The traditional Li textile techniques of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering are employed by women of the Li ethnic group of Hainan Province, China, to make cotton, hemp and other fibres into clothing and other daily necessities. The techniques involved, including warp ikat, double-face embroidery, and single-face jacquard weaving, are passed down from mothers to daughters from early childhood through verbal instruction and personal demonstration.

China 2009

The different species of nettle grow at different altitudes between 1200 and 3000 meters. The tradition of weaving cloth from nettle yarn, which was practiced for decades by the women of Ney village in Gangzur Gewog (block) in Lhuentse Dzongkhag (district), had once disappeared from the village. According to them, it has been more than 40 years since they saw their grandparents weaving cloth from the nettle plant. People used to make thak-pa (rope), khor-ga (bag), shing-ka (old women's clothes), pha-tsa (sacks), bra-gar (old men's clothes), etc. Nettle fabrics are still used for traditional bowstrings in different parts of the country. Nettle plants are readily available in villages, but a series of processes are required to turn them into a fine yarn. It is said that making yarn from nettle plants lost popularity after cotton became readily available. This is also because it is available as a finished product, which reduces the workload. An elderly resident from Ney, Tenzin Wangmo, tells how they use nettle fiber for weaving. She tells that they used to use a different process. First, a hole was dug in which the nettle bark and the hardwoods needed were placed to heat the stone. Then ash mixed with water was applied to the nettle bark and it was placed in the previously dug hole. The bark coated with ash and the hot stone were alternately placed in the hole and covered with thick ash to prevent the fibers from being destroyed by combustion, and kept for 2 to 3 nights. The last process was washing the fibers in a draining river by continuous beating until they were white.

Hemp textile weaving tools include simple tools for preparing flax fibers such as mortar, rolling board, fiber collection reel and complex weaving tools such as spinning molds, eye molds, and weaving frames ( The frame is made of I-shaped wood; the comb; the loom is made up of 6 parts: the yarn winding shaft; the yarn winding shaft; back tie). The process of creating a Lùng Tám brocade, from growing flax until forming a brocade product, must go through 41 completely manual steps such as choosing fields, preparing land; Drills; taking care of plants; tree cutting; tree classification; drying; Stripping; pounding fibers; fiber splicing; spinning reel; yarn collecting and removing reel; boil fibers; fiber annealing; yarn washing; boil white fibers with beeswax; rolling; remove the white thread, etc. Having good flax thread, the weaver carries out the steps of arranging the warp thread, hooking the thread into the comb, putting the thread into the wooden board, pulling the thread into the frame, weaving the fabric, soaking the newly woven fabric in kitchen ash, washing fabric, drying raw fabric, rolling raw fabric, making dyes, dyeing fabric, washing dyed fabric, drying fabric, rolling fabric, drawing, beeswax printing, dyeing after beeswax painting, drying fabric, dipping fabric in water boiling, cutting fabric, joining fabric, embroidering patterns on products, classifying, packaging and selling products. Techniques such as: Making yarn; Indigo dyeing; Beeswax painting and weaving of the Lùng Tám people have become "treasures" of the Hmong people here. All stages are mainly undertaken by women. Fabric color is natural, from trees, tubers, and forest leaves. They weave using belt looms. They avoid men from coming close when women stretch the thread into the frame because the thread breaks and is threaded wrongly. The main product is brocade from linen. Brocade is then created into products such as costumes, formal wear, and souvenirs. In rituals to relieve drought, protect family, etc they use linen.

Regong Arts mainly refer to Buddhism formative arts such as Thangka, mural, barbola, sculpture on which Tibetan and Tu folk handicraftsmen depend to pass on their making knowledge and manual technical skills. The content of Regong Arts consists of Tibetan Buddhism, mythical stories, epics and traditional knowledge. And the main painting materials include painting cloth, painting brush, dyestuff, prepared Chinese ink, red soil, silk and glue. Thangka, mural, barbola, and sculpture are widely used in Tibetan Buddhism temples and farmers’ or herdsmen’s houses. Every handicraftsman has his own fixed place to make material objects. Regong Arts have originated in 13th century and stemmed mainly from Tibetan Mantang school. After they were introduced into Regong area, Regong Arts have formed an important distinctive school of Tibetan Buddhism arts. Regong Arts have various forms with unique features. 1. Thangka, the pronunciation of its Tibetan counterpart, refers to religious scroll paintings which are used to worship Buddha, myths and figures who invented some useful technology after being mounted with colourful satin. The main technological process of making Thangka is as follows: first, the fine white cloth or coarse linen should be stretched on a wooden embroidery frame; secondly, base powder and thin glue sheet are used at the bottom and polished; thirdly, according to the content, the painter draws an outline with charcoal pencils made by himself about religious figures, birds and beasts and flowers and trees, etc.; fourthly, the painter puts the glue into various natural minerals and animals or plants dyes, and then he uses these painting materials to draw the picture with the special painting brush; finally, the finished picture is mounted carefully. Thangka is famous for its sophisticated workmanship, contents and bright colors in the world. 2. Barbola is a kind of Thangka made from silk fabric. Its main forms are Barbola Thangka, Barbola veiling, Barbola column ornaments etc. It is made from silk and brocade where pictures, figures, animals and plants are accurately cutting and sewn. Its techniques and effects take place in two forms: soft relief which combines folk embroidery and filled relief; and pasted and patched soft fabric which are cut to make different forms. Barbola has the strong stereoscopic image. 3. Regong sculpture comprises clay sculpture in addition to wooden sculpture, stone inscription, brick sculpture etc. Clay sculpture takes place in two forms: multi-colour and single-colour. Its process includes selection and finalization, clay processing, keel structuring, filling in, outline shaping, partial adjustment and inlaying gold lines or colour painting etc. Rafters, vaults, sunk panels, column ornaments, and tubular lections in temples and door curtains, credences, tea tables and lection cabinets in farmers’ or herdsmen’s houses are all sophisticated wooden sculptures. Stone inscription is that lections are imprinted on the slates or figures of Buddha are made in an intaglio plate. In addition, there is relief used in the stack of lection stones. After being created, Regong Arts are passed on generations by generations. Regong Arts are manual skills grasped by some villagers. Based on the special art forms, they combine traditional knowledge with history memory and come the Arts down. The art forms are widely recognized by dwellers in Tibetan communities and traditional craftsmen in China. At present, 520 folk artists engage in the artistic creation of Regong Arts. Passing on the Arts mainly takes place between fathers and children, or between masters and apprentices. Inheritors can be monks or folk artists. When learning Thangka, Barbola or sculpture, the painters must strictly follow the Buddhism painting book Lection of Measurement, starting from line-drawing, figure shaping, colour matching, pattern design and sizing. Regong Arts are featured with the unification of Tibetan Buddhism and traditional culture. Its influence can be found in surrounding provinces such as Tibet, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Yunnan, Sichuan, and even South-eastern Asian countries.

China 2009