Hmong batik is unique in its pattern themes and skillfully integrates content and form. Miao batik can be categorized into seven main types of motifs.
1. Butterfly Pattern
The butterfly pattern comes from the story of "Meibong Meiliu" and "Twelve Eggs" in the ancient song of Miao mythology. The story tells the origin of the Hmong: the maple tree into a butterfly, the butterfly mother with the blisters talk about love, gave birth to 12 eggs, incubated by the crane Yu bird, giving birth to all things - Lei Gong, water dragon, snake, tiger, sheep, elephants, wild boar, etc., which one of the eggs hatch out of human beings, that is, the Hmong's ancestor Jiang Yang. This is the story of the legendary Hmong ancestor Jiang Yang for the "Meibong Meiliu" born of the Hmong "Meibong Meiliu" translated into Chinese as "Mother Butterfly". In Hmong mythology, Mother Butterfly is the originator of all things in the world, including gods, ghosts, people, plants and animals, and the creation of thunder and lightning all originated from Mother Butterfly. Therefore, butterflies are regarded as the embodiment of reproduction and beauty, and are the most revered, becoming an important and especially popular pattern in batik. Butterflies in batik come in many shapes and sizes, both realistic and pictorial; abstracted and deformed composite. You can see a series of butterfly patterns with different and ever-changing postures, such as fluttering, crawling, frontal, sideways, face-up, and back. The image of the butterfly's lightness and beauty is loved by all ethnic groups in China. This legend has a far-reaching influence, which not only forms a kind of cultural consciousness unique to the Miao people, that is, the love and worship of butterflies is the love and worship of ancestors, but also makes the batik art performance closely integrate with their worship. It can be seen that the butterfly pattern in Miao batik has accumulated the primitive consciousness of ancestor worship.
2. Fish and Bird Patterns
The fish and bird patterns in the batik patterns of the Miao people are similar to the butterfly pattern, which is also a beautiful pattern that glorifies vitality. The Miao people believe that the bird is male and the fish is female. The fish and bird together form a pattern that symbolizes the love between husband and wife. This pattern of fish and birds like also have wings, birds can also be into the water swimming "water birds". Some scholars believe that this is a reflection of the equality of men and women *** with the mission of reproduction of offspring, there is no male superiority or inferiority of women, connotes the worship of reproduction, modeling is very characteristic of the pattern.
The use of fish motifs in batik is more out of psychological expectation and the need for reproduction. Since fish give birth to many children and have many children in their bellies, the original symbolism of the fish pattern is to symbolize reproduction, and the worship of the fish is the worship of the fish's strong reproductive ability. Through evolution, other auspicious symbols have emerged. The Han Chinese pattern of "carp jumping over the dragon gate" symbolizes a high promotion, and the pattern of "fish lotus" symbolizes "year after year". The Guizhou ethnic minorities' understanding of fish motifs has retained more of the primitive consciousness of fertility worship. For example, the metaphor of "having as many offspring as fish pups" appears repeatedly in the folk songs of the Miao people. In the rituals of the Miao people, fish is an indispensable offering, and its meaning is to pray for the reproduction of children and grandchildren. Most of the fish motifs appearing in batik have fat bodies, some have small fish in their bellies, some have dense spots like fish roe in their bellies, and some simply paint fish scales as fish roe, all of which convey the message of primitive reproduction worship.
Many of the bird motifs appearing in batik are likewise motivated by the desire to pursue good fortune and beauty. Birds are the happy companions of the mountain-dwelling minority girls, and the bird motifs convey their beautiful visions of life. Among the Miao, bird patterns also contain the meaning of ancestor worship. Connected to the butterfly legend is the ancient song in which the mother butterfly lays 12 eggs that are hatched by the crane bird. Among all the things hatched was Jiang Yang, the ancestor of the Hmong. Therefore, the bird is kind to the Hmong. The island is also the totem of certain clans among the ancestors of the Miao. The Classic of Mountains and Seas - Shenyi Jing recorded: "In the middle of the Great Wilderness there is someone, named Huan head ...... dare head human face and bird beak, there is Ji, eating fish in the sea, staff Ji to walk." Similar accounts in the ancient books there are some. "Huan head" fork subterranean "Huan Duo", rumored to be the leader of the Miao ancestors. Some of these bird patterns as a real copy, some imagined deformation. Such as broilers, magpies, sparrows, swallows, turtledoves, parrots, peacocks, herons, etc., can confirm their names; some only have the shape of the bird. Can not distinguish what bird. They are mostly surrounded by flowers and plants, most of them open their mouths, or head crowing, or whispering, or more than clamor and fly, or back to back like a quarrel, vivid, similar to a portrait of human feces life.
3. Dragon Patterns
The dragon has always been a good-luck symbol for the benefit of mankind in the consciousness of the Miao people. The dragon pattern in the minority areas of Guizhou is extremely distinctive, and its appearance and connotation are very different from that of the dragon pattern in the Han areas. The dragon is the original Chinese totem. Han Baiqin, Han since the dragon is honored, the dragon has become the supreme symbol of imperial power, the dragon pattern gradually evolved into a head of horns, sharp claws and teeth of the mighty image. Guizhou ethnic minority areas of the dragon pattern is very different from the fun, performance for the childish naive, naive, with people and nature is very close to everything, the Miao respect for the dragon and not afraid, the Miao dragon is not at all like the Han's dragons so full of God, teeth and claws. There is no fixed pattern for the dragon in Miao batik, and it varies a lot, with bird head and snake body, bull head and fish body, centipede shape, etc. Therefore, there are buffalo dragon, fish dragon, silkworm dragon, leaf dragon, pan dragon, fish-tailed dragon, water dragon, etc. The dragon pattern in Rongjiang Miao batik is both like a snake and a silkworm. The dragon's form is either flying, curving or stretching, changing freely. Some experts believe that the connotation of the dragon pattern, in addition to the primitive consciousness of dragon totem worship, there are also prayers for good fortune and good luck, eliminating disasters and avoiding disasters.
4. Swirl pattern
The swirl pattern in the batik of the Miao people is mainly drawn on the back of the batik clothes, sleeves, and the surface of the cloth, which symbolizes the unity of the Miao people and occupies the traditional pattern of Xiang. Miao people love people and nature, they see the whirlpool in the rapids, complete and rapid turn, feel very beautiful and have a prosperous and auspicious feeling, so recognized as.... An auspicious pattern of beauty. Swirl pattern in the Chinese Neolithic period on the pottery has appeared, that is the ancestors of the natural water pattern of simulation. This pattern is rarely seen in Han crafts, but is more common in Guizhou's folk batik. In visual form, it is one of the most striking batik geometric patterns, and in content meaning, it is also one of the most diverse patterns. The first saying is to remember the swirl marks left by the ancestors of the Miao people who migrated long distances, trekked over mountains and water, and passed through countless dangerous beaches and waves. The second saying is to record the swirl pattern on the head of the ox when killing the ox to sacrifice to the ancestors because it is a symbol of the ancestors. The third story is that in ancient times, when a clever and capable girl was sick, her mother picked up some young moss of Lang Fern Ge from the mountains and gave this herb to the girl to eat, and she was cured of her illness. In order never to forget this life-saving herb, it was painted on the costume as a decoration according to its appearance.
5. Flora and Fauna
Miao batik in the expression of plant motifs are not only a lot, but also with the Han Chinese plant motifs are very different. Its plant motifs, unlike the Han Chinese who draw on peony, lotus, peach, pomegranate and the like to symbolize wealth and good fortune (which also appear from time to time in the batik towel), are more commonly found in the mountains and fields, such as flowers, ferns, plum blossoms, peach blossoms, apricot blossoms, cotton and so on, and some of them have been evolved and refined into geometrical patterns. These plant subjects can be seen everywhere and within reach when ethnic minority women are working, from which they get the sense of beauty and through imaginative processing, they depict in batik images rich in vitality and mountainous and wild feelings. For example, the pear pattern, which is the most characteristic of the region, is not as rich and colorful as that of the Danzhai Miao in the whole world. According to legend, the ancestors of the Miao people once came to a place called Pear Blossom Pass during their migration, when the pear blossoms were in full bloom. In the long-term migration of the ancestors exhausted blood, almost dragged down by the uncertain life, suddenly saw the mountains full of angry and vibrantly blooming pears, feel the world is so beautiful, and then enhance the confidence of life, therefore, the pear left the Miao people a deep beauty of the confusion. Another legend is that, in the great migration from the Central Plains to the southwest in ancient times, women to remember the hardships of the trek, they will be along the way to see the flowers and plants are depicted in the clothes and skirts dagger, and later on will be preserved as a traditional pattern. There is also a legend that children wearing batik clothes with pear pattern can grow up safely and healthily, and the pear pattern is also an auspicious pattern for Miao children. It is rumored that fern grass has cured the illness of Miao women, so fern grass has also become a batik pattern.
6. Copper Drum Pattern
The copper drum is one of the cultural characteristics of the Miao people, so the ancient patterns on the copper drum are often the source of traditional patterns of Miao batik, and the copper drum is also a highly revered by some ethnic minorities. In ancient times, copper drums were often used in rituals, entertainment and conquests. The respect for copper drums and the reproduction of their patterns imply the remembrance and worship of ancestors. Zhu Fu of the Song Dynasty recorded in the book "Xiban Congxiao" that "Xidong loved copper drums more than gold and jade." Therefore, it is an inevitable choice for Miao batik to take the patterns on the bronze drums. This phenomenon is also confirmed by the record of Zhang Shu in Qianzhong Chronicle of the Qing Dynasty: "Woof bureaucrats have twill cloth, named Shunshui grain, cover molds to take the copper drum pattern to wax carving plate printing cloth." The copper drum pattern of 'Miao batik' has changed in the continuation of inheritance, but the center pattern of the copper drum is still very typical and prominent in batik. The center pattern is, in fact, the sun pattern that radiates light.
7. Stars, mountains and rivers
The stars, mountains and rivers mentioned here are not the objective stars and clouds in the sky and the mountains and rivers on the ground, but a combination of highly abstracted patterns and images. These patterns not only have a unique form of beauty, but also cohesive deep historical connotation. According to historical records, the Miao people in ancient times had experienced a great migration from their homes, which is a nation's sad experience, the Miao people not only engraved in their hearts, the legend also used the pattern to record and reflect the history of the migration events. Such as the nine curved river pattern is made of diamond shapes of varying sizes, symbolizing the river, zigzagging and crossing, the city boundary pattern with a square as the framework, indicating the city wall, the four sides of the small square indicates the corner of the building, the center of the cross indicates the street. In the Miao area where this kind of pattern has been handed down for a long time, there is this saying: this kind of pattern and organization expresses the scenery of the former seven and the experience of the ancestors' migration, such as the yellow horizontal line on the pleated skirt indicates the Yellow River, the green horizontal line indicates the Yangtze River, and the blank space in the middle indicates the field. They call this skirt "migration skirt", "mother river skirt".