Knots of Goodwill

Story and pictures by GRACE CHEN
Taken from www.thestar.com.my

The art of knotting serves to bring across messages of well-being, good luck, longevity and harmony.

 
Abundance: Goldfish indicates bountiful incomings

Knot tying goes beyond the functional aspect and takes an ornamental role in conveying messages of goodwill during Chinese New Year.

The 58-year-old Chinese national, who has 20 years of experience in dealing with Chinese folk arts and crafts, says that he has chosen this ‘knotty’ theme for his sixth trade visit to Malaysia because the art of Chinese knotting holds a special charm.

In explaining the functional and practical importance of knotting in Chinese society, Zhou says that it was once the basis for written and symbolic communication.

The Chinese not only employed the use of knots to fasten and secure but also as a method of record keeping and a symbolic representation of meaningful historical events that occurred over time.

A large knot for example, signifies an important event. A small knot may act as a reminder for a minor errand.

Knots are also used to signify feelings of love and longing. Endless and repetitive knot patterns may symbolise the cyclical nature of all existence and incorporated loops are interpreted to symbolise trouble-free transactions.

Safe passage: The replica jade acts as a safety button while the colourful threads signify a full and interesting life.

In essence, the art of knotting serves to bring across messages of well-being, good luck, health, longevity and harmony.

Giving examples of the types of knots used, Zhou says that in addition to the cross knot, ring hitch and the Chinese lanyard knot, the most popular style is the plum blossom knot which is the most widely used in this art form.

“In the basic art of Chinese knotting, there are 10 basic types of different knots used by the artists to create over 100 patterns ranging from flowers, animals and other auspicious shapes.

“Over time, different artists have come up with their own styles of knotting and this is a reflection of their ingenuity in coming up with new knotting styles to suit modern tastes,” says Zhou.

To make the patterns interesting, other ornaments such as bells and replicas of gold ingots are also incorporated into a piece of knot work. This is to signify wealth and prosperity.

The ones with goldfish motifs carry meanings of a bountiful year, while those with replica jade circles are meant to be safety charms.

Colourful designs also ensure the owners of these knot patterns a rich and interesting year ahead and those imbued with gold threads are thought to represent harmony.

These handicrafts can mostly be seen as decorative items at home or where the safety charms are concerned, hanging from the rear-view mirrors of cars.

Speaking from experience, Zhou says that the art of knotting is an exercise of an artist’s dexterity and precision.

Apt gifts: For those not eligible to give out ang pows, these good luck tassels can make up for it.

“The beginning of a rope pattern will always start with a loop and finish with two open ends which are usually capped with a tassel.

“Mind that for one pattern, only one rope is used. So, let’s say if the series of knot work comes to a length of 15cm, the artist will have to work with two sides of a rope, each reaching up to 1m in length. For larger knot patterns, rope lengths may exceed 1km, depending on how intricate the patterns are.

“So, you can imagine all the pulling involved as the artist is weaving the pattern into shape,” says Zhou.

Ironically, while an artist is working the knots into place, he must also deal with the problem of unwanted knots in the slack parts of the rope.

According to Zhou, this is where skill and experience comes in, especially when it comes to estimating how much of rope is needed for a particular pattern.

Of course, there is always a solution in joining more rope to the work but that will spoil the continuity in the pattern, he surmises.

For the superstitious, running out of rope while making a knot pattern may be seen as a bad omen and this means that the goodwill messages conveyed in the pattern may have lost its edge.

Taken from www.thestar.com.my