideration. Over the past decade， under the prerequisite of combining the grass linen weaving technique with modern elements， Ma Linqin has led her team to innovate a large number of cultural and creative products such as folding fans， embroidery works， paintings， fashionable clothes， bedding， and home furnishings. “In the future， we want to add more grass linen elements to our daily life and let grass linen lead new lifestyle trends，” says Ma Linqin. Currently， grass linen is used to decorate walls， screens， wardrobe doors， and other application scenarios in terms of home design， creating a unique charm of integrated traditional and modern styles.

This year， at the 6th China Textile Intangible Cultural Heritage Conference， Ma Linqin was awarded the honorary title of “2022 China Textile Intangible Cultural Heritage Promotion Ambassador” for her contribution to the creative transformation and innovative development of grass linen through the inheritance and innovative design of the grass linen weaving technique.

Global Charm of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Ma Linqin hopes to make grass linen popular with people all over the world. In recent years， this tradition handicraft of a thousand years ago has gradually become more international.

In July 2020， Rongchang grass linen was presented to the new Consul-Generals of Switzerland， Germany and Poland in Chengdu as a foreign gift for the first time at the welcome reception held by the European Chamber Southwest Chapter. Since then， Rongchang grass linen has been given as a gift to foreign guests in many foreign exchange activities.

In recent years， Ma Linqin and her team have taken Rongchang grass linen to large exhibitions such as 2012 Hong Kong International Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair and Milano Fashion Week 2020， showing the world Rongchangs achievements in carrying traditional culture with contemporary creativity. In the future， they will take this intangible cultural heritage to more events， so that more people can feel the charm of Rongchang grass linen.

Photo/Interviewee