Xu Xiaoxue said she requires nothing but a single thread to connect the world with China and its intangible cultural heritage. Her skillful hands can create exquisite Chinese knots by meticulously intertwining a single thread and some beads, exhibiting a rare display of intangible cultural heritage to the world.

Hailing from Jilin province, Xu, 41, said: "I will never forget the words of my mother-in-law. When I started learning the knotting skills, she told me that knotting embodies people's hopes for life."

Her husband's family is in the business of making the decorative art that dates back to ancient times when people tied knots to record events. According to her, the tradition of the family's skills in knot tying can be traced back to the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Xu started to learn the craft of creating Chinese knots from her mother-in-law, Yu Hongyan, in 2005. As a third-generation inheritor of the provincial intangible cultural heritage of knotting in Jilin, Yu was proficient in various folk crafts such as knot tying, straw weaving and willow weaving and had her own unique understanding of knotting art.

Under Yu's guidance, Xu gradually mastered various techniques such as flower knotting, rope knotting and straw weaving, becoming the fourth generation inheritor.

To rejuvenate the traditional art, Xu constantly explored innovative techniques. She continued to innovate and create hand-knotted rope products that cater to contemporary aesthetic demands.

"Artistic innovation knows no bounds," she said. "As knotting craftsmanship has entered a new era, I hope to actively develop new products that not only showcase exquisite traditional folk craftsmanship but are also accepted and recognized by the market."

Building upon her mastery of over 500 traditional flower knotting art, she has rediscovered over 50 ancient techniques and developed more than 30 new ones.

Xu has also made innovations in the selection of materials and color combinations, making her rope knotting handicrafts more dynamic and vibrant. "Traditional Chinese knotting primarily uses materials such as hemp, cotton and polyester cotton threads," she said.

"In addition to these traditional materials, I have developed some new environmentally friendly materials suitable for contemporary trends."

Furthermore, Xu has integrated jewelry, jade, precious metals, wood carvings and other handcrafted items into the ropes, transforming the form of knots from flat to three-dimensional, designing them uniquely into exquisite handicrafts.

In terms of color combinations, Xu has gone beyond the bright red and yellow colors of traditional Chinese knots, conducting color tone comparisons among thousands of colors to design color schemes suitable for different age groups, presenting this ancient art of Chinese knotting in a completely new light.

Since Xu founded her own brand Rope Search For in 2009, she has taken it upon herself to inherit the art of knotting and promote knotting culture.

She actively pursues creative inheritance and innovative development, driving the protection and inheritance of the intangible cultural heritage of knotting in Jilin.

"The inheritance and development of intangible cultural heritage rely on systematic protection in terms of learning, teaching, application, production and research," said Xu. "And the key lies in the people."

Therefore, while building her own business, she took on apprentices to pass on her skills and conducted public welfare training courses.

So far, she has conducted nearly 200 knotting art training sessions in primary and secondary schools, universities and communities.

She has taken on over 700 apprentices at home and abroad, helping more than 100 apprentices of them establish their own stores or studios in over 50 cities nationwide.

In order to involve more people in the inheritance of knotting skills and to allow the knotting project to help more individuals, she has assisted women in mountainous regions in starting their own businesses.

"I provided them threads and patterns bearing the brand name and told them the required craftsmanship specifications," she said.

"After collecting their finished products, I sold them collectively to help them improve their income."

To bring the art of knotting to more people, Xu also published short videos via platforms such as Douyin and Weibo, continuously expanding the influence and dissemination of knotting art, especially among young people.

She has also established stores in cities such as Changchun in Jilin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan in Guangdong province, and Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Through simultaneous promotion on online platforms and offline entities, Xu received over 100,000 customers annually.

During the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Xu represented her skills at the Winter Olympics site, demonstrating the unique knotting techniques and works from Jilin to more than 1,700 visitors across the world.

"I felt that the thread in my hand was even more powerful when I was able to connect the intangible heritage projects of Jilin, Chinese traditional culture, and the world with a single thread," she said. "It filled me with the power to help more people understand intangible cultural heritage."

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