The Beijing carpet trade begins in 1860 with a Tibetan lama, not Persia
Research finding · not yet checked at the source
- Date
- 1860
- Collection
- Tuft the World research brief: The Non-English Record
- Publisher
- Beijing Memory (北京记忆, Capital Library) / 北京市文物局 文丛, popular history
- Themes
- Global diffusion of tufting, Woven carpet
Cite this source
Research notes
A lama brought carpets to Beijing for the Xianfeng Emperor and set up production at 报国寺 (Baoguo Temple) near 广安门, founding the 「东门法」 and 「西门法」 (Eastern Gate and Western Gate) methods. Popular history, widely repeated. Citation check (Oct 2026, from search results; pages not opened): partly confirmed. The 1860 lama, 报国寺 and 东门/西门 story is widely repeated but disputed. A Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau publication gives the date as either 咸丰十年 (1860) or 同治十年 (1871). Another version places it under Qianlong, with three schools (东门, 西门 and 鸡门) and teachers from Gansu. The Beijing Carpet Research Institute found no documentary basis for a lama teaching the craft in its 1960s–70s research (only records of tribute carpets). Master Kang Yusheng also rejects it. Some tellings say the Dalai Lama brought the carpets. The record should note the dispute and the alternative dates. Source: 北京记忆丨解放前的北京地毯行业 (Beijing Memory: the Beijing carpet trade before 1949), NetEase repost of 北京脉搏, 2019-11-21 (NetEase repost). Found at: https://www.163.com/dy/article/EUGOOS4L05434VBG.html Also: https://wwj.beijing.gov.cn/bjww/resource/cms/article/bjww_362762/436174414/2023080311110976160.pdf · https://www.tianjiangcarpet.com/news/2020-07-29/1700.html