Straw hat

Straw hat

　　Straw weaving is a traditional and outstanding folk craft in China with a long history. Cixi straw weaving is as renowned as Shengxian bamboo weaving and is a key export handicraft of our province, famous both domestically and abroad. Historical records indicate that the history of Cixi straw weaving dates back at least 200 years. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the craft of straw hat weaving was introduced to the present-day Changhe area of Cixi. From then on, straw weaving became a major household sideline for local women. The *Six Granaries Records of Yuyao* describes: “The straw hat, commonly known as the cool hat, is made by female artisans. There were cool hat shops in Qutang, Miaohouqiao, Chaotang, and Changhe Market, with Changhe Market being the most prolific.” A folk rhyme also circulated among the people of Cixi: “The three treasures of Yao’bei (today’s western Cixi, including Changhe and Andong): cotton, white salt, and straw cool hats.” Around 1922, the owner of a French trading firm learned that women in the Changhe area of Cixi were skilled in weaving, with exquisite craftsmanship and low labor costs, recognizing a profitable opportunity. He shipped golden grass (a type of straw) from Southeast Asia to areas like Changhe, organized local women to weave it into straw hats, and then exported them to Europe and America. Later, Chinese and foreign merchants successively established dozens of large and small straw hat shops in Changhe. The peddlers employed by these shops were frequently active in the area, distributing straw materials and purchasing cool hats. From then on, a commercial network for golden straw hats naturally formed around Changhe, making it the center for the processing and production of golden straw hats. The area flourished with the saying “No idle woman along the ten-mile-long street, every household weaves hats,” and the title “Hometown of Straw Weaving” became world-renowned.

Golden straw hats, made from golden straw, are created through a general method and process as follows: First, the hat is woven into a blank, then the excess straw around the edge of the blank is trimmed. The blank is then soaked in a bleaching powder solution for about 15 hours, taken out, rinsed clean with water, and sun-dried. Once dry, it is polished with smooth stones as round as eggs, then ironed flat, and the edges are trimmed. In this way, a beautiful golden straw hat is completed. There are four basic styles of golden straw hats: the two-core golden straw hat, the paired-flower single-core golden straw hat, the double-strand golden straw hat, and the flared hat (also called the long-neck hat). Golden straw hats are pure white, soft, and have an excellent hand feel. Coupled with their fine weaving, the hats appear shiny and graceful, elegant and luxurious, especially favored by women in Europe and America.

In the late 1920s, Changhe golden straw hat weaving experienced a period of vigorous development and prosperity, with over 10,000 women participating in the craft and an annual output reaching up to 1.2 million hats. The women of Changhe straw weaving were so ingenious and highly skilled that it was truly breathtaking. In the early 1930s, the women of Changhe straw weaving also used their own hands to build a “Straw Hat Industry Primary School,” which is still celebrated today. At the time, the women involved in straw weaving deeply felt the pain of being uneducated and were determined to ensure their children could read and write. They pooled together the money earned from weaving cool hats to establish the renowned “Straw Hat Industry Primary School,” writing a glorious chapter in Cixi’s educational history.

In 1937, when the War of Resistance broke out, maritime transport was blocked, raw materials were cut off, and exports came to a halt, pushing the once-thriving golden straw hat weaving industry to the brink of extinction. After the founding of New China, with the care and support of the government, the straw hat weaving industry in Cixi was revitalized. In 1954, the “Cixi Straw Weaving Handicraft Factory” was established in Changhe. Technical personnel engaged in straw weaving research actively studied and innovated, achieving commendable results in pattern design and process improvements for straw weaving handicrafts. In particular, the weaving technique underwent significant reform on the basis of the original flat weaving, incorporating and drawing inspiration from bamboo weaving methods to create overlapping interlacing patterns, giving the woven straw hats a layered feel. Additionally, the weaving evolved from a single-core style to double-core, triple-core, hollow-core, overlapping-core, and plaited-core styles. The raw materials used for weaving also expanded from the originally single golden straw to include more than 10 types such as Nant straw, silver straw, and salt marsh straw.

Building on the foundation of golden straw hats, Cixi straw weaving has further expanded to include dozens of varieties such as various types of hats, baskets, carpets, door curtains, shoes, toys, gifts, bags, and mats, with over 1,000 styles. Straw weaving handicrafts are widely praised for their exquisite craftsmanship and novel designs. In recent years, a large number of Cixi straw weaving handicrafts have been exported to over 80 countries and regions including the UK, the US, France, and Japan. It is particularly worth mentioning that the salt marsh straw cool hats woven by Cixi women using the locally produced salt marsh straw have become the most popular straw hat products after golden straw hats, receiving high praise from foreign merchants at the Canton Fair. “Cixi women’s skills are exceptional, crafting excellent straw hats with nimble hands.” The Cixi straw weaving force, composed of 70,000 women, is creating even more magnificent achievements, and the Hometown of Straw Weaving will bloom with even more splendid flowers of straw weaving artistry. (Cixi)