Nantong blue calico

Nantong blue calico printing and dyeing has been practiced for centuries in most parts of Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, China. At the beginning of Qing dynasty people began to produce blue calico. In modern times，blue calico is used to make the daily clothes, mosquito nets, pillowcases, baggage cloth, etc.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]}

One of China's most popular and enduring styles is the blue and white printed calico from the city of Nantong. Nantong is on the north of the Yangtze River with the Yellow Sea on the east. The soil and climate are especially suitable for cotton planting. It was first worn by local farmers and fishermen. It is famous for its handmade printing and dying process, native and simple design among Nantong citizens. The patterns on the blue clothes are originated from animals, plants and fairy tales to express the good wishes of the future life.

Printing and dyeing skill

The most typical feature is its design: blue background with white flowers or white background with blue flowers.The folk techniques maintained basically hundreds of years of the traditional process. A series of complicated processes is needed to produce blue calico, mainly including selecting cotton material, soaking into water, backing up, drawing designs, enchasing, being coated with tung oil, dyeing, cleaning, and sunning.

Historical evolution

During Song (song 宋) Dynasties, blue calico was called Yaoban Cloth(yào bān bù 药斑布), and during Ming (míng 明) and Qing (qīng 清) Dynasties, it was called Jiaohua Cloth (jiāo huā bù 浇花布). The patterns on blue calico are all from civil society, and they reflect the seeing and hearings of the common people. With the development of the textile technology during Qing Dynasty, there are quantities of dyeing and weaving workshops.

Legend

The blue calico has a long history of the traditional manual printing and dyeing products and it has a very special legend. The legend said that a man (his family name was Mei) accidentally fell in the mud, and the color of his clothes became yellow and it was very difficult to drop the color, but when people saw that clothes was ,most people said they liked that clothes. So he told one of his good friend whose family name is Ge this accident . Later they specialized in the cloth stained yellow, and have a very accidental opportunity, they put the cloth in the branches, air dry accidentally by the wind to the earth, and the earth there was just a heap indigo Grass, which is now called Indigowoad root grass, it has a composition called indigo, can the cloth dyed blue, and they found that the cloth,Yellow cloth Has become a piece of cotton print, "black and blue a piece of" they want to this mystery must be in the grass, and since then, both people and after DuoCi research, finally the cloth dyed blue cloth, MeiGe Mr. Two will become Blue allover the ancestors.

Museum

In order to preserve and develop this art, Nantong Blue Calico Art Gallery was set up in 1997 near Haohe River (濠河) by Wuyuanxin (吴元新), Nantong one thousand antique blue calicos and drawings were collected here. Also the traditional hand-making process is shown in the art gallery.

Manufacturing process

Calico is an English Staffordshire under-glaze "transfer print" decoration that begins with the skilled hands of an engraver and a copper plate. Once the pattern is meticulously engraved onto the plate, navy blue ink is spread over the top of the copper engraving. A very fine tissue paper, such as used in old-style dress patterns, is then placed over the inked plates and rollers are used to transfer the pattern onto the paper; thus the term "transfer print". The tissue is then hung, literally on clothes line, and left to dry only long enough for the ink to become a tacky consistency, and then passed on to the decorators. The paper is then cut to various sizes and pressed into place by hand onto the pottery; on some pieces the print is tapped into place with a small rubber mallet. The paper is then rubbed with a small stiff brush lubricated with soap, transferring the ink to the pottery. Even the backstamp is applied by hand, using the same print-transfer method.On the Blue Calico pieces, the backstamp reads Calico - Burleigh - Staffordshire England.

Next, the paper is washed off the piece with warm water, leaving only the inked pattern on the pottery. The pottery is then sent through the firing process. During the first firing any remaining tissue burns off, leaving the ink, or color, on the piece of pottery, and at that point the Calico pattern is seen only as a matte, brown color. The piece is then glazed and fired again and it is during the second firing that the color turns blue. This method was invented in England around 1760 and Calico is made today exactly as it was in the 1800s! Burgess, Dorling and Leigh is the only pottery in Stoke-on-Trent which makes all of its blue and white ware using this ancient process and in this new century the Calico pattern still remains a favorite for many, and is much sought after. Still decorated by hand, which is both costly and time consuming, there will never be an over-abundance of Calico at any one time. Whether you own a complete table setting, or only one special piece, you can take pride in knowing you own something not only lovely, but unique.

References

1. ^ Chung-kuo fu nü, Foreign Language Press, 1990^{[dead link]}
2. ^ ''Women of China'', 1991. Books.google.com.hk. Retrieved on 2011-11-12.
3. ^ ''Zhongguo kai fang cheng shi yu jing ji te ju'' 經濟科學出版社, 1986 - 236 页. Books.google.com.hk. Retrieved on 2011-11-12.
4. ^ "Nantong Blue Calico Printing and Dyeing". Chinese.cn. http://www.chinese.cn/culture/en/article/2009-11/11/content_43067.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 
5. ^ 孙丽 (2006-10-19). "蓝印花布艺术馆". Nantong.gov.cn. http://www.nantong.gov.cn/art/2006/10/19/art_315_95486.html. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 
6. ^ http://www.chinadaily.com.tw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1817:chinese-blue-calico&catid=67:cultural-general&Itemid=392
7. ^ "中国非物质文化遗产网·中国非物质文化遗产数字博物馆". Ihchina.cn. http://www.ihchina.cn/inc/detail.jsp?info_id=938. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 
8. ^ "Blue Calico:A Pretty from the South of Yangtze River - China culture". Traditions.cultural-china.com. http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/16Traditions263.html. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 

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