The Origin and Development of Traditional Batik

1. Some opinions on the origin of batik. The invention of batik is based on people's repeated understanding and utilization of material characteristics, which requires certain environmental factors and technical conditions, so it is produced and developed under specific material conditions and cultural background. Batik is based on people's need for clothing beautification, and it is produced after human civilization has advanced to a certain extent. It is carried out on the basis of various dyeing and weaving processes, so batik should be produced in textile. After the process of printing color 3 and painting feed is mature. From the perspective of raw materials, batik has no special requirements for fabrics, such as cotton, hemp, silk and wool. Anti-dye materials are not limited to specific varieties, and animal and plant waxes can be used, generally resin and beeswax; Dyeing can only be done by cold dyeing process, generally plant dyeing, mainly indigo. From the scope, batik technology exists in many parts of the world, and its styles and ways of use are also varied. Due to the influence of geography and climate, batik is not suitable for cold regions in the north, so batik is distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. Egypt is the cradle of ancient civilization, and its unique geographical position enables it to absorb all kinds of cultures from the East and the West at the same time, making it one of the earliest ancient countries to enter civilization. In ancient Egypt and the Fifth Dynasty in 2400 BC, indigo had been used as a preservative and antibacterial agent. Roman scholar Plinys in the "Natural History" in BC 1 century described that Egyptians used beeswax to visit the fire when dyeing cloth, and called this method "weird". It can be seen that batik technology has been widely popular as early as the Western Han Dynasty in Egypt. According to Textile Printing edited by British L.W.C Myers, as early as BC 1500, Egypt's wax pattern protective cloth was very famous. Therefore, Egypt should be considered as one of the cradles of batik. India is the first country to use cotton fiber in the world, and India recorded that indigo was extracted from bluegrass to dye cotton textiles as early as the 5th century BC, so the printing and dyeing of cotton fabrics may also have originated in India. Although India has a humid climate, it is difficult to find ancient fabric fragments, but from the perspective of batik cotton cloth unearthed in other regions, India once had a highly developed batik culture. In the book History of Silk Art, Professor Zhao Feng made textual research on batik cotton fabrics with semi-naked goddess painted on them unearthed in Niya, Minfeng, Xinjiang. According to the Indian cultural factors behind the head of the statue, he thought that batik technology had spread to the western border of China in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and India should be one of the origins of batik. China is undoubtedly one of the cradles of batik, and some clues can be found in a large number of historical records and ancient paintings. The exquisite batik artifacts unearthed this year provide strong evidence and greatly advance the time of batik palace in China. The History of Textile Science and Technology in China, edited by Professor Chen, holds that batik originated from southwest ethnic minorities and can be traced back to the Qin and Han Dynasties. At that time, white calico was made of beeswax and ash as anti-dyeing materials, hundreds of years earlier than Indus Egypt. Du Masi Francis Carter, an American, said in his book The Invention of Printing in China and Its Introduction to the West: "The early batik artifacts in China were found much earlier than those in Egypt, Japan, Peru and Guawa, especially those unearthed in Dunhuang Grottoes and Turpan, Xinjiang." The advantages of batik industry in Malaysia make others think that it is one of the origins of batik. In the book Batik written by forest, an American, it is also mentioned that batik originated in Guawa, and it was not until AD 15 15 that people who traveled there spread batik technology to all parts of the world. These areas are considered as the birthplace of batik, on the one hand, because of the restrictions in these areas; Batik technology is superb and the process is well preserved. On the other hand, there are unearthed cultural relics or documents to prove. As for the extinct civilization, it is unknown whether batik technology exists.

Development and change

With the development of society, economy, culture and education in Miao nationality township, especially the influence of market economy.

Ring, so that people's dependence on the market increases, traditional handmade products are impacted, so the values of modern Miao people have also changed. In recent years, a large number of surplus laborers in Miao communities have joined the national labor migration army. In Miao village in southeastern Guizhou, 60% of young people go out to work, and while working, they gradually accept the values of developed areas. In addition, with the penetration of film, television and other media into Miao villages and towns, the distance between remote areas and cultural centers has been narrowed, and the changes of Miao traditional culture are also accelerating. "The reason why the national traditional culture can be passed down from generation to generation and the traditional cultural inheritance mechanism can operate effectively is because the traditional culture is passed down from generation to generation in a relatively closed environment." In the past, because the Miao people living in the ravine knew little about the outside world, their value judgment and choice could only be the culture created by their ancestors. But when they have the conditions to understand the outside world, there will be comparisons and choices, and their values will change to varying degrees. In particular, young people's awareness of seeking money and knowledge is outstanding under the strong J of external information. They have a completely different understanding of survival, beauty and happiness from their ancestors. With the introduction of external information, it is a historical necessity for young people to change their values and re-examine their traditional culture. Compared with decades ago, the life of Miao people has changed a lot, but the biggest change is their mentality. In the past, Miao women's batik painting had no utilitarian purpose, and artistic labor was completely consistent with productive labor. It can be said that Miao batik was an art created by authentic producers for their own needs. When we look at the batiks sold by Miao women, we can clearly judge whether they are new or old by intuition. Their predecessors were indifferent and calm. Guizhou Miao batik

Under the wax,' every stroke is full of aura, and the composition is well-intentioned. The whole picture is exquisite and full. Although there are still women who draw well, Miao batik undoubtedly shows a retrogressive trend compared with the era when everyone was a master waxer. Economic times have changed their values. In recent years, batiks are mostly sketched, with fast production speed and rough brushwork. Therefore, due to the gradual weakening of the cultural function of Miao costumes, the labor-consuming and time-consuming costume technology gradually declined. However, the development and expansion of the new culture tourism market has affirmed the Miao costume technology from the perspective of development and utilization. The inheritance of costume technology is not only related to the preservation of Miao costume culture, but also related to the continuation of Miao people's livelihood skills. Therefore, it can be said that clothing craft culture including Miao batik culture has more development opportunities than other Miao cultural factors.