Adolf Hackmack - Chinese Carpets and Rugs

APPENDIX

APPENDIX

CHAPTER I

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CARPET WEAVING.

CHAPTER I
THE DEVELOPMENT OF CARPET WEAVING.

C ARPET weaving has been carried on from the earliest times in the Western and Northern parts of China, Chinese Turkestan, Tibet and the Province of Kansu. The art of carpet weaving came probably from Central Asia to Chinese Turkestan, the native home of the Turks, and from there, by way of Tibet, was introduced into Kansu. The inhabitants of those regions, composed mostly of nomad tribes, used carpets in their tentlike dwellings in a twofold capacity-as protection against the inclement weather and as decoration, thereby combining use with ornamentation.

The materials employed for the weaving varied according to the purpose for which the carpet was intended, being either of sheep's wool, goat or camel's hair or yak hair. Beautiful so-called prayer-rugs were made in Tibet, being ornamented with suitable designs, such as are seen spread in Buddhist temples and in the Mosques of the Mohammedans where the Faithful kneel when making their devotions. Among specimens of the loveliest carpets should be reckoned the saddle-covers made in the town of Ning hsia fu on the Huangho. They are greatly prized alike by Mongol chieftains and by Chinese mandarins. The saddle-covers are most artistic both through the treatment of their materials and through the grouping of their colours.

As the Carpet-weavers' skill in their work increased, more costly materials came to be used in the manufacture and thus, besides sheep's wool, silk thread was introduced.

Old Chinese silk carpets can be distinguished from the Indian, Persian and Turkish only by their designs. Old Chinese wool carpets resemble in quality and make those of India, and like the latter, have a cotton warp of about 80 to 120 threads to one foot but are of thicker pile than Persian carpets, and differ again from the Turkish which have a wool warp instead of cotton.

A great impetus was given to the art of carpet weaving in the period of the last dynasty. The celebrated Emperor Kang Hsi (1662-1722), whose aim was to foster every branch of industry in the land, invited painters to Peking, whom he commissioned to improve and enrich designs for the porcelain, weaving and carpet industries.

What was begun by this ruler was continued by his grandson, Ch'ien Lung (1736-1796) who, being a lover of the luxurious and beautiful, appreciated carpets at their true worth and gave great orders for them to the home industry, besides purchasing lovely pieces from abroad. In addition to this, carpets were also presented to the emperor by the neighbouring Mongolian tribes by way of tribute. Most of the carpets in the Peking palaces date from his reign, and even to day are magnificent examples. The carpet weaving of Kansu is also said to have been introduced at this period into Peking, the northern coastal towns and the Province of Shantung.

In every Chinese province to which the art spread, and the adjacent countries which with them comprise the Carpet Weaving District (see map), the industry took a firm hold and flourishes to the present day.