A single red string, intricately twisted and turned, carries a blessing and a thousand knots. Chinese knots are a unique aspect of Chinese folk culture, permeated with the essence of Chinese civilization, with a history that stretches back through the ages. This vibrant folk art has naturally been passed down with the beautiful wishes of the Chinese people to this day. Like Chinese calligraphy, sculpture, ceramics, and cuisine, Chinese knots embody the profound cultural heritage of China, easily recognized by foreigners.
The Origins of Chinese Knots
The history of Chinese knots is ancient, beginning in ancient times, flourishing during the Tang and Song dynasties, and reaching its peak during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Historical records indicate that ancient people used knotted ropes to record events, and these symbolic knots are inevitably linked to the later emergence of pictographs. Therefore, we can conclude that the ancient knots used for recording events are the origin of “Chinese knots.”
According to textual records: “Nüwa drew ropes in the mud, lifting them to create humans,” and because the rope resembled the coiled snakes and dragons, the image of the dragon god in prehistoric times was represented by the variations of knots. A Song dynasty poet wrote, “The heart is like a double silk net, with a thousand knots inside,” where “knots” represent a person's thoughts and emotions, symbolizing the lingering affection between young men and women. Thus, “knots” have been endowed with various emotional wishes over a long period of evolution, and related words have emerged in the Chinese language, such as “to swear brotherhood, to unite, to be united,” and later, the “heart knot” represented a token of love between men and women, also leading to the saying “a couple tied by their hair.”
The Cultural Connotations of Chinese Knots
Chinese knots display the sentiment and wisdom that is a cultural facet of ancient Chinese civilization; they have complex and graceful curves yet can be reduced to the simplest two-dimensional lines. They possess an elegant charm, originating from the basic tools of human life in the earliest times. They symbolize the heart-to-heart connection of the descendants of Yan and Huang. Due to their long history, Chinese knots have been intertwined with human history, with a rich cultural accumulation that permeates them with the unique, pure essence of the Han nationality, full of cultural depth. “Rope” is a homophone for “god,” and during the formative stage of Chinese culture, ropes were worshipped. Textual records state: “Nüwa drew ropes in the mud, lifting them to create humans.” Since the rope resembles the coiled snakes and dragons, and the Chinese are descendants of the dragon, the image of the dragon god in prehistoric times was represented by the variations of knots. The word “knot” also represents strength, harmony, and is full of emotion, whether it is to combine, to befriend, to form a bond, to unite, to achieve results, or to be a couple, to be forever united, “knot” gives people a sense of unity, intimacy, and warmth. “Knot” is a homophone for “auspicious,” and “auspicious” has a rich variety of content, including fortune, prosperity, longevity, happiness, wealth, peace, and health, all of which fall within the scope of auspiciousness. “Auspicious” is the eternal pursuit of humanity, and the rope knot, as a vibrant folk art, naturally becomes the essence of traditional Chinese culture, thriving and enduring to this day.
Chinese knots are not only beautiful in form and color but also named for their symbolic meanings, such as the endless knot, the well knot, the double coin knot, etc., reflecting the cultural beliefs and rich religious colors of ancient China, embodying people's pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty. Decorate a “lasting knot” on the hook of a wedding couplet, implying that a pair of lovers will always accompany and rely on each other, never to be separated. Decorate a “wish-fulfilling knot” on a jade ornament, implying that everything will go as wished. Decorate a “lucky knot” on a fan, representing great luck and good fortune. Decorate a “Dharma wheel knot” on the hilt of a sword, symbolizing the intention to abandon evil and promote good.
Decorate a “butterfly knot” on a tobacco pouch, “butterfly” is a homophone for “fortune,” implying that fortune is at hand, and good fortune continues to come. On New Year's Eve, elders use red silk threads to thread a hundred copper coins as New Year's money, hoping for the child to “live a long life,” and during the Dragon Boat Festival, use colorful silk threads to weave a rope and hang it around a child's neck to ward off evil, called “long life thread.” In the year of one's zodiac sign, to drive away illness and disaster, tie a red rope around the waist. All these are silent languages of “knots” to convey auspiciousness. When expressing love, Chinese people often adopt a euphemistic and implicit form, and “knots” naturally serve as the token of love between men and women, weaving the silk threads into knots and giving them to each other, with endless love and continuous thoughts contained within. Emperor Wu of Liang had a poem saying, “The double silk belt around the waist, dreams are tied in a heart knot.” The Song Dynasty poet Lin Bu had a poem saying, “Your tears are full, my tears are full, the silk belt with a heart knot is not yet formed, and the tide at the river head is already flat.” One is longing, and the other is parting, both expressing feelings through “knots.” As for the symbolic value of knots, there are many vivid descriptions by literati of all dynasties. Looking through ancient Chinese poetry and songs, we can easily find that the knot has transcended its original practical function and has been passed down through generations along with the Han nationality's growth, expansion of living space, increase in the meaning of life, and development of social and cultural systems.
There are verses about knots in the “Book of Songs”: “Tying the sash, ninety rites.” This describes the scene when a mother ties the sash for her daughter on her wedding day and reminds her of many etiquettes, making “tying the sash” a synonym for marriage in ancient times.
During the Warring States period, Qu Yuan wrote in “Nine Songs of Chu, Ai Ying”: “The heart is tied in a jade knot and cannot be untied, the thoughts are produced and cannot be released.” The author uses the verse ” jade knot that cannot be untied” to express his concern and attachment to the fate of his motherland. In ancient Han poetry, there is also: “Wearing a long yearning, tied in a knot that cannot be untied. Throwing glue into lacquer, who can separate this.” Using “knot that cannot be untied” and the merging of glue and lacquer to describe the depth of affection is just right. Liu Ling of the Jin Dynasty wrote in “Green Grass by the River”: “Dreaming of a heart knot, flying side by side in the northern forest.”
The Tang Dynasty was an important period for the development of Chinese culture and art. During this period, the praise of knots in literary works such as poetry was also very prominent. The famous Tang Dynasty poet Meng Jiao's “Tying Love” is a representative work in this regard: “Heart upon heart, again and again, tying love must be deep, once wanting to part, a thousand times tying the collar. Tying the maid to keep her will, tying the lord to return early. Only knowing how to tie clothes, not knowing how to tie the heart. Sitting and tying, also walking and tying, tying up a hundred years of months.”
Chinese knots connect us with the thoughts of our ancestors; Chinese knots make us emotionally connected with the ancients. It can be said that: “Heaven does not age, emotions are hard to break, the heart is like a double silk net, with a thousand knots inside.”
Chinese Knots in Clothing
Looking through the five thousand years of Chinese clothing history, it can be found that from the ancient people using knots to coil into an “S” shape and decorate on the waist, through the “ribbons” of the Zhou Dynasty, the “double silk belts” of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and so on, until the “knot buttons” on the qipao of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, as well as pouches, jade pendants, etc., all kinds of clothing and accessories all show the wide application of “knots” in traditional Chinese history.
The Implications of Chinese Knots
- Fang Sheng Knot – Safe journey
- Double Butterfly Knot – Flying side by side
- Double Happiness Knot – Double happiness
- Reunion Knot – Reunion and happiness
- Double Complete Knot – Sons and daughters complete
- Double Fish Knot – Abundance and celebration
- Peace Knot – Peace and good fortune
- Double Union Knot – Pairs together
- Carp Knot – Abundance and celebration
- Fan Yi Pan Knot – Steady as a rockyou wish, auspicious and fortunate
- Double Coin Knot – Wealth and prosperity
- Heart Knot – Deep affection, united hearts
- Butterfly Knot – Fortune at hand, repeated good luck
- Zao Jing Knot – Square and orderly
- Safe Knot – A lifetime of good fortune, year after year
- Auspicious Knot – Auspicious and blessed, good omens
- Fu Character Knot – Full of fortune, lucky stars shining
- Shou Character Knot – Long life and prosperity
- Pan Knot – Auspicious and celebratory, universal joy
- Ji Knot – A bright future, promotion and advancement
- Button Knot – Exquisite and elegant, luxurious and noble
- Flower Basket Knot – Youthful years, as beautiful as a flower
- Dharma Wheel Knot – Turning the wheel of Dharma, abandoning evil and promoting good
- Osmanthus Knot – Noble and elegant, endless wealth, a beautiful moon and flowers, auspicious and beautiful
- Tuan Jin Knot – Reunion and happiness, a cluster of flowers, adding to the beauty, a bright future
- Xiang Yun Knot – Auspicious clouds, endless good fortune, auspicious and fortunate, praying for peace
- Pan Chang Knot – Endless and continuous, living a long life, depending on each other, never parting