There are no news about knotted Chinese carpets before the XVII century. The oldest preserved ones have been ascribed to the last period of Ming dynasty (overthrown by Manchu in 1644) and the first period of Ts'ing dynasty (which would have lasted till 1912). Considering that China borders with those areas where the art of knotted carpets had been practiced since long time (mid-Asia), it can be thought that also in this country this activity had arrived from Turkestan where, among the excavations of Turfan at the beginning of '900, the orchaeologist Mr Grunwedel compared drawings found inside ancient temples with those which were still reproduced on Chinese carpets. It has yet been checked that Chinese art joined knotting with some delay in comparison with other countries:  as a matter of fact it privileged bronzes, ceramics, lacquers, porcelain and fabrics from which it has transfered ancient drawings and motifs on carpets. As said above, the Persian carpet, for a certain period, has taken some elements of decoration from miniature. It can be said that Chinese carpet, starting from Ming period, in its basic statement  which consist of an open field in which few and precise drawings are inscribed, draws its inspirationn from pictorial art that spread in northern and southern areas of the country in the same period following two Schools, whose most representative artist were Tai Wen-Chin, Wu Wei, Chan-lu, Ch'in Ying, Shen Chou e Wen Cheng-Ming.   Both Schools link up to pictorial tradition which dates back to the period Yuan (1280 - 1368) when this taste for landscape took place, which during the Ming period brought to airy openings emphasized by a contemporary cure for particulars. Typical elements of Chinese production, which make it sole, are first of all the drawings. None of them has a decorative aim  only because every motif has a precise meaning. They are almost always philosophical and religious symbols which, in the long run, Taoism and Buddhism have mainly affected. It is a symbolism used as a language, not an esoteric one, but intelligible for most of the population. The colours used are few: they too, as well as drawings,  come from porcelain and fabrics. These are the basic ones: rosy yellow and golden yellow (also called "Emperor's yellow"), blue, darck ochre, white, red and green.They all came from natural elements until in China too aniline coloured were introduced (1870). As regard the techniques, Chinese carpet is different for no thick knotting (senneh knot) and for long hair; this does not tone down the strength which is particularly high thanks to the crossing of many threads within the weft. Silk, wool, cotton, jute and sometimes iron threads, are used within the weaving. Within existing production, it is difficult to exactly date the carpets to different period starting from the Ming one. Standards for orientation are: measures, colours and somehow drawings. In broad outline, it can be said - by comparisons with other aspects of Chinese art - that on more ancient carpets, irregular for measures and structure, geometrical drawings, mythological representations and soft shades are prevalent. These carpets are called according to the dynasty of the period of production.

Carpets of Ming dynasty 

"Ming" dynasty reigned from 1368 to 1644, the capital was first Nanking and then Peking. It was a period of cultural and academic development, the emperors were personally involved in different fields of art. Specific laboratories were built for carpets' manufacturing, and Mandarins and the rich class were very interested in them. Existing samples, which can be dated to this period, allow to say that never during the following periods the production of knotted carpet has reached such a high artistic level. Colours mainly used are: yellow, blu and often shaded tobacco; among the drawings the swastika, which symbolizes good luck, prevail.   The representation are those of the ancient dragon (emblem of Imperial court), of the phoenix (which means favour), of the lion-dog (majesty of law) and of the bat (promise of a long life). In the open field - closed, during this period, within an only hemming strip usually drawn with a succession of connected swastikas (endless good luck) - a regular or irregular octagonal or round medallion, with a dragon or a couple of dragons inside,can be found.   Sometimes, the medallion contains unidentifiable drawings which, with a lot of immagination, can be thought to have been copied by characters seen on old mirrors. 

Carpets of Ts'ing dynasty 

Even if it took a Chinese name "Ts'ing" dynasty was a foreign one, as it came from Manchuria; but in the long run, Manchu invaders were completely absorbed within people of the occupied country. K'ang Hsi, the first Emperor, reigned from 1661 to 1722.   He was a skilled man both in the art of war and politics. K'ang Hsi, enlarged country's borders, tried not to bar local usages and traditions and supported cultural development of the country by protecting literature and art. For a certain period carpets preserved the characteristics of Ming period, then they were enriched with new motifs and pre-existing ones changed in such a way as to express in more naturalistic forms without alter aquired symbolic values. The central medallion, when there is one, is often reproduced in the four corners; its lines are more precise. There often appear representations arranged with the typical circled placement called "Yin - Yang" (male - female) with heads and tails in contrary position. Typical mythologic decorations tone down and representations become more and more stylized. The hemming is still mostly drawn with the succession of swastikas, connected with a more intensive line. Also the drawing called "Chinese key" becomes more frequent and it is represented by a succession of "T" which have been connected to funeral decoration of the ancient period of Chou, ended in the III century B.C.   When Ch'ien Lung became Emperor (he reigned until 1796), Turkestan was conquered.   Among the tributes of subordination it was asked the supplying of carpet and the artisans of those areas were moved to court laboratories. 
Ch'ien Lung too supported the development of literature and art: it seems that he personally imposed his own style on carpets' manifactures. According to someone, the intervention of Imperial style influenced  free creative expression of the artisans and it was the first sign of decline of the production of this period. The increased importance given to a certain magnificence in manufactures - which mirrored the magnificence at the Imperial Court - could have justified such an assumption; not with standing samples of that period still present a high level in manufacture and decoration. It is not difficult to recognize in them some influence of Persian production, already absorbed by Indian one. Vegetable and floral decoration become always more frequent, but plants and flowers still keep their typical Chinese symbolic meanings such as pureness of lotus, longevity of chrysanthemum, richness of peony. Medallions get richer with floral drawings, and are filled with clouds.   Cloud-shaped decoration will be widely used also after the XVIII century. Hemming lines become two (and sometimes three) one of which is larger.   Drawings are usually geometrical on one line and floral on the other parallel one. The "pearled" motif is frequent on inside edge and it consists of a succession of little balls at a regular distance. In the decoration with dragons, they appear thin and extended like lanceolate leaves. In short the new characteristic is floral decoration which will get richer and richer.Main colours are still yellow, blue, white, tobacco, orange and red, all used in different nuances and shades. In the long run they become more precise, clear and contrasting. Some round and oval samples date to this period (see Kacramanu). Samples from Manchuria, meant for Imperial Court, are characterized by a more accurate manufacturing and by the choice of particular symbols meaning devotion and respect. In  XIX century the production intensified all over the Empire. And once again it must be noticed that quantity prejudiced quality. In 1842, with the Treaty of Nanking, which brought to an end the war against the English, they commanded the opening to commerce for a certain number of Chinese harbours. The product was commercialized;  yet this is not the only reason which negatively influenced the quality of production. It is actually the result of a sense of depression spread all over the country also due to a bad management of the power, which caused internal risings and war against other countries. 

The symbols 

As said above, one of the distinctive elements of Chinese carpet is the usage of mythologic figurations and symbolic drawings, most of which are inspired by philosophical and religious beliefs. Here is a short mention. The figurations of the dragon, the phoenix and the lion-dog are the oldest. The dragon figuration is showed in different types: with five claws, at the beginning it was reserved for the Imperial Court, or with four claws. Heavenly dragons have a tail and hair or they have no hair; together with river and mountain dragons, they are represented in their natural elements: among clouds, waves and hills. Being the king of natural forces, the dragon is much dreadful. It was thought to be godlike and it was particularly adored in those areas where floods were frequent. When it is represented together with the phoenix, it forebodes happy event. .  Phoenix, considered the king of birds, appears on Chinese carpets in the same way it appeared on fabrics. It is no stylized (it must be interpreted) as it was on Anatolic carpet, but is is clearly represented, like a kind of heron "with golden pheasant's lighting feathers and peacock's tail".  The eight basic symbols of Taoism - it was born between the V and IV century B.C. from Lao Tzu as a mystical philosophy based on humbleness and then became a religion whose main aim is corporal endless life - are: the fan (awakening of dead soul), the sword (supernatural power), pilgrim's stick and pumpkin (medicine and recovery), the bamboo castanets (peace and serenity), the basket of flowers (supernatural power), the flute (magic), the bamboo tube with sticks (balance and wisdom) and the lotus flower (power). The symbols of Buddhism - introduced in China from India in the first centuries after Christ - are the burning wheel (majesty in law), the shell (invitation to praise), the standing umbrella (desire), the canopy (protection, defense), lotus flower (purity), the covered vase (lasting peace), the couple of fishes (abundance), the endless knot (faith). Among those symbols which means values or qualities there are: the rhomb (welfare), the pearl (purity), the coin (richness), the books (knowledge), jade musical stone (happiness), the two horns of the rhinoceros (resolution, firmness), artemisia leaf (dignity). In fine arts the lyre symbolizes music, the books symbolize poetry and literature, the rolls of paper symbolize painting, the chess-board symbolizes science. Some symbols can be defined as "phonetic", as the reproduced figuration has the same name of the abstract value to which it refers. For example the same phonetic character is used to mean "bat" and "welfare". That is why the drawing of the bat means welfare.  Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall are respectively represented by the narcisus, the peach flower, the lotus flower and the chrysanthemum.