Riding the wind of rebirth

The uncle's name is Ai Yijie, and he is now the second-in-command in the region. His office is very large.

The interior is made of old-fashioned wooden floors, painted with raw paint, and the interior layout is also very simple. There is a bookcase, an old-fashioned desk, and on the wall are maps of China, Northern Xinjiang, and the Hotan region.

Opposite the office area is the reception area, which has a coffee table and a sofa. There is not even a water dispenser. Where the water dispenser is placed in the mainland office, there is a tea cabinet and two eight-pound warm water bottles.

But among such simple furnishings, there is something extremely luxurious in Zhou Zhi's eyes.

Carpet, handmade wool carpet.

It was a huge carpet two meters by three meters. The pattern was made up of geometric figures with multi-layered borders, filled with rich and changeable patterns, as well as lace composed of grapes, honeydew melons, watermelons, dates, pears and other fruits. .

The overall structure is rigorous and rhythmic, and the forms are diverse and full of life.

The entire complex lace combination surrounds a small blank space in the middle, but it is an oil painting style picture. A Uyghur boy is holding a little lamb, tilting his head and showing a bright smile.

Zhou Zhi's aesthetic level is now very high. You can see the high craftsmanship of this carpet at a glance. Except for the little boy pattern in the middle, which is a one-to-one replica of a photograph, the surrounding patterns should be all traditional patterns. and traditional weaving methods.

This carpet has brought together painting, weaving, embroidery, printing and dyeing and other weaving arts. Its pattern absorbs the essence of Eastern and Western culture and art, and has distinctive national characteristics and unique regional style. To use the old saying, , is the crystallization of the hard work and wisdom of Hotan people.

Seeing that Zhou Zhi’s eyes couldn’t be separated from the carpet, Ai Yijie simply introduced it: “This is one of the specialties of our Hotan area. Our Hotan carpets have distinctive ethnic characteristics and strong local color, and are a good choice for our ethnic minority families. One of the important handicraft industries."

"Our Hotan carpets are hand-woven and have a long history, unique traditional weaving techniques, rich style and distinctive features."

"We in Hotan produce high-quality cotton and wool. High-quality Hotan wool, combined with deft and fine craftsmanship, produces wool of appropriate thickness, high elasticity, strong pulling force, and good luster."

"The carpets woven with it are soft, elastic and durable."

Zhou Zhi reached out and touched the carpet: "It feels very comfortable, and the colors are soft and elegant."

"Our Hotan carpets use vertical machine weaving and universal Senna buckle weaving techniques." Ai Yijie is very familiar with the handmade specialties under his rule. It seems that he has studied it for a long time: "This weaving technique is made of double strands or Multiple strands of wool yarn are knotted on a pair of warp threads in a figure-8 shape. One knot is just a point on the carpet, and the entire carpet is composed of tens of thousands of knots."

"After weaving, we need to use traditional tools to rake it carefully, and finally cut it carefully and repeat it thousands of times to present various patterns."

"The carpet woven in this way has fine lines, softness, strength, thickness, clarity and texture that are unmatched by other types of carpets." At this point, Ai Yijie turned over the edge of the carpet: "Look, such a flat back , Such clear layers illustrate the exquisite workmanship of our Hotan carpets. They have been laid for a long time, have a long-lasting luster and are durable. They are a manifestation of our Hotan people’s love for life and pursuit of beauty.”

"My grandma also likes needlework, and I also learned about the famous Shu embroidery in the capital of Shu." Zhou Zhi looked at the back of the carpet carefully: "It takes more effort to tie these knots one by one than Shu embroidery!"

"But the main shortcoming of our carpets is the color." Ai Yijie said with some regret: "Because of the material, it cannot be as gorgeous as silk, and our dyeing process has been passed down for thousands of years. Due to limited conditions, we basically use our local plants. , minerals are processed as raw materials." "Plant raw materials are mainly extracted from plant roots, stems, leaves, flowers, bark, etc.; mineral raw materials are mainly extracted from rust, mineral powder, etc., so that the color is not bright enough."

"But one advantage is that it has good durability and can still retain its original color after thousands of years."

"No, no, not being bright and bright is not a defect." Zhou Zhi said: "Now the whole world is deeply harmed by toxic chemical preparations. Economically developed places now advocate organic and natural products."

“No matter what they eat or use, they must pay attention to no additives, no chemical substances, and pure naturalness.” Zhou Zhi said: “If our Hetian carpets use natural plants and minerals as dyes, this is not a disadvantage, but a unique What an advantage!”

"Really?" Ai Yijie couldn't believe it: "But when we sent it to the Ministry of Light Industry and the Canton Fair, people thought our products were not bright and bright enough."

"I guess we have never emphasized the concept of 'purely natural'?" Zhou Zhi felt that those people's eyes were really blind: "Purely natural and purely handmade, I don't believe it won't work if these two cards are played! "

"Also, natural dyes are not as bright as chemical pigments, but they also have their own unique advantages." Zhou Zhi said, "That is softness and elegance."

"Uncle, think about it. Carpets are decorations used in home interiors. If the home is full of bright red and green colors, won't you get aesthetic fatigue if you look at them for a long time? Isn't it true that if you look at something that is too bright, you will look at it for a long time? Does it feel dazzling?"

"Our carpets don't have this problem. High-end aesthetics are not strong, on the contrary, they should be elegant and timeless."

"Just like tea, just like jade, just like the color matching of palace wall red and sky celadon, so beautiful, far better than the bright reds and greens with overly saturated colors."

"Of course, the core theme may have to be changed." Zhou Zhi said: "We have to change an art form that is most suitable for the expression of Hotan carpets."

"Like this little boy holding a lamb," Zhou Zhi stood up and admired the carpet as a whole: "This should be hung on the wall to appreciate. This is a beautiful and complex craft, which is too labor-intensive."

"I heard from Gangzi that you are not a simple person." Ai Yijie did not stand up and looked up at Zhou Zhi: "You are said to be a master in calligraphy and painting. How about you give me an idea?"

"There is a painter in the Netherlands called Mondrian. Have you ever heard of him?" Zhou Zhi touched his chin and looked at the carpet, wondering what style of creation would be most suitable for a subject like carpet.

"Who?" Ai Yijie had never heard of this person.

"Mondry was a painter who was born in Amersfoort in the middle of the Netherlands. In [-], he saw the cubist works of Picasso, Braque and others. He was greatly shocked. Then he went to Paris and began to Study the cubist painting style.”

"During this period, I continued to draw nourishment from Cubism, presenting works in an abstract way, and constantly abstracting specific themes. I soon became a famous painter with a more personal style in Cubism, and created some famous series of works, such as "Tree" series."

"But soon, he broke away from his obsession with Cubism and began to consciously establish his own style." (End of this chapter)