A Study On Alkali Agent Textile Printing In The Tang Dynasty

Chinese traditional textile printing has a wide variety and exquisite craftsmanship,which is the result of the gradual creation and improvement of the ancient working people in the longterm practice.As an important part of Chinese traditional textile printing,alkaline paste printing in the Tang Dynasty was a craft in which printing paste was prepared by applying alkaline paste on textiles and dyed with dyes to achieve different effects on the ground.It first appeared as a substitute for stencil wax printing,and then made breakthroughs in technology,and various new craft types appeared.Then,due to the impact of other printing crafts,colorful alkaline paste printing has gradually declined,and only a single blue and white printing craft has remained.Thesis takes the alkaline paste printing silk of the Tang Dynasty as the research object.And conducts research on the crafts and artistic characteristics of the alkaline paste printing of the Tang Dynasty through the methods of document collation,object information analysis,classification and comparison research,and restoration experiments.Through research,it is known that the alkaline paste printing process of the Tang Dynasty is composed of four parts:fabric structure,printing plate,alkaline pulp and printing,natural dyes and dyeing.The four parts are interlocking and closely related.Contains a variety of specific process types.According to the alkaline paste printing silk found so far,they are all plain weave,including three different types: plain weave silk,double weave cross-shuttle silk and twisted plain weave silk.Printed plates may include at least three types of wooden frame screen printing plates,hollowed out plates,and letterpress plates.The wood frame screen printing plate is suitable for making symmetrical patterns;The stencil printing craft is simple,and it is suitable for printing scattered patterns;The letterpress is good at printing delicate and beautiful line patterns.As the core craft step,printing paste and printing craft is also the main basis for the classification of alkaline paste printing silk.The printing paste craft of alkaline paste printing includes at least three different types: alkaline paste degumming printing,alkaline paste resist printing and alkaline paste discharge printing.Dyes are mainly vegetable dyes,and the dyeing craft includes four types: direct dyeing craft,vat dyeing craft,mordant dyeing craft and double dyeing craft,among which mordant dyeing is the most common.The artistic characteristics of alkaline paste printing are mainly influenced by the aesthetics of the times,and they interact with the craft itself and complement each other.In terms of patterns,thesis divides them into three types according to the layout form: frame type,roundel type and scattered point type.The rich pattern content and gorgeous expression style reflect the graceful and luxurious aesthetic fashion and the inclusive and open social atmosphere of the prosperous the Tang Dynasty.Also,the rich and exquisite patterns are closely related to the printing plate craft.The refinement of the printing plate process and the maturity of the printing paste craft have improved the fineness of the printed pattern.The popularity of symmetrical round patterns and the wide use of wood frame screen plates complement each other.The free and flexible scattered pattern is closely related to the appearance and use of hollow plates.In terms of color,thesis divides the alkaline paste printing silk into five colors of red,yellow,green,blue and purple to carry out research respectively.On the one hand,it reflects people’s understanding and pursuit of rich colors in the Tang Dynasty,on the other hand,it also proves that the increase in the number of dyeing materials and the obvious improvement of dyeing technology in the Tang Dynasty provided the basic conditions for more rich textile colors.In order to solve the technical problems of alkaline paste printing in the Tang Dynasty in depth and verify the relevant theoretical research,thesis selected three representative cultural relics to carry out restoration experiments,especially the restoration of the printing and dyeing steps.The craft of alkaline paste printing was reproduced through reduction experiment.And through the comparison and analysis of the characteristics of the three crafts,improved the understanding of alkaline paste printing process.Through the research of thesis,not only solve the doubts and difficulties existing in the alkaline paste printing craft,but also improve the traditional Chinese textile printing craft system.The research promote the reappearance of this almost disappeared craft,and contribute to the protection and inheritance of China’s excellent cultural heritage.