Quick Answer: What Is Bai Zhoucheng Tie-Dye?
In Zhoucheng (周城, Zhōuchéng), a village in Xizhou near Dali, Bai (白族, Báizú) makers gather and stitch sections of cloth before dyeing it. This kind of tie-dye (扎染, zārǎn), often leaves light designs against an indigo-blue ground.[2][4]
- Stitching and tying determine where the dye has limited access.[2]
- Cotton and cotton-linen cloth are documented bases for the designs.[2]
- Bai tie-dye was included in the first national list of Chinese intangible cultural heritage in 2006.[1]
Zhoucheng is a center of the craft within a broader Dali-area dyeing tradition.[1][4]
A pale line in the cloth can mark the path of the thread. The pattern becomes clear after the maker cuts and removes those stitches.[2]
How Stitching Leaves the Pattern
Makers gather the cloth along a design and hold those areas tight with thread. During dipping, the exposed cloth takes up more color. Releasing the thread reveals pale marks where the folds resisted the dye. The work combines control of the cloth with knowledge of Chinese indigo dyeing. Repeated dips can deepen the ground color.[2][4]
This is a useful distinction when comparing Zhoucheng cloth with Buyi batik. With a stitched resist, the folds themselves protect areas of the cloth. With wax resist, the maker applies a substance to protect the design.
How to Read the Finished Cloth
The Dali craft includes flowers and other plants, animals, geometric designs and scenes from nature. Cloth is used for clothing and home furnishings. Alongside other Bai cultural traditions around Erhai, the fabrics illustrate how a household object can carry a local pattern vocabulary.[1][2]
What Duan Yinkai Has Passed On
Duan Yinkai (段银开, Duàn Yínkāi), a national representative practitioner, documented more than thirty traditional ways of stitching and gathering designs. She opened a Bai tie-dye museum in 2014 and has taught at colleges in Yunnan. Her wall hangings include works on Buddhist subjects, showing how the resist technique can be used for a pictorial design as well as repeating patterns.[3]
FAQs About Bai Zhoucheng Tie-Dye
What makes the pattern light?
The tightly gathered areas take up less dye. The lighter design appears when the stitches come out.[2]
Is Zhoucheng the only place that practices Bai tie-dye?
The national record also names places in Weishan County. It singles out Zhoucheng as a well-known center.[1]
When was Bai tie-dye nationally recognized?
The first national list recognized the craft in 2006.[1]
Sources
[1] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Digital Museum. Bai tie-dye craft
[2] Dali Municipal People’s Government. Dali Bai tie-dyeing as a national heritage craft
[3] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Digital Museum. Duan Yinkai
[4] Yunnan Provincial Publicity Department. Culture enriches the land of Yunnan