Li Brocade in Fanmao

A named Wuzhishan community and a bearer whose back-strap loom makes technique visible.

The intangible-heritage record names Fanmao village committee in Wuzhishan among communities associated with Li textile practice. A 2022 profile centers on Liu Xianglan, a bearer from Fanmao: she sits on the ground, braces the warp with her legs and uses a wooden weaving sword to beat the weft. Through Liu’s practice and family teaching, the profile makes one Wuzhishan approach to Li brocade visible in the tension of warp, weft and wooden sword.

Li brocade weaver Yan Zhang seated at a backstrap loom, with colorful warp threads stretched across her lap. — Yan Zhang works at a backstrap loom in this 2019 photograph. She is not Liu Xianglan; the image is a comparison showing the body-braced weaving technique discussed in the article.

All articles

The Weaver and the Loom at Her Waist

A report on Liu Xianglan’s bodily technique, plant dyes and the family links through which her practice travelled.

Photo credits and rights

Yan Zhang works at a backstrap loom in this 2019 photograph. She is not Liu Xianglan; the image is a comparison showing the body-braced weaving technique discussed in the article.Chiome-gold · CC0 1.0 Universal Photo source ↗ Rights information ↗ The reviewed Commons standard thumbnail is retained privately. Public WebP copies preserve proportions and do not enlarge this source copy; the full upstream original was not downloaded.