2. "ty and error: I'm learning (k)nots !" (9)
«I'm learning (k)nots»
(my first Chinese knot on 18th of December 1998)
[I'm (k)not working !]
2. "ty and error: I'm learning (k)nots !" (9)
2.1 Double Coin Knot
The double coin knot is a knotted representation of an often-
employed decorative motif, composed of two antique Chinese
coins overlapping one another. Merchants once took the design to
mean prosperity, hanging it over the entrances to their shops
hoping to attract wealth. Used elsewhere, the double coin motive
connotes not only prosperity, but longevity as well.
2.2 Double Connection Knot
The double connection knot is exactly what its name suggests -
two knots tied into one another.
Half of one simple knot forms half of the other.
2.3 Button Knot
The mystery of those interesting little buttons on
traditional Chinese dresses and jackets is rendered commonplace
with this simple knot. It can be used in conjunction with other
flat-lying knots to make a variety of unusual and attractive
clothes fasteners, a sampling of which is shown in the section on
creative applications.
2.4 Good Luck Knot
Unlike the majority of knots whose names derive from the
decorative motifs they represent, this often-seen knot was a nameless
orphan.
I [Lydia Chen] have christened it the good luck knot, in keeping
with the nomenclature of its many auspicious sister knots. My hope is
that it will lend a bit of good fortune to knotter and wearer
alike.
2.5 Cloverleaf Knot
Chinese children have played a pulling game with clover for
untold generations. Some have even ventured to pop the plant into
their mouths, discovering that the leaves and stalk are slightly
sour, and reporting that certain varieties alleviate the coughing of
a scratchy throat. And just in the West, good luck is said
to go hand-in-hand with the discovery of the four-leaf variety.
2.6 Ju I Knot
The ju i is an elongated scepter about the length of a back
scratcher. Its two rounded ends are flattened and scalloped, which is
echoed in this knot. The name ju i means "everything according to
your heart's desire." Some say that the ju i scepter came to China
with early Buddhist missionaries, who used a similarly shaped device
as a note-taking surface during explications of the sutras. Others
assert that the ju i is indigenous in origin, pointing to the fact
that its rounded ends are strikingly similar to a Taoist motif
signifying immortality. Whatever the case may be, the ju i is a
symbol of great fortune. To carry one is to court good luck, and to
own one is to enjoy prosperity.
2.7 Cross Knot
A simple cross in Chinese means "ten", nothing more and nothing less.
This knot is tied to look like a cross on one side. On the other
side, the cords make a different pattern, something like a four-sided
box.
2.8 Flat Knot
The flat knot, exactly the same as Western macrame's square knot, has
had a long history in both China and the West.
2.9 Brocade Ball Knot
As far back as the Tang Dynasty, casting the brocade ball has been
synonymous with selecting a husband. The indecisive maid has only to
throw the ball into the midst of a group of eager suitors; the man
fields it is on the way to the altar. Fate often knows best, and the
Chinese brocade ball is the messenger of preordained conjugal bliss.
2.10 Double Happiness Knot
The double happiness emblem, øœ, is seen at every Chinese wedding.
The two happiness characters drawn side by side succinctly and aptly
express the joys of matrimony.
2.11 Longevity Knot
Birthday wishes in Chinese are simple and to the point, and have been
for centuries. One character, which means longevity, does the trick.
It, and designs based on it, decorate nearly every Chinese birthday
card, birthday present, and most birthday cakes and cookies.
Throughout the ages, the character has also been rendered in every
conceivable script. Two designs from the Ching Dynasty, each
containing 100 longevity characters, no two of which are exactly
alike, demonstrate the wide range of possibilities in longevity
character designs. The longevity knot takes its shape from such
slightly abstracted and decorative renditions of the character. Its
felicitous message is a universal one - "may you live a long and
happy life."
2.12 Sauvastika Knot
The sauvastika, written..., is a sister of the swastika,..., which is
familiar in the West as the mark of Hitler's troops and the Nazi
Party. Actually both the swastika and the sauvastika are ancient
religious motifs with lofty auspicious connotations. They symbolize
the Buddha's heart, the seed of Buddhahood in every sentient being's
soul, power over evil, and all favor to the good. In China, the
symbols were also taken as equivalents for the word "ten-thousand",
and early sutra translators sometimes rendered them as "virtue". In
Chinese Buddhist symbolism, both the sauvastika and the swastika have
come to stand for the accumulation of good fortune and complete
virtue, a symbol of Buddhahood and of the Buddha himself.
2.13 Dragonfly Knot
The dragonfly, though it does not have a rich mythological heritage,
has fascinated young and old throughout the ages in China. Children
tax their wits to snare them, even chanting a ditty to lure males
toward a captive dragonfly maiden. Dragonflies, noted for their speed
and agility, can often be seen flittering to and fro near ponds and
streams in search of food. Their capricious, erratic flight and the
beauty of their lacy wings and orb-like eyes have earned them a
special place in the hearts of Chinese artists and poets. Perhaps the
artists felt a tinge of envy as they watched the dragonfly's flight,
wishing to rid themselves of the constraints of daily intercourse and
taste the pleasure of playful abandon.
2.14 Pan Chang Knot
The pan chang, or mystic knot, is one of the eight Buddhist
treasures. It twists and turns around itself in a seemingly endless
pattern, a graphic representation of the cyclical nature of all
existence. The pan chang knot embodies this concept, one of the basic
precepts in Chinese Buddhism.
2.15 Long Pan Chang Knot
If a composition calls for an oblong section of knotting, use this
variation of the pan chang. The long pan chang, a horizontal
complement to other surrounding knotwork, hangs balanced at its
center.
2.16 Butterfly Knot
One night, Chuang Chou dreamt he was a butterfly, flying through the
air, totally at ease, and unaware of his existence as a man. But when
Chuang awoke, much to his surprise, he found himself still a man. Did
Chuang dream that he was a butterfly ? Or did a butterfly dream it
was Chuang ? Or do the very concepts "butterfly" and "Chuang" create
arbitrary divisions in the singularity that gives rise to all things
? The butterfly in this parable intimates the essential oneness of
all being, a basic tenet of Taoist philosophy.
2.17 Round Brocade Knot
This knot takes inspiration from rounded patterns often seen in
Chinese brocade. A close look at these brocade designs reveals that
they are often abstract representations of auspicious animals or
characters - the dragon, the crane, the character for longevity, and
the like. The fact that they are worked into a round pattern further
enhances the message of good fortune, for the circle represents
completeness to the Chinese.
2.18 Fish Knot
Fish of all sorts abound in Chinese waters, and the creature has grown into
a symbol of good auspice through a bit of punning. Because "fish" and
"abundance" are both pronounced "yu" in Chinese, a stylized version of a
fish is often employed to represent wealth or plenitude.
2.19 Stone Chime Knot
The stone chime is an ancient Chinese percussion instrument made with an
L-shaped piece of sonorous stone or jade. A series of them, graduated
according to size and thickness, is often hung from a two-tiered wooden
rack. Used in ritual orchestral ensembles, the appropriate stone chime when
called for is struck with a mallet, its crisp tone marking the end of a
musical phrase. Stone chimes are indispensable in Confucian music, which is
noted for its grandeur and symbolism. Musical performance in this tradition
is an expression of social ethics. The music of the sage-ruler deeply moves
his listeners, the people, steering them toward righteousness, and creating
lasting peace under the heavens.
2.20 Double Diamond Knot
The double diamond, a woman's traditional hair ornament, has been used in
China for centuries. The famous drama "The West Chamber", by Wang Shih-fu of
the Yuan Dynasty, contains a passage that describes how they were made at
that time. According to that reference, a double diamond hair ornament is
born from two pieces of square embroidery woven together in its
characteristic shape. Knotted varieties were also popular, the more colorful
of which were made with red or peach-colored cord. Elegance called for a
double diamond hair ornament worked with patterns in gold and silver thread.
They were often dangled from the hairpins gracing the center of gathered
hairstyles, providing a convenient place to hang a tiny piece of prized jade
or a favorite embroidered sachet.