Chinese Knot

中国结

During the very early period of Chinese cultural development, the ancestors had worshiped the immortals¹. Rope, pronounced as 'Sheng'， shared a similar pronunciation with the word for gods ("Shen" in Chinese)，and when written, it looked like a dragon, an auspicious² animal in Chinese culture; knots, in Chinese 'jie', means vigor³, harmony, and unification. Therefore, this unique Chinese knots artwork has been a popular gift for thousands of years and embodies⁴ best wishes. People wore it in the beginning as a decorative⁵ addition to clothing, and later, used it to decorate their houses. Though the weaving techniques are complicated, ropes, in hands of a deft⁶ craftsman⁷ appear effortless moving the shuttle in between the rows of ropes. A Chinese knot is usually symmetrical in structure and colorful with jade⁸ or porcelain⁹ beads¹⁰. This no doubt adds more jubilation¹¹ to any festive¹² atmosphere.

在中国文化发展的最初期，祖先崇拜的神仙。绳，发音为“生”，与中文的“神”有相似的发音，书写的时候，它看起来像一条巨龙，是中国文化中的吉祥动物，结，在中文中“结”，意味着活力，和谐，统一。因此，这种独特的中国结作品几千年来一直是受欢迎的礼物，体现了良好的祝愿。一开始人们戴它是作为服装装饰，后来，用它来装饰自己的房子。虽然编织技术是复杂的，在灵巧的工匠手中绳索的移动毫不费力，穿梭行之间。中国结通常是对称的结构，有丰富多彩的玉器或瓷器珠。这无疑为任何节日气氛增加了更多的喜庆。