What does traditional handicraft wickerwork mean?

Traditional handicraft wicker products refer to articles woven with wicker.

Wickerwork refers to articles woven with wicker, which is a traditional folk handicraft in China. As early as the Neolithic Age, baskets and baskets woven with wicker appeared in China. Wickerwork is one of the traditional folk arts and crafts in China. In ancient times, people only regarded it as an ordinary daily public utility, and it didn't rise gradually until the last few decades of the 20th century, and it gradually became an export-oriented foreign exchange earning project in some parts of China. China has three major wickerwork production bases, namely Hubei, Shandong and Anhui (in addition, Henan is also rich in wickerwork).

On June 7th, 2008, wickerwork was approved by the State Council to be included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. In the Tang Dynasty, the willow boxes in Cangzhou (now Cangzhou, Hebei Province, and northern Ningjin, Shandong Province) were very famous. In the Song Dynasty, people took thin strips of willow leaves, "fire forced them to bend and make them into boxes". Since then, wickerwork technology has been developing continuously. Traditional wickerwork varieties mainly include suitcases, baskets and dustpans.

Wickerwork materials include:

Wicker is soft, easy to bend, uniform in thickness and elegant in color. Through the novel design, it can be woven into various simple, natural, beautiful, lightweight and durable practical handicrafts. Its products include: wicker box (bag), rice basket, vegetable basket (round or oval), filter screen, sewing basket, kang mat, reed foil and so on. With the continuous development of the industry and the continuous innovation of products, more novel, practical and beautiful willow products will be displayed to customers.

Wickerwork products are handicrafts widely circulated among Chinese people. "Every family has a basket, and every household has a basket." . This is because the source of raw materials for this process is very extensive. The main raw materials for basket weaving in the north are willow branches, tamarisk branches, mulberry branches, Vitex negundo and Amorpha fruticosa, which are produced in saline-alkali land and marshland.