A History of Tufted Rugs

Prototype. Chapter text drafted from the research notes and not yet checked at the archives. Images awaiting permission are marked.

Tai Ping's tufting tool drew on both the American machine and domestic hand-tufting tools

Research finding · not yet checked at the source

Collection
Tuft the World research brief: The Non-English Record
Publisher
Hong Kong Heritage Project (Kadoorie family archive)
Themes
Global diffusion of tufting, Hand-tufting tools & the gun

Cite this source

“Tai Ping’s tufting tool drew on both the American machine and domestic hand-tufting tools.” Research note, Tuft the World research brief: The Non-English Record. hongkongheritage.org.

Research notes

General manager Yip Yuen-cheung (Anthony Yeh), an engineer, developed a new cut-pile tufting needle. The Chinese text names domestic hand-tufting tools as a source, a link from hand tools like the Susan Burr to the Hong Kong gun that the English version doesn't make explicit. Citation check (Oct 2026, from search results; pages not opened): confirmed. The quote is on the HKHP page, and the snippet shows 參考了美國用單針衣車造地氈的方法和家用簇絨工具. Translation: 家用簇絨工具 means 'household tufting tools'. 'Domestic hand-tufting tools' adds 'hand' and is ambiguous ('domestic' can read as 'made in Hong Kong/China'). I could not check whether the English version of the page leaves this out; the English snippet only says the tool 'helped boost productivity during the first few years'. Linking it to the Susan Burr is the brief's inference. One HK01 article spells the name 葉元璋. Source: Tai Ping Carpets: A Humble Beginning in Hong Kong 篳路藍縷:太平地氈, Hong Kong Heritage Project. Found at: https://www.hongkongheritage.org/nodes/view/25832 Also: https://www.hkrch.org/heritagethewayforward-stories/%E7%AC%AC%E4%B8%80%E9%96%93%E5%A4%A7%E5%9F%94%E7%8F%BE%E4%BB%A3%E5%8C%96%E5%B7%A5%E5%BB%A0-%E2%80%94%E2%80%94%E5%A4%AA%E5%B9%B3%E5%9C%B0%E6%B0%88 · https://industrialhistoryhk.org/tai-ping-carpets-a-brief-history/ Earlier translation: "Tai Ping's general manager Yip Yuen-cheung, trained as an engineer, referred to the American method of making carpet with a single-needle sewing machine and to domestic hand-tufting tools, added some innovative engineering thinking, and developed a new cut-pile tufting needle."