An Yue Bamboo Mat

An Yue Bamboo Mat

　　Introduction: The An Yue Bamboo Mat is a renowned bamboo weaving craft from Sichuan Province.

　　Features: The An Yue Bamboo Mat is a traditional handmade cultural product of the Sichuan folk arts. With a long history and exquisite craftsmanship, it is famous both at home and abroad. During the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong era, the “An Yue County Annals” recorded that bamboo mats produced in An Yue were already being exported to Baoning (now Langzhong) and Renshou. By the Guangxu era, An Yue was able to produce both ordinary fine mats and exquisitely crafted fine mats.

　　History: During the Qing Dynasty, bamboo weaving became integrated with culture and art. Initially, bamboo artisans wove various patterns such as square blocks and swastika designs into bamboo fans and pillow mats. According to the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong-era “An Yue County Annals,” bamboo mats produced in An Yue were already being exported to Baoning (now Langzhong) and Renshou. In the Guangxu era of the Qing Dynasty, An Yue was capable of producing both ordinary fine mats and exquisitely crafted fine mats. In 1932, at the 11th Sichuan Provincial Industrial and Agricultural Exhibition, An Yue Bamboo Mats, bamboo baskets, and leather backpacks were awarded first-class prizes. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, An Yue’s high-end bamboo crafts included summer mats, pillow mats, table mats, mosquito nets, curtain valances, scrolls, wall hangings, and standing screens, which were sold domestically and exported to Europe, the Americas, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Japan, and Hong Kong. Modern bamboo weaving adopts the principles of jacquard weaving along with a variety of unique techniques such as picking, pressing, splitting, and piecing. Among them, hand-woven bamboo art paintings are considered a marvel.

　　Origin: An Yue County is located in the eastern part of the Sichuan Basin, 166 kilometers from the provincial capital Chengdu. It borders Chongqing to the east, Neijiang to the south, and Suining to the north. An Yue has a well-developed agricultural sector and abundant local produce. It is recognized as a national commodity grain base county, a major meat-producing county, a lean-pork production base county, a county with aquatic output exceeding ten thousand tons, and the “Hometown of Chinese Lemons.” Lemons, Tongxian pomelos, sweet potato processing, sericulture, and animal husbandry have become the five pillar industries of An Yue. The industrial sector in An Yue, primarily focused on silk, textiles, food, bamboo weaving, medicine, machinery processing, and construction materials, has begun to take shape. The construction of the An Yue Industrial Park is set to be fully completed by the end of 2002, and the industrial development of An Yue is thriving.