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Seduced by cloth's mysterious beauty
By Wei Binhai and Wang Jie |
February 22, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
OH, dear indigo prints! The sight of you reminds me of the land south of the Yangtze River, a land of stone arch bridges, rivers and streams, blue stone pavements, clotheslines, wood lattice windows, rice wines, teahouses, blue and white porcelain, and nostalgia that comes at dusk when smoke flies from the chimneys of farmhouses.
You come from indigofera, a kind of grass that enjoys an endless life. People have developed the habit of picking the grass since ancient times. Due to its rarity, however, it would be difficult to harvest a full basket of it in a whole laborious day.
Its medicinal effect is recorded in Chinese classics, good for clearance of heat and toxic materials from the body.
Legend has it that two people, surnamed Mei and Ge, discovered your feature as a dye. One day, the two young men hung their clothes under the sun for drying. A wind came and their clothes fell to the ground. Picking them up, they saw some indigo spots on them. A quick investigation revealed that indigofera was to blame.
Since then, your juice has been used as a dye. Because of their discovery, Mei and Ge were hailed as "Saints of Dyes." It is said that their portraits were enshrined and worshipped in all traditional dye-works.
Indigo and white are two colors. They are so simple and so primitive, yet they can create an artistic world, simplistic, natural, brilliant and beautiful. The patterns originate from ordinary people, telling their love for life and taste of beauty, such as folklores, dramas, fairy tales, legends, landscapes, animals, flowers and grasses. Wishes and blessings such as "Good Luck," "Be Safe and Sound All Year Round," "A Life of Surplus," "Happiness, Wealth and Longevity" are also good themes.
When a girl is getting married, she is sure to bring with her an indigo apron for use during kitchen work after marriage, and quilt covers with indigo patterns featuring auspicious animals and birds and beautiful flowers.
Oh, indigo prints! Full of mysterious beauty, you are a perfect creation of oriental culture. You are on the aprons of our grandmas, shirts of the men and handkerchiefs of ladies, schoolbags of the boys and the shoes of the girls. Yes, we owe our thanks to you, indigo prints!
You come from indigofera, a kind of grass that enjoys an endless life. People have developed the habit of picking the grass since ancient times. Due to its rarity, however, it would be difficult to harvest a full basket of it in a whole laborious day.
Its medicinal effect is recorded in Chinese classics, good for clearance of heat and toxic materials from the body.
Legend has it that two people, surnamed Mei and Ge, discovered your feature as a dye. One day, the two young men hung their clothes under the sun for drying. A wind came and their clothes fell to the ground. Picking them up, they saw some indigo spots on them. A quick investigation revealed that indigofera was to blame.
Since then, your juice has been used as a dye. Because of their discovery, Mei and Ge were hailed as "Saints of Dyes." It is said that their portraits were enshrined and worshipped in all traditional dye-works.
Indigo and white are two colors. They are so simple and so primitive, yet they can create an artistic world, simplistic, natural, brilliant and beautiful. The patterns originate from ordinary people, telling their love for life and taste of beauty, such as folklores, dramas, fairy tales, legends, landscapes, animals, flowers and grasses. Wishes and blessings such as "Good Luck," "Be Safe and Sound All Year Round," "A Life of Surplus," "Happiness, Wealth and Longevity" are also good themes.
When a girl is getting married, she is sure to bring with her an indigo apron for use during kitchen work after marriage, and quilt covers with indigo patterns featuring auspicious animals and birds and beautiful flowers.
Oh, indigo prints! Full of mysterious beauty, you are a perfect creation of oriental culture. You are on the aprons of our grandmas, shirts of the men and handkerchiefs of ladies, schoolbags of the boys and the shoes of the girls. Yes, we owe our thanks to you, indigo prints!
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