The world is caught in constant change, both at the micro and the macro levels. Therefore the dimension of our perspective matters enormously. Heaven-and-earth is on one end of the dimensional spectrum, hence the legendary giant bird of Peng in Zhuangzi’s
parable comes with wings spreading out like clusters of clouds. Yin-and-Yang (obscurity and brightness) also refers to a dimension, in which ‘all things leave behind them the Obscurity (out of which they have come), and go forward to embrace the Brightness (into
which they have emerged), while they are harmonized by the Breath of Vacancy’.Life is such a dimension that the mushroom of a morning does not know (what takes place between) the beginning and end of a month, and an insect of the summer cannot be talked
with about ice, therefore the perfectly happy Zhuangzi was found drumming on the basin and singing after the death of his wife.

        The dimension oftapestry art is simple and straightforword. The vertical warps define the scale of the work and supplies it with a skeleton, whereas the wefts may change in material, color and depth. Yet from the art of weaving we can also get a glimpse of the
Dao. Laozi said, ‘always without desire we must be found, if its deep mystery we would sound; but if desire always within us be, its outer fringe is all that we shall see.’ Perhaps one had better forget about weaving, and let the thread run by itself. What we can do is to partake of the experience of its mystery. Yet before that one has to fully grasp the scale and skeleton of tapestry. The objective of doing so is to prepare ourselves for further expansion of our horizons.

        In the chapter ‘Knowledge Rambling in the North’ in Zhuangzi,we find the following sentences,‘When one only notes the changes of things, himself continuing one and the same, he does not change. How should there be (a difference between) his changing and not changing?He is sure, however, to keep his points of contact with them from being many.’ Those that change with an external object are precisely those that weaving are those that continue one and the same approach to weaving. Such people are at one with changing as well as with not changing. In order to be at peace with changing, one has to remain within the dimensions, and remain in a dynamic equilibrium with the dao of changing, which implies an appropriate understanding of change itself. ‘Keepng his points of contact with them from being many’ implies an certain proportion,which suggests that in order to achieve 'forget one another in the lakes and rivers',one has to first find a solution to the issue of balancing'changing externally while remaining one and the same internally’. Only in this way can one ‘drift like a vessel loosed from its moorings’,and ‘occupy oneself with the spirit-like operation of heaven and earth’, and eventually represent spiritual and poetic changes through the variations in fiber.

        My musings above were inspired by the art of tapestry and weaving, as well as refractions of the continuous development in contemporary fiber art.AT the official launch of'Fiber Visions: The First Hangzhou Triennial of Fiber Art’, I would like to pay my deepest homage to the generations of fiber artists across the world,for their tireless,experimental effort.
effort.