竹编的「起底」，为什么决定一件器物能用多久

学竹编的头一天，师傅通常不让编花纹。他递给你几根篾，让你起底。一个底起得不方不正，后面编得再花也没用，越往上越歪。这门手艺里最不显眼的一道功夫，恰恰是决定成败的那一道。

▍一、起底是在决定受力

竹编器物的底，是整件东西的受力起点。装水的提篮、盛饭的筲箕、装茶的提盒，重量先落在底上，再由底把力分给侧壁，最后传到口沿。底部的编法因此和侧壁不同：篾条交叉更密，转角处要压紧，有的还要加一圈加固篾。

底起得松，装东西时底部会向下坠，侧壁跟着外张，用不了多久就变形。底起得歪，侧壁的每一圈都会把误差放大，编到口沿时已经收不拢。老篾匠看一件东西好不好，先翻过来看底。

▍二、四种底，四种用法

常见的有十字底、方底、圆底与六角底。十字底起手容易，适合小件；方底要求四边等长、四角成直角，多用于方筐与提盒；圆底要从中心向外放射，每一圈篾条的长度都要算准，是四种里最考手上分寸的；六角底多用在细篾器物上，孔隙均匀，透气好。

一只编到一半的竹篮翻扣在木凳上，底部的十字交叉处篾条压得很紧

▍三、篾青在外，篾黄在内

一根竹破开，外层叫篾青，内层叫篾黄。篾青纤维紧、韧性强、耐水，篾黄软、易吸水、易生霉。有经验的师傅分得清哪一段用在哪：承重的底与口沿多用篾青，需要弯曲的转角可以掺篾黄，贴着食物的部分一定用青。

分篾本身就是功夫。一根慈竹可以破成十几层，再分成细如发丝的篾丝。四川青神的瓷胎竹编用竹丝扣住瓷胎，靠的就是这一步。据公开资料，青神竹编已列入国家级非物质文化遗产名录。

▍四、慢的那一道，撑住了快的那一半

竹编在今天有两种命运。一种进了展柜，成了看的东西；一种留在厨房与市集，仍是用的东西。区别往往不在花样，在底。花样决定它被不被拍照，底决定它被不被用坏。

手艺的门槛常常这样分布：显眼的部分学得快，不显眼的部分学得慢。起底属于后者。它不出彩，却把一件器物的寿命从三年拉到十年。

▍五、问答

问｜竹编的起底有几种编法，哪种最结实

答｜常见四种：十字底、方底、圆底、六角底。论结实，方底与圆底更稳，因为受力沿周边分散；十字底起手快但承重有限，多用于小件。真正决定结实程度的不只是编法，还有篾条的密度与口沿的锁口是否到位。

问｜竹编器物发霉了怎么办，能洗吗

答｜能洗，但要快干。用软刷蘸淡盐水刷去霉点，立刻用干布吸掉水分，放在通风处阴干，不在太阳下暴晒，晒会使竹丝开裂。日常保持干燥、避免长期贴墙贴地放置，比事后清理有用。梅雨季可以在容器里放一小包干燥剂。

问｜韵和鸣会收竹编这类器物吗

答｜会看，标准与漆器一致：只选真正的非遗手工品，只与传承人本人合作，工序要守得住手工完成。竹编的门槛在篾与底，这两处经得起看的，才谈得上严选。品类上，竹是品牌六大矩阵之一，与漆、绣、银、锦、瓷并列。

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—— 韵和鸣 · 与匠人同行

〖史〗

English

The base is where force enters a woven object. A water basket, a rice skimmer, a tea carrier: weight lands on the base first, is passed to the walls, and reaches the rim last. So the base is woven differently from the walls, with denser crossings, tighter corners and sometimes an extra ring of reinforcing splint.

A loose base sags under load, the walls splay outward, and the shape is gone before long. A skewed base multiplies its error with every round until the rim will not close. Old weavers judge a piece by turning it over and looking at the base first.

The common four are the cross base, the square base, the round base and the hexagonal base. The cross is easiest to start and suits small pieces. The square requires equal sides and true right angles, and is used for square baskets and carriers. The round base radiates from the centre with every round's splint length calculated, the most demanding of the four. The hexagonal appears on fine-splint work, with even openings and good ventilation.

A half-woven basket upturned on a wooden stool, the splints pressed tight at the cross of its base

Split a bamboo and the outer layer is the green, the inner the yellow. Green splints are tight, tough and water-resistant; yellow ones are soft, absorbent and prone to mould. An experienced hand knows which goes where: green for load-bearing bases and rims, yellow blended in where a corner must bend, green again for anything that touches food.

Splitting is itself a skill. One bamboo culm can be opened into a dozen layers and then into filaments finer than hair. In Qingshen, Sichuan, porcelain-body weaving uses such filaments to clasp a porcelain form, fine enough to follow the glaze. Public records list Qingshen bamboo weaving as national-level intangible cultural heritage.

Bamboo weaving faces two fates today: into a display case as something to look at, or into kitchens and markets as something to use. The difference is rarely the pattern. The pattern decides whether it gets photographed; the base decides whether it wears out.

The threshold of a craft is often distributed this way: the conspicuous part is learned quickly, the inconspicuous part slowly. The base belongs to the second. It wins no admiration, yet it stretches a piece's life from three years to ten.

How many base weaves are there, and which is strongest?

Four are common: cross, square, round and hexagonal. The square and round are steadier because force spreads around the perimeter; the cross is quick to start but carries less and suits small pieces. Strength depends not only on the weave but on splint density and whether the rim is properly locked.

What if a bamboo piece moulds, and can it be washed?

Yes, but dry it fast. Brush mould off with a soft brush and weak salt water, blot at once with a dry cloth, and air-dry in a ventilated spot away from direct sun, which cracks the splints. Keeping it dry and off damp walls and floors matters more than cleaning afterwards. In humid months, a small desiccant pack inside helps.

Does YUNHEMING take bamboo work?

It looks at them, on the same standard as lacquer: only genuine handmade heritage work, only with the bearers themselves, and the process must hold by hand. In bamboo the test is the splint and the base; only what survives that reading enters selection. Bamboo is one of the brand's six matrices, alongside lacquer, embroidery, silver, brocade and porcelain.

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