侗锦 (Dòng Jǐn)
Dong brocade (侗锦) is the supplementary weft silk brocade tradition of the Dong people of Guizhou, Guangxi, and Hunan provinces — produced on a horizontal body-tension loom using a specific pick-up stick technique that creates geometric patterns of extraordinary symmetry and density. The Dong brocade vocabulary — interlocking diagonal rhombuses, stars, and geometric animals — is distinct from Miao embroidery in that it is entirely abstract-geometric rather than figurative. The most technically demanding Dong brocade is the tongdao type from Hunan — woven at a thread density of 120 threads per centimeter, the highest warp density in any brocade tradition documented in the database. At this density, the pick-up stick must select individual threads at a spacing of 0.08mm — finer than a human hair.
Risk level: Endangered · Within China's national ICH system; Dong brocade on national ICH list
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