Batik is a folk handicraft combining painting with printing and dyeing technology. Because it can meet the needs of natural economy, it is passed down from generation to generation by minority women.

Historical overview

Batik is an ancient traditional folk printing process in China. It was called "wax valerian" in ancient times. It is also a folk handicraft handed down from generation to generation by the Miao "Du Dan Branch", which is called "mub tut" in Miao language. This branch calls itself ga33 nou23, and others call it "white-collar seedling".

The history of Danzhai batik can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty: It is recorded in The Biography of Nan Man in the New Tang Dynasty that Xie, the leader of Yingzhou (now southern Guizhou and southeastern Guizhou, Danzhai is also among them), once led a band wearing batik embroidery (flowers and birds) to appear in front of Emperor Taizong.

The batik process of Danzhai Miao nationality is to point wax and draw wax. Wax dots are arranged in a dotted line, and then organized into a pattern by the dotted line; Wax painting uses lines and blocks to describe patterns. Miao batik can be divided into "geometric patterns" and "natural patterns". Geometric patterns are abstract and generalized, and the most representative pattern is "vortex", which is a kind of water vortex pattern. Legend has it that the vortex in the river where ancestors migrated was fixed on the rotator cuff of women's clothing and could not be changed; The authors of Danzhai Miao batik prefer to use natural patterns, mostly taking flowers, birds, fish and insects in nature as the theme, creating at will, lively and smooth, vivid and exaggerated. In particular, birds are the most changeable, imaginative, concise and vivid, with strong local flavor and fairy-tale dreams.

Almost all women in Danzhai have good skills in making batiks. They learned to draw wax under the guidance of their mother since childhood, and teenage girls have become skilled wax painters. They don't make drafts or use rulers. They are free and natural.

The production method and technological process of batik;

Spread the white cloth flat on the board or table and light some wax flowers. The way to light wax is to put beeswax in a ceramic bowl or a metal can, and melt the wax with charcoal ash or chaff shell fire in a brazier, so that you can paint with a copper knife dipped in wax.

The first step in painting is to control the position. In some areas, the outline is determined according to the pattern of paper scissors, and then various patterns are drawn. In other areas, you don't need patterns, just draw a big outline on the white cloth with your nails, and you can easily draw all kinds of beautiful patterns;

After painting, put the painted wax pieces into the indigo dye vat, usually each piece needs to be soaked for five or six days. After soaking for the first time, take it out and dry it, and it will be light blue. Soak for a few times and it will become dark blue. If you need to have two shades of patterns on the same fabric, after the first soaking, the light blue dipped in wax flowers will appear two shades after dyeing. When the wax sheet is soaked in the dye vat, some "wax seals" are damaged and cracked due to folding, so natural cracks are produced, which are generally called "ice lines". Sometimes "ice lines" are made according to needs. This "ice pattern" often makes batik patterns more layered and has a natural and unique flavor.

Dewaxing, washing, then boiling with clear water, boiling off the wax, and after rinsing, the cloth will show clear blue and white patterns. Traditional batiks, from textiles to indigo beeswax, are all taken from natural products.