Miao Nationality Batik Cloth Dyeing Skills 苗族蜡染技艺

时间：2006年
Time: 2006
类别：传统手工技艺
Category: Traditional Handicraft Skills
地区：贵州
Region: Guizhou Province
编号：Ⅷ—25
Ref. No.: VIII-25
申报地区或单位：贵州省丹寨县
Nominating unit[s]: Danzhai County, Guizhou Province
蜡染是贵州省丹寨县、安顺县、织金县苗族世代传承的传统技艺，古称“蜡缬”，苗语称“务图”，意为“蜡染服”。
Batik cloth dyeing skills are traditional skills that are passed on from generation to generation in Danzhai County, Anshun County and Zhijin County, Guizhou Province. It is called “laxie” in ancient times and “wutu” in Miao Language, which means “batik clothes”.
丹寨县、安顺县及织金县是以苗族为主体的多民族聚居区，在长期与外界隔绝的艰苦坏境中，这里的居民逐渐形成了自给自足的生活方式，古老的蜡染技艺因此得以保留下来。按苗族习俗，所有的女性都有义务传承蜡染技艺，每位母亲都必须教会自己的女儿制作蜡染。所以苗族女性自幼便学习这一技艺，她们自己栽靛植棉、纺纱织布、画蜡挑秀、浸染剪裁，代代传承。在此状况下，这些苗族聚居区形成了以蜡染艺术为主导的衣饰装束、婚姻节日礼俗、社交方式、丧葬风习等习俗文化。
Danzhai County, Anshun County and Zhijin County are multi-nationality areas with the Miao nationality as the majority. Living in such an isolated and tough environment for a long time, inhabitants in these areas gradually form a self-sufficient life style; the ancient batik cloth dyeing skills are thus preserved. According to the Miao nationality custom, all women are duty-bound to pass down the batik cloth dyeing skills and all mothers shall teach their daughters to make batik cloth. Therefore, the Miao women learn the skills in their youth. They grow indigo plant and cotton, spin and weave, paint wax and draw patterns, conduct dip-dyeing and cutting and hand the skills to the later generations. In such a circumstance, custom and culture of clothes and ornaments, marriage and festivals, social interaction, funerals and others with the predominance of batik cloth dyeing skills come into being in these Miao nationality concentrated areas.
苗族蜡染是为生产者自身需要而创造的艺术，其产品主要为生活用品，包括女性服装、床单、被面、包袱布、包头巾、背包、提包、背带、丧事用的葬单等。
The Miao nationality batik cloth dyeing is a technology created to meet the demand of the producers. Main products are daily used articles, including women’s garments, bedspreads, quilt covers, cloth wrappers, headscarves, backpacks, handbags, straps, shrouds for funeral purpose, etc.
苗族蜡染有点蜡和画蜡两种技艺，从图案上可分为几何纹和自然纹两大类。丹寨苗族蜡染的作者们更喜欢以自然纹为主的大花，这种图案造型生动、简练传神、活泼流畅、充满夸张，乡土气息十分浓厚。安顺苗族蜡染以几何纹样为主，图案结构松散、造型生动。织金苗族蜡染以细密白色为主，布满几何螺旋纹，图案结构相互交错，浑然一体。
The Miao nationality batik cloth dyeing is divided into wax stippling and wax painting by skills and geometric veins and naturally formed veins by patterns. The handicraftsmen of Miao nationality batik cloth dyeing in Danzhai County prefer the large floral patterns mainly composed of naturally formed veins, which are vivid, simple, life-like and lively, full of exaggeration and local colors. The patterns of Miao nationality batik cloth in Anshun County are mainly composed of geometric veins and the patterns are characterized by loose structure and vivid shapes. The Miao nationality batik cloth in Zhijin County is dominated by fine white patterns, which are full of spiral geometric veins. The patterns are interlaced and well-integrated.
蜡染的制作工具主要有铜刀（蜡笔）、瓷碗、水盆、大针、骨针、谷草、染缸等。制作时先用草木灰滤水浸泡土布，脱去纤维中的脂质，使之易于点蜡和上色。然后把适量的黄蜡放在小瓷碗里，将瓷碗置于热木灰上，黄蜡受热熔化成液体后，即可往布上点画。点好蜡花的布再用温水浸湿，放入已发好的蓝靛染缸，反复浸泡多次，确认布料已经染好，即可拿到河边漂洗，让清水冲去浮色，再放进锅里加水煮沸，使黄蜡熔化浮在水面上，回收后以备再用。之后，再将蜡染反复漂洗，使残留的黄蜡脱净，即算完工。丹寨蜡染在这之后还要拼涂红色和黄色，涂红的一般用茜草根，黄色则用栀子提取。为了避免褪色，一般要待蜡染品制成后才着色。除上述步骤外，蜡染还有制作蓝靛和发染缸等工序，各道工序前后连接，构成一套完整、成熟的技艺和操作规程。
The main tools used in batik cloth dyeing are copper knives (wax pencils), china bowls, basins, large needles, bone needles, cereal straw, dye vat, etc. During the fabrication, the hand-woven cloth is first soaked in lye to remove the lipid in the fiber so as to make the wax stippling and coloring easy. Then yellow wax is placed in a small china bowl, which is placed on the hot wood ashes. The yellow wax may be stippled on the cloth after it is melted down to liquid form. The stippled cloth is then soaked in warm water and placed in the fermented indigo blue dye vat for repetitive soaking. When it is sure that the cloth is properly dyed, it is taken to the riverside for rinsing to let the loose color washed away. Then the cloth is placed in a pot and boiled to have the yellow wax melted, floating on the surface and recycled. After that the batik cloth is repeatedly rinsed to have the yellow wax residue completely removed and only then the fabrication is completed. For batik cloth dyeing of Danzhai County, red and yellow are painted later. The roots of madder are used to paint red while extracts of gardenia are used to paint yellow. In order to avoid fading, generally, coloring can not be conducted before finished batik cloth products are made. In addition to the above steps, preparation of indigo blue and fermentation of dye vat are also involved. These processes, one after another, form a complete system of mature skills and operating rules.
随着科技的发展，纺织品的种类不断丰富，蜡染作为贵州苗族地区主流纺织品的地位已渐动摇。伴随旅游业的发展，蜡染手工艺制品被当作特色旅游纪念品推向市场。而为了满足市场需要和追求经济收益，粗劣的蜡染制品大量涌现，对技艺的有序传承构成了威胁。由此可见，苗族蜡染技艺亟待得到真正的保护和合理的开发。
With the development of science and technology and diversification of textiles, the position of batik cloth as the mainstream textile in Miao nationality concentrated areas in Guizhou Province has been shaken. With the development of tourism, handicraft products made of batik cloth are marketed as featured tourist souvenirs, but low quality batik cloth products are made in great quantities in order to meet market demands and for the pursuit of economic benefits, which has threatened systematic inheritance of traditional skills. Consequently the Miao nationality batik cloth dyeing skills are in urgent need of appropriate protection and rational development.