Chinese Rugs
Chinese rugs are of a different style to the Islamic designs of Persia and Turkey, having many Buddhist and Taoist symbols. In Chinese art symbolic motifs are used which always maintain their meaning regardless of their context or relationship with other symbols. This means that the field of the carpet often has these motifs suspended individually, rather than in the linked patterns of Persia and Turkey.
Chinese Carpets
Chinese carpets can be woollen or silk, but silk is perhaps the most famous material in these carpets. Chinese silk rugs are thicker than the Persian silk rugs. The motifs and pattern outlines are often cut with special shears to make them stand out.
Chinese rugs can be classified into two areas: East Turkestan, which today is part of the Chinese province of Xinjiang, and the rest of China. Chinese carpet weaving is believed to have originated in East Turkestan, spreading out along the Silk Road. Rugs from East Turkestan are known as Samarkand rugs, which a city on the Silk Road.
Samarkand Rugs
Traditional Samarkand rugs are often based on the pomegranate tree, but rugs with medallions are also seen. The pomegranate tree is a Chinese symbol of fertility. The rugs usually have a blue field containing one or two trees. The branches of the tree are usually geometric. Medallions of these rugs are usually octagonal with rounded edges. Samarkand carpets have influences from Persia, and this is evident from the floral motifs in many carpet designs.
Chinese carpets from East Turkestan can be divided into three groups, which are named after the Oases in which they are produced: Kashgar, Yarkand and Khotan. Kashgar rugs have influences from both Persia and China, and are of a particularly refined quality. Carpets from Yarkand are distinguished by their blue weft strands, and often depict pomegranate trees. Khotan rugs are the most numerous rugs from East Turkestan, and have brown weft strands.
Greater Chinese Rugs
Rugs from the rest of China are distinguished by their decorative motifs, which are unattached to each other and do not have strong outlines. Both geometric and floral patterns can appear in one rug, which is in contrast to other regions which create rugs using one style or the other.
Colours in Chinese rugs are rarely contrasted. Yellow and blue are the most common colours, and unlike in Islamic carpets red is not dominant. Shading is used extensively on Chinese carpets, with different shades of yellow and blue often woven into the rug.
A common layout for Chinese rugs is a central medallion which is also represented in the four corners. However, unlike Islamic rugs, these medallions are formed by mythic animals or geometric figures grouped in a circle. The border of Chinese rugs is created by floral and geometric motifs, which often contrasts to the patterns in the main field of the rug.
The nature of Chinese rugs makes regional classification quite difficult, as the style is quite homogenised, however there are four general production areas: Ningxia, Gansu, Baotau and Peking/Beijing.
Ningxia rugs are considered ‘classic’ Chinese carpets, however this term has been abused and commercially it often refers to rugs of a high quality rather than from this region. Gansu rugs are similar to East Turkestan rugs, and have bright colours. Baotau rugs are of a small size, and unlike most Chinese rugs they can have a red background. Rugs from Beijing are fairly large and thick, with flowers and central medallions.