Culture- Chinese Knots
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Chinese Knot is a type of national handicrafts with long history and profound cultural connotations. Traditional Chinese decorative knots, also known as Chinese knots, are typical local arts of China. They are evolved from the knots used in daily life through thousands of years.
Appeared in ancient time, developed in Tang and Song Dynasty (960-1229A.D.) and popularized in Ming and Qing Dynasty (1368-1911A.D.) Chinese Knot has now become a kind of elegant and colorful arts and crafts from its original practical use.
In Chinese language, "knot" has the meanings of reunion, friendliness, peace, warm, marriage, love etc. In addition, "knot" and "luck, felicity" have the same pronunciation. So Chinese knots are often used to express some good wishes including happiness, prosper, love and no evil.
The main character of Chinese knot is that each knot is woven from one piece of thread and named according to its shape and meaning. Different knots are interlaced, or with the other adornments to develop the special , auspicious garnishes, which is colourful and full of profound meanings.
There are 12 basic distinctive Chinese knots: Double Coins, Double Connection, Wanze, Cross, Good Luck, Cloverleaf, Button, Pan-Chang, Double Loop, Round Brocade, Plafond, and Flat Knot.
Almost all the basic knots are in symmetrical form. Chinese Knotting is three dimensional in structure. It is comprised of two planes which are tied together to leave a hollow center. Such a structure lends rigidity to the work as a whole and keeps its shape when hung on the wall. The hollow center also allows for the addition of precious stones.the complicated structure of Chinese Knotting allowed for all kinds of variations and enhances its decorative value.
In nowadays, Chinese Knot has various products. The two main series are auspicious hanging and knitting clothing adornment. Auspicious hanging includes large tapestry, big room hanging, automobile hanging etc. Knitting clothing adornment includes ring, eardrop, hand chain, necklace and other woman's special adornments.
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The Meaning of Ornamental Chinese Knots
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Button Knot
The mystery of those interesting little buttons on traditional Chinese dresses and jackets is rendered commonplace with this simple knots. In Chinese tradition this seemingly endless pattern is considered a symbol of good luck, and it is a graphic representation of the cyclical nature of all existence in Chinese Buddhism.
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Double Coin Knot
The double coin knot is a knotted representation of an often-employed decorative motif, composed of two overlapping antique Chinese coins. The design was once believed by merchants to bring prosperity. It is also used to connote longevity.
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Snake Knot
The snake is one of the twelve animals in the Chinese horoscope. It is regarded as a bringer of good fortune, and also the guardian of treasure. In China it is considered to be very unlucky to injure or kill a snake which comes into your house. Apparently there are not many poisonous varieties in China!
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Prosperity Knot
This knot takes its name from the fact that it has the appearance of a large number of double coin knots woven together.
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Clover Leaf Knot
This knot is tied with one end of a cord, which makes it very versatile. The knot consists of inner U-bends and outer "leaf" loops. The number of loops can be varied from two up to five or six. For this reason, the knot is also known as a Flower knot. It is very attractive and is often used as the basis of more complicated Chinese combination knots. A four leaved clover is considered to to be very lucky by the Chinese.
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Flat Knot
This knot will be familiar to readers as the Western Square Knot, or Reef Knot. The Ancient Egyptians and Greeks called it the Hercules Knot, so it has a long and varied history. It is a very popular knot for necklace and bracelet making. It has a pair of cords in the centre, known as "lazy" cords.
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Plafond Knot
Plafond is the French word for ceiling, and this knot is similar to the design in the centre of the ceilings in Chinese Temples and Palaces. It is also known as the Well Knot.
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Virtue Knot (Also known as Wanze or Sauvastike Knot)
This knot has a pattern similar to an ancient Buddhist motif that symbolises the sun, fire, the Buddha’s heart, complete virtue, and power over evil. In China, the symbols were also taken as equivalents for the word of "ten-thousand", Wan Tzu, and is said to come from heaven, and stands for the accumulation of good fortune.
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Round Brocade Knot
The round pattern of this knot denotes good fortune, as, to the Chinese, a circle represents the origin of all creation, and a ring is the symbol of eternity.
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Good Luck Knot
Chinese Knots are considered to be tokens of love and affection. This Good Luck Knot, like many of its fellow knots, should bring extra good fortune to the lucky wearer, as well as to the giver of the knot.
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Cross Knot
In Chinese a cross simply means ten. This knot gives a nice round loop and is very stable. It can also look very attractive as a sequence of knots tied with two different colours.
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Pan Change Knot
In Chinese Pan Chang means endless. The endless pattern of this knot represents both birth and death, and indicates that life can exist forever-one of the most basic concepts of Chinese Buddhism. As one of the eight Buddhist treasures, it also represents the mysteries of the universe and is also known as the Mystic Knot . As such it is considered to bring great good fortune to the wearer and beholder alike.
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Ru-Yi Knot
It was believed that a Ru-Yi would bring its owner happiness and good luck. A Ru-Yi symbolizes power and magic. It was considered a lucky item, the owner of which would have enjoyed much happiness. The uses of Ru-Yi knots are many and it is easy to tie this knot. It can be combined with other types of knots for larger and more elaborate decorations.
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Double Happiness
On his wedding day, Wang Anshi received the good news that he had passed the Imperial Examinations as the number one scholar. He felt so happy that he added another "xi" beside the first one, thus he created the "double happiness" symbol.
It has been used to celebrate weddings ever since.
The knot consists of two sets of fifteen cloverleaf knots.
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longevity
This knot is based on the Chinese character meaning longevity. Its message is "May you live a long life" and the character is used on birthday cards, cakes and presents.
It is made up of four two-loop cloverleaf knots and five three-loop cloverleaf knots.
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Stone Chime Knot
The stone chime is an ancient L shaped Chinese percussion instrument, made of stone or jade. It is indispensable in Confucian music. It is made up of two long pan chang knots woven together.
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Brocade Ball Knot
In ancient times, throwing a brocade ball into the midst of a group of young admirers used to help a young lady choose a husband, the one who caught it was the lucky one.
It is composed of five cloverleaf knots.
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Butter Fly Knot
The butterfly loves to be with flowers for their nectar, so it is often associated with love and happy marriage. It is also a symbol of longevity as the sound of its name is almost the same as "an old person" in Chinese.
The knot is made up of a pan chang knot with double coin knots within its wings.
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Ten Accord Knot
This easy knot symbolises all of the things that the Chinese believe make up the good life. Manifold returns from a single investment, two hearts living together in harmony, passing civil examinations with flying colours, peace throughout the four seasons, a bountiful harvest, vigorous spring growth, seven successful sons, a long life, nine generations under one roof, and complete prosperity.
It is made up of five double coin knots.
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Link Heart Knot
This easy knot symbolises two hearts link togather. This iis a very old and meaningful knot in Chinese knotting culture.
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