Classification of China Silk Textiles

The silk textiles are generally known as ling (twill damask), luo (gauze), juan (silk tabby) and duan (satin). They are further subdivided into juan (silk tabby), qi (damask on tabby), luo (gauze), sha (plain gauze), ling (twill damask), jin (polychrome woven silk) and kesi (silk tapestry with cut designs). Today, according to the silk material, texture, weave structure and texture, the silk textiles can be divided into ling (twil damask), luo (gauze), juan (silk tabby), zhou (crepe), jin (brocade), duan (satin), ni (matelassé), fang (habotai), xiao (chiffon), ge (bengaline), rong (velvet), sha (plain gauze) and ti (crepons).

   Ling (twill damask)

The basic character of ling is the diagonal lines on the silk textiles. The diagonal lines have two types: simple twill and twill damask. The simple twill is the basic or irregular twill, and the twill damask refers to the use of twill weave as the silk ground. It was very popular in Tang Dynasty (618-907), among which the best-known type was Liaoling damask.

 

Gauze (luo)

 Luo (gauze)

Luo refers to the textiles woven with stranded warps. It appeared in Shang Dynasty (16th - 11th century BC). In Tang Dynasty, the Yueluo gauze, produced in Yue State in today's Zhejiang Province, and single-warp gauze are quite famous.
  
 Juan (silk tabby)

In ancient times, juan is the general name for the light plain weave fabrics with close texture. It was originated in Neolithic period (6,000 BC to 2,000 BC) and is still practiced today.

 Duan (satin)

Duan refers to the silk fabrics where only one silk thread (weft or warp) floats on the surface, making the surface of the cloth extremely bright and smooth. It was first seen in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and became chief product in Ming (1368-1644) and Qing(1644-1911) dynasties.

Silk Tabby (juan)

Satin (duan)

Major local silk products of China

 Yun Brocade
Yun Brocade was developed during the Yuan Dynasty although its origin could date back to the Southern Dynasty. Historical records suggest that prior to the Southern Dynasty there was no brocade in Nanjing until Emperor Liu Yu (363-422) had workers move to Jiankang (today's Nanjing) and established production there. Yun Brocade features quality material, refined weaving and the wide use of gold and silver threads. This magnificence gained the name of Yun, which is Chinese for 'cloud'. Elegant Yun Brocade ultimately became a precious artwork and no longer a fabric for day to day wear. In the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties Yun Brocade was a royal tribute.

 Shu Brocade
Shu Brocade made in Sichuan originated from Han and reached its heyday in the Wei, Jin, Sui and Tang Dynasties. With red as the predominate color, Shu Brocade has a variety of designs, fully reflecting the flowery nature of Shu Culture. In the Tang Dynasty, Dou Shilun, Duke Lingyang, created a set of designs for Shu Brocade, which was known as the "Duke Ling Yang Pattern".

As the unique weaving skill cannot be undertaken by modern machinery, Yun Brocade remains very expensive.

 Song Brocade
Song Brocade, as the name implies, originated from the end of Northern Song. Record has it that a Mr. Ji used Song Brocade for the paperhanging of some precious calligraphy copies. In all there were twenty different designs of this brocade. When the Ji family declined, they wanted to sell the copies but failed to do so due to the high price they demanded. Later some rich man bought them and used the brocade as patterns in workshops in Wu (today's Suzhou area). He made a substantial profit from it! This is regarded as the origin of Song Brocade. And it inherits the old tradition---today Song Jin is mainly used for paperhanging.

Brocades by Ethnic Groups

 Zhuang Brocade
Zhuang Brocade is the creation of the Zhuang ethnic group in Guangxi. Zhuang Brocade features rich colors, as this is the artistry of Zhuang people. The patterns vary from waves, clouds, grass and flowers to animals. Phoenix, the symbol of auspiciousness, takes a dominant role in these designs. Zhuang Brocade is durable and can be widely used in beddings, belts, bags and clothes.

 Dong Minotiry Brocade
Dong Brocade from Hunan features softness and neatness.

 Li Minority Brocade
Li Brocade from Hainan is firm with bold primitive designs.

 Tujia Minority Brocade
Tujia Brocade from the west of Hunan and Hubei is known for its mass, variety of designs and gorgeous colors.

 Yao Minority Brocade
Yao Brocade from Hunan is notable, too. The Brocades for bedding are neat and light in color with simple designs while those for clothes are flowery. Some of the symbols woven into Yao Brocade are regarded as the legendary "female characters", which are limited among women. Women use these special symbols or characters to convey messages. Though there is no way of telling if the female character is a branch of an ancient oracle system or that of Yao words, Yao Brocade has become a medium of such a mystery. 

Hang Brocade made in Hangzhou, Jing Brocade from Jiangling, Hubei, and Ning Silk from Nanjing, Jiang Silk form Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, Hu Crape from Huzhou, Zhejiang Province all occupy outstanding roles in the history of Chinese silk.

 

2010-12-14

---

Xuxifenglily

Knowledge of Silkworm

Also called domesticated silkworm, the mulberry silkworm is one of the economic insect which feeds on mulberry leaves, which belongs to Bombycidae. It arises and was domesticated from the original silkworm which inhabited in mulberry trees in ancient China. Today, it is widely distributed in temperate zone, subtropical zone and torrid zone.

Silkworm is an insect of complete metamorphosis. Its life experiences four totally different stages: egg, larva, pupa and moth. It takes 20 to 28 days for a newly hatched larva grows into a matured silkworm that begins to spin and cocoon. Spinning and cocooning cost about three days, and after one or two days it becomes a pupa. The pupal stage lasts for ten to fifteen days when a pupa turns into a moth. It dies after oviposition. Thus it takes about 40 to 60 days to accomplish a generation of a silkworm.

History of Chinese Sericulture
China is the first country in the world to raise silkworms and make silks. According to the Chinese legend, the technology of raising silkworms was invented and introduced by Leizu, the wife of Huangdi, which indicates the long history of Chinese sericulture.

Silkworm cocoon

In 1926, a half cocoon was discovered in the ruins of Yangshao Culture in Xiyin Village in Xia County in Shanxi Province. This dark brown cocoon is proved to be the oldest cocoon by far discovered in China. In the tombs of the slave owners in Yin Dynasty (over 4,000 years ago) in today's Yidu in Shandong, the archaeologists have discovered many jade decorations, including vivid jade silkworms, which suggest that silkworms were important in people's work and daily life in that remote time. Besides, some broken silk pieces found adhering to the bronze ware are another proof of raising silkworms to make silk product in colorful geometric designs in Yin Dynasty.

Folk-Custom of Silkworm
In the ancient times when the productive force was weak, people would like placing the hope for good harvest in the God's protect, which is no exception when they raised silkworms. For every dynasty in China, the rulers paid adequate attention to the worship of the Silkworm God and Silkworm Altar was set up in the royal palace. Before raising silkworm, the cattle would be killed in sacrifice to the Silkworm God – Leizu. In folklore, people built different styles of silkworm temples or palaces, or stood a statue of the Silkworm God beside the main Buddha they worshipped. Moreover, a serious of sacrifices would be held in certain period of time, such as the ceremonious "Ga Can Hua" held in Zhejiang in Qingming Festival.

Raising silkworm is a laborious work. During the long time of production practice, the silkworm farmers have developed unique production customs, even many of which smacks of superstition seen from today. For example, in order to protect the silkworms from insects and diseases, they would clean the silkworm rearing rooms, stick paper-cut with tiger or cat patterns on the doors to frighten away rats, and paste red papers with "Yu Can" (Raising Silkworms) or "Can Shi Mian Jin" (No Admittance to Silkworm Rearing Rooms) to refuse the visits among each other. What's more, they would bathe the silkworm eggs to sanitize them in a special day. They warmed the silkworm rearing rooms by charcoal basin when feed the baby silkworms.

Silk making process	Steaming silkwoom cocoon
Drawing silk from cocoons

 

2010-12-14

---

Xuxifenglily

Auspicious Design on China Silk

The auspicious design on silksoriginated in Shang Dynasty (16th-11th century BC), developed in Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties and reached its greatest in Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing (1644 - 1911) dynasties. The auspicious design has become the symbol of China national spirit and important part of traditional Chinese culture.

In Ming and Qing dynasties, every design is endowed with auspicious meanings. What the designs wants to express can be summed up in four meanings, "Fu, Gui, Shou and Xi". "Fu" means rich or good harvest. "Gui" symbolizes power and prestige. "Shou" is related to longevity and safety. "Xi" refers to marriage, the blessings of children and friendship. The auspicious designs on the silks in Ming and Qing dynasties have a vast range of themes: birds and beasts; flowers, grass, trees and stones; bees, bugs and fish. The deep meanings are expressed by three composition ways. The first and most commonly used one is by decorative design, the second is by euphony and the third one is by written description.

The expression of meaning by decorative design is to extend the sense of natural properties of animals and plants, such as the use of dragon, phoenix and boa to stand power and honor. The dragon is always regarded as the totem of Chinese nation, thus the dragon patterns are widely used in arts and crafts. In Ming and Qing Dynasties, the patterns of the golden dragon with five claws were the exclusive use of royal families. The cypress tree, due to its immortal greenness, is often used in a blessing of longevity. The Silktree Albizzia leaves extend in the morning and fold in the evening, which symbolizes the harmony between couples. The many seeded fruits such as pomegranate and grapes are a wish of more sons and more blessings. Peach and crane imply a long life.

The expression of meaning by euphony is closely related to Chinese partial tones. The distinct feature of Chinese characters makes the existence of euphony and pun. A speech sound often corresponds to several Chinese characters. For example, in Chinese, the pronunciations of "bottle" and "peaceful" sound the same. The partial tone of the magpie is happiness and the partial tone of longan or sweet osmanthus is honorable.

Besides, the auspicious designs can be directly expressed by written description and often with the Chinese characters of good augury such as "福" (fortune), "寿" (longevity) and "喜" (happiness). This method is found to be widely used in the brocade in Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD). It developed on an unprecedented scale in Ming and Qing dynasties. The character "寿" has already become a lucky emblem which has over 300 graphic designs. "卍" was formally a Sanskrit which means the lucky emblem on chest. During the rule of the Emperor Wu Zetian, it was used as a Chinese character, pronounced the same as "万". But mostly, it is still used as a design. The interlocking "卍" implies extensity and broad.

Surely in actual operating, the three methods are used in combination. For instance, the commonly seen design combinations are "Three More": more blessings, more longevity and more children, which are represented by fingered citron, peach and pomegranate respectively; 'Five bats and longevity": five bats surround the Chinese character "寿" (longevity); "Lotus and sons": designed by the combination of lotus flower or lotus pod and boys, as well as some peanuts.

 

2010-12-14

---

Xuxifenglily

Silk Road Photos

Some people think that several thousand years' Chinese ancient history refers to a story of West China and this story originates from the historical Silk Road. In 1877, the German geographer, Richthofen, gave the name Silk Road to the road from the ancient Chang'an City (today's Xian City) in China to the Mediterranean. It is a legendary overland trade route between China and the Mediterranean. 

This ancient road begins at Xian, winds to Gansu Province along the Hexi Corridor and reaches Dunhuang , a desert oasis and an important communication hub on the Silk Road. The route then traverses the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region , where the cultures of the East and West meet. It served as an important international trade route that linked China to India, Persia, Arabia, ancient Greece and Rome, thus greatly promoting economic and cultural exchanges between the East and the West.

Trips along the road are a feast to the eyes and it abounds with fascinating historical records and priceless relics. A famous Chinese literate Ji Xianlin said, "In this world, Greece, Iran, India and China have the most profound civilization and greatly brilliant history. These four great civilizations have a conflux in Dunhuang and Xinjiang regions. This conflux, actually, is at Dunhuang, the very elite section of the Silk Road."

Silk Road Photo Album

If you hope to learn more about this historical road, you can click the following photo albums of the cities.

Shaanxi (341)

From its beginning in the magnificent ancient city of Chang'an (now Xian) in, the Silk Road took traders westward to Gansu. Through this road, the profound Chinese culture and the Four Great Inventions (gunpowder, paper, compass, and printing press) were introduced into the west. And the religions of Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism were brought into China.

• Terra Cotta Army, Xian

• Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Xian

• City Wall, Xian

Gansu (116)

The Silk Road runs to Gansu Province with a total length of over 1,600 kilometers (994 miles). In Gansu, the Silk Road crosses Lanzhou, Wuwei, Tianshui, Zhangye, and Jiuquan along the Hexi Corridor with its mountains and deserts where it reached Jiayuguan - the giant barrier of the Great Wall. Then, at Dunhuang, the key point along the route, it divides into three separate ways through Xinjiang, including the north, middle and south ways.

• Crescent Lake, Dunhuang

• Echoing-Sand Mountain,Dunhuang

• Mogao Caves, Dunhuang

Xinjiang (331)

The Silk Road crosses Gansu and finally reaches Kashgar. In Xinjiang, you're suggested to visit mosques, Xinjiang Regional Museum and the ruins of the ancient kingdoms. Through the Xinjiang trip, you can have a better understanding of the Silk Road.

• Heavenly Lake, Urumqi

• Local Bazaar, Kashgar

• Ancient City of Jiaohe, Turpan

 

2010-12-14

---

Xuxifenglily

China Silk

"A silkworm spins all its silk till its death and a candle won't stop its tears until it is fully burnt." This Tang poem accurately describes the property of the silkworm. Despite technological development, a silkworm can only produce a certain amount of silk---1000 meters (3280feet) in its lifespan of 28 days. The rarity of the raw material is the deciding factor of both the value and the mystery of silk.

 History of Silk

Legend has it that in ancient times, Lei Zu, the wife of Huang Di , taught people how to raise silkworms and how to extract the silk.

The Warring States Period, the beginning of feudalist society in Chinese history, 

Empress Leizu, the inventor of sericulture

witnessed a prosperous time. The development of productivity popularized silk and it was no longer a luxury just for aristocrats. The pattern, weaving, embroidery and dyeing skills were all improved as they were influenced by the free ideology of the time, while the silk designs had sense of a free and bold air about them.

The silk products excavated from Mawangdui Han Tomb are proof of the advanced skill and artistry of silk at this time.

Silk production peaked during the Han Dynasty when the manufactured goods were transported as far away as Rome from Chang'an (today's Xian). The overland trade route was to become famously known as the Silk Road. However, there was also a Marine Silk Road extending from Xuwen, Guangdong or Hepu, Guangxi to Vietnam. An outward bound voyage lasting five months would arrive in Vietnam; it would take another four months to reach Thailand; while a further twenty days would carry the merchants on to Burma. Two months later they would arrive in India and Sri Lanka, from where the silk would be eventually transported to Rome via the Mediterranean. After such a long journey, the price of silk was equivalent to that of gold. Legendary as it seems, tender silk connected China to the rest of the world.
 
During subsequent dynasties, professional designers created novel patterns and improved the machines.

The Marine Silk Road took supremacy over the land Silk Road following the Song Dynasty extending the trade to Southeast Asia which became fully developed in the Yuan Dynasty. Besides Chinese exports, foreign businessmen also came to China to buy silk and china wares.

Statues of travelers on ancient silk road

A sailboat model

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties silk was transported to Europe and America from Manila and this meant that China dominated the world's silk market until 1908.

Chinese characters including the component "silk" have the intonation of silk or its implication of fine and deep. The richness of color, texture, strength and beauty of silk make it the means to imply something is fine and impeccable. A woman's raven hair is referred to as 'black silk' ; tender feelings are 'feelings of silk' and the Chinese word for a lingering and emotive feeling contains the component of "silk", and even a flavor can be silky and smooth.

 Tips on Buying Silk

Pink silk clothes

When come to China, many visitors would like to buy some souvenirs. The smooth silk product is certainly the best choice. Before buying them, it is always wise to learn the common sense of the silk product including the function, identification and maintenance.

Function of Silk
Being a natural fiber, the silk has irreplaceable uniqueness and great vitality. The silk garment has certain health care function to human body:

First, it brings the pleasant sensation. Composed of azelon, the real silk has a good biocompatibility. The smooth surface makes the smallest friction coefficient of all types of ribers.

Second, it has a good permeability and hygroscopicity. It contains 18 sorts of amino acid. It is regarded as the "Queen of Fiber" due to its good permeability and light absorbing ability.

Third, it has excellent qualities of acoustic absorption, dust absorption and strongly heat-resistant.

Fourth, it has the function of anti-ultraviolet radiation. The fibroin in it can well absorb the ultraviolet radiation. But after absorbing the ultraviolet radiation, the chemical changes will make it yellowing from day lighting.

Identification of Real Silk

Weaving silk

The most common methods to identify real silk are handling, eye observation, inflammation and chemical coloring.

The methods of Handling and Eye Observation
Observe the length and uniformity of fiber: silk is slim and long; cotton fiber is short; fleece is longer and more curled than cotton fiber; the long chemical fiver is long, and the short chemical fiber is short and trim.

Observe the handling and strength of fiver: the handling of silk is moderate; terylene, nylon yarn and viscose feel very similar to silk; The flax and cotton are hard and the fleece is soft.

Observe from the appearance: silk fiber has special sheen, bright but not harsh glare; chemical fiber does not have this property.

By Inflammation
Burn the fiber and observe the changes to determine its kind.

Fiber	Touch the Flame	Away from the Flame	Smell When Burns	Feature of the Leftovers
Silk	Curl, melt, flame up	Burn slowly, extinguish sometimes	Hair burning	Crisp, loose and black granule
Cotton	Flame up instantly	Inflame instantly	Paper burning	Soft, fine, grayish black downy leftovers
Flax	Flame up instantly	Inflame instantly	Paper burning	Soft, fine, hoar downy leftovers
Fleece	Curl, melt, flame up	Burn slowly, extinguish sometimes	Hair burning	Crisp, loose and black hard coke
Azelon	Burn slowly with noise	Extinguish	Hair burning	Crisp, loose and black beadlike

Maintenance of Real Silk

Silk embroidery

The best way to wash real silk is dry cleaning, or washes it with neutral soap or detergent specially used for silk product. Do not wash it under high temperature. It is bad to wash silk with light color or white clothes. It is bad to scrub it hardly or wash it in the washing machine.

The dyed silk product should be put in dry and cool places to avoid the direct sunlight. It is not suitable to wring it after wash. When ironing, the temperature of the electric iron should not be too high and interfacing is suggested to put on it to keep the silk from being damaged.

 

2010-12-14

---

Xuxifenglily