China has a long history of batik production dating back to the sixth
century. Today you can still find batik being done by the ethnic people
in Guizhou Province, in the South-West of China. Here the Miao, Bouyei
and Gejia people use a dye resist method that is different from the Han
Chinese. There are also many different sub groups within the Miao minority.
The Miao place great emphasis on their costumes which are made up of decorative
fabrics which they achieve by pattern weaving and wax resist. Almost all
the Miao decorate hemp and cotton (not silk) by applying hot wax then
dipping the cloth in an indigo dye. The cloth is then used for skirts,
panels on jackets, aprons and baby carriers.
Indigo is used chiefly for the basic cloth throughout Guizo to give dark
blues. A paste is made from the harvested plants which have been soaked
in a wooden barrel.
Wax resisted fabric was probably one of the earliest forms of decoration
in Guizhou as all the materials were at hand. Beeswax is the main ingredient
but other resins or wax are possibly added. The wax resist never exploits
crackle, the aim is to produce a clear image and beeswax is both tenacious
and flexible. The wax is often heated in a little pot, resting in hot
embers.
Once applied the wax appears black on the fabric but at the end of the
process the wax is removed from the fabric. The fabric is then rinsed
in cool water and air dried. The beeswax can be reused.
The usual tools for applying wax are of copper and brass with bamboo
handles. They are made from 2 small triangular pieces of metal, their
apexes bound to a bamboo holder by copper wire. It is held like a pen
either upright or at a slant to the cloth which is laid flat on a board.
This tool lends itself to the drawing of straight or slightly curving
lines.
 
The Miao, Gejia and Bouyei girls are highly skilled at batik. They use
very finely drawn circular and double spiral designs representing the
horns of the water buffalo, symbolising their ancestor's life and death.
Girls start learning to produce batik from the age of 6 and 7 years. The
finest work is found on baby carriers, sleeves of their jackets and skirts.
The more traditional designs are geometric, where the most skilled wax
resist reads as a fine blue line on a white ground. With the influence
of the Han Chinese more figurative designs like flowers, birds, fish have
been introduced over the centuries.
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