Basic introduction of Buyi batik

Buyi is one of the ethnic minorities in China. More than 2.54 million people, including more than 2 million people in Guizhou Province, accounting for more than 95% of the Buyi population. Yao Feng lives in two Buyi and Miao autonomous prefectures in southern Guizhou and southwestern Guizhou, and in Duyun, Dushan, Pingtang and Zhenning 10 areas in Guizhou. The rest are scattered in Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi and other regions. Buyi nationality is an indigenous people in the southeast of Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, who worked and lived here as early as the Stone Age. Buyi people were related to Liao, Baiyue and Baibu in ancient times. In the Tang Dynasty, it was called Southwest Man, in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Fan and Zhong Jia Man, and in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Zhong Man. After the founding of New China, they were collectively called Buyi people.

Buyi batik:

The batik patterns of Buyi people include geometric patterns and natural patterns, and some can be traced back to the patterns of bronze drums. Natural patterns are very vivid, pomegranate, peony, fern and other flowers, as well as butterflies, bats, magpies and so on are the most widely used. No matter what pattern, the layout is mostly symmetrical and changeable, the composition is mostly exaggerated and decent, the lines are very smooth and natural, full of rich flavor of life, reflecting people's good wishes and showing people's rich imagination and originality.

Buyi batik has a long history and enjoys a long reputation. Buyi batik cloth was recorded as early as the Song Dynasty. Volume 493 of History of the Song Dynasty records that "Nanning (now Huishui County, southern Guizhou Province) is a specialty ... beeswax, batik cloth ..." Nanning is located in Huishui County, Guizhou Province, and has been a Buyi community since ancient times. Buyi batik is a kind of self-woven and self-dyed fabric. The painting method is to make various shapes of wax knives with copper sheets and beeswax as an anti-agent. When making batik, the beeswax is first heated and melted into wax juice, and then the wax knife is immersed in the wax juice to draw various patterns on the flat white cloth. The wax juice adheres to both sides of the cloth after solidification. After painting, dip the cloth into the indigo vat. After dyeing, put the cloth into boiling water to remove the wax, that is, show white patterns and become beautiful batik cloth. This method is not only recorded in the history of Song Dynasty, but also the "blue and white cloth" in the history books of Qing Dynasty refers to the batik cloth of Buyi nationality. Qing Qianlong's Guizhou Tongzhi Miao Man: "Women in Yongfeng (Zhenfeng), Luohu (Luodian), Ceheng and other counties should first cover with blue and white scarves." The early years of the Republic of China (Guanling County Records. Interview with Miao Yi Records: "Buyi women's long skirts are pleated or blue and white." Blue and white cloth is batik cloth. The patterns of batik cloth are mostly quinoa flowers, whirlpool flowers, wavy flowers or ragweed. The varieties are quilt cover, cushion sheet, wrapped cloth, head handkerchief, back fan, waist circumference, clothes, skirts and so on.

Buyi batik is the most popular in Zhenning, Anshun, Guanling, Qinglong and Puding in western Guizhou. Zhenning area in Guizhou is located in the hinterland of central Guizhou, which is the center of ancient Yelang Kingdom. Buyi people mostly live in villages near Pingba or valley, and all women are experts in batik printing. Buyi people have always been men plowing and women weaving. Girls start spinning from primary school, and adult women have spinning wheels. They knit, dye and sew by themselves. Since I was five or six years old, I have been learning batik and clothing from my college classmates in summer vacation or slack season, and I have developed the ability to make batik. Most of the clothes they wear are hand-sewn, and they fit well. Otherwise, no man seems willing to marry her when they get married. Both men and women like to wear blue, blue, black and white clothes. The outstanding characteristics of Buyi batik in Zhenning area are manifested in clothing. Buyi women wear long skirts and instep, with striped head handkerchief and shoulder, chest length and waist. Unmarried girls wear two thick braids on their heads, while married girls wear a long handkerchief lined with bamboo shoots, which is called a "fake shell". Buyi women like to wear clothes with big breasts, trousers or pleated skirts and all kinds of silver ornaments. Jackets are mostly big chests and short sleeves, and the background color is black. The sleeves of the jacket are decorated with batik neat spiral patterns and dotted with long geometric embroidery. The shawl is embroidered with a half-moon peach blossom pattern, the sleeves are inlaid with brocade and batik cloth, and the hem of the coat is also decorated with brocade. The bottom dress is batik pleated dress with lace at the waist. The skirt is also made of batik cloth with white and blue flowers on it. Wear a handkerchief on your head. Young and middle-aged men often wear headscarves, double-breasted jackets (or long-breasted robes), headscarves and trousers. The batiks on their clothes are mostly geometric patterns, such as spiral patterns, dot patterns, light-colored patterns, mesh patterns, mosaic patterns and so on. Among them, the spiral pattern is more common, winding from the center of the circle to the outside, with the same thickness. If double lines are used, the double lines will not merge and there will be no traces of connection. These patterns are rigorous and meticulous in structure, symmetrical and unified, corresponding to reality and reality, alternating rigid and flexible, and quite beautiful. In addition to dark blue and white, light blue is added to enrich the layers. Batik of Buyi people is with them all their lives. There are batik quilts, swaddling clothes, children's clothes, flower caps, bibs and flower back fans for newborn babies, batik handkerchiefs, belts, headscarves, shawls, vests, foot cages, casual clothes for young people when they are in love and get married, and batik sheets, backrests, pillowcases, curtains and tablecloths used in daily life.

The common batik patterns of Buyi people are bracken flowers, group flowers and small flowers. There are also bronze drum patterns, vortex patterns, water ripples, chain shapes, mandarin ducks, magpies, sika deer, dragon and phoenix dances, double happiness and double longevity. The totem patterns of Buyi nationality include sun pattern, Yun Leiwen pattern, palindrome pattern and bronze drum pattern. The pattern is continuous and symmetrical, the folk customs are rich, simple and elegant, and it is famous at home and abroad for its strange ice patterns and exquisite painters. Buyi batik art in different areas also has different styles: some like to use flowers, birds, insects and fish as batik patterns, with bold composition and vivid images; Some are characterized by rigorous structure and delicate lines, and some are made of dragon claw flowers and thorn pear flowers, with rough and bright colors.

Among the Buyi batiks, Shitou Village in Biandanshan, Zhenning is also known as the "hometown of batiks". Buyi people live in Huangguoshu area of Zhenning County, Shitou Village of Biandan Mountain and Puding County. In the Biandan Mountain area of Zhenning, there is a spiral pattern on the sleeve of Buyi coat, which is fixed. Legend has it that there was a clever and capable Buyi girl in ancient times who was unfortunately seriously ill. She invited many doctors and took a lot of medicine, but she didn't cure the disease. One day, her mother went up to the mountain and picked a tender moss called "Wan Wu Bai" in Buyi dialect (called Langjicao in Chinese). After she came back and fired, the girl's illness gradually improved. To commemorate this herb, the girl drew it in the shape of "all beans", lit it on her sleeve and fixed it from then on.

Among Buyi people, the dyeing process of Liquidambar formosana is also very popular. Liquidambar formosana dyeing is popular in Huishui, Guizhou, and its production method is similar to batik. Firstly, the oil of Liquidambar formosana is mixed with a proper amount of beeswax and heated to make it into liquid juice. Then draw a pattern on the white cloth with a homemade copper knife dipped in maple oil. Then, soak the painted cloth in the dye vat. Finally, the maple sesame oil was fished out and beautiful patterns appeared. The traditional manufacturing method is to dip a special wax knife into moderately melted beeswax, draw various patterns on pieces of white cloth of different sizes, then soak the painted white cloth in a dyeing vat for dyeing, then wash the dyed cloth with boiling water to remove wax and spread it flat with clear water to dry, thus forming a colorful batik printed cloth. Because beeswax has strong adhesion, it is easy to solidify and crack. Therefore, in batik printing, the dye solution will penetrate along the cracks, leaving natural ice lines that are difficult to describe artificially, showing a fresh and natural aesthetic feeling.

The girls in Shitouzhai are all masters at making batik cloth. Their batiks are much higher than those in other places. Not only the pattern is fine and clear, but also the dyeing system is excellent and the color remains unchanged for a long time. Now that batik cloth has gone out of the mountains of Guizhou, many foreign guests who travel to Huangguoshu have come to Shitouzhai to appreciate how Buyi girls turn white cloth into beautiful batik cloth. Of course, they will also buy some batik cloth and bring it back to China as precious handicrafts for friends or collections.