However, nowadays only a few people carry on the traditional clamp-resist dyeing technique. Xue Xunlang, from Cangnan County of Wenzhou, accidentally became a reviver of clamp-resist dyeing and was the last person to run a workshop in the local area to produce jiaxie cloth.

In 1988, Xue got to know an elderly Japanese lady who ran the Lan Lan Chinese Flowery Cloth Store in Shanghai. At her request, Xue brought her some bolts of old cloth from the Chinese countryside including a piece of jiaxie cloth. The Japanese woman told Xue that historians believed this handicraft technique had been lost in China. Xue explained that such cloth was very common in Wenzhou. He said although it had not been manufactured for about 20 years, it wouldn't be difficult to resume production. Xue met the Dai family in Cangnan, who used to own the most famous dyehouse in the area. The Dais recommended Chen Kangsuan, one of their ex-workers, to Xue. Chen was already 66 years old when he met Chen in 1989 and hadn't made any jiaxie cloth for over 30 years but he gladly agreed to try.

The resumption of jiaxie-cloth production attracted attention from experts and media. However, despite their help, Xue's workshop finally closed down after about ten years of production due to financial difficulties.

Author: Lency

All rights reserved. Reproduction of text for non-commercial purposes is permitted provided that both the source and author are acknowledged and a notifying email is sent to us.