Traditional Chinese Silk（2）

The production technology of traditional Chinese silk has gone through three stages: primitive manual reeling and weaving, the formation of manual machines, and the development of manual machine techniques.

Original manual reeling and weaving

Mainly before the Xia Dynasty (before the 21st century BC). The earliest was collecting wild silkworm cocoons. Using simple tools to spin and weave silk, it gradually developed into artificial stocking and leaf picking for silkworm feeding. Silk weaving has evolved from "hand warp finger hanging" to a versatile composite tool for one fabric; The fabric is gradually becoming finer, and some even weave patterns and apply colors.

Handmade machine formation

Around the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties (from the 21st century BC to the 2nd century BC). After long-term incubation, composite tools have evolved into a complete set of manual machines powered by manpower, represented by reeling carts and inclined machines, greatly improving labor productivity. Workers are gradually becoming more specialized, their craftsmanship is becoming increasingly exquisite, the artistic quality of their products is improving, and a large number of them have become commodities. Product specifications have gradually developed from extensive to detailed public standards. The weave pattern includes plain, twill, and various variations of organization. The diverse organization and rich colors make silk a high-end clothing material.

Development of Handmade Machine Processes

From the Qin and Han dynasties to the Qing dynasty in the 2000s, there were two main types of looms: flat weaving and jacquard weaving. Jacquard machines are divided into two types: multi heald multi toe (pedal) and wire heald traction and lifting. After the Han Dynasty, in addition to the specialization of weaving machines, the main focus was on the development of weaving technology, with the following key points:

① Fabric organization. By the Tang Dynasty, the weaving pattern of silk had evolved from a change in twill to a formal satin pattern, thus completing the "three primary weaves" (plain, twill, and satin) in fabric histology. The interweaving points of satin warp and weft are few and scattered, and the surface of the fabric almost only shows a set of silk threads, so it has excellent luster and a soft feel, which is very popular among people. Later, a large amount of this type of silk was exported from Quanzhou, which was surrounded by jatropha trees at that time, and Europeans referred to satin as "Satin".

② showcases flowers. Weaving patterns of flowers, figures, etc. with colored silk is called showcasing flowers. Prior to the Six Dynasties, most of the patterns were formed by colored warp threads floating on the surface, known as the pattern of blooming. After adding a batch of warp threads to the loom, the color scheme of the pattern cannot be changed midway. In the Tang Dynasty, it was widely popular to use colored weft threads floating on the surface to form patterns, known as weft display flowers. This way, the lifting order can be changed without changing the weft color, and silk with the same pattern but different colors can be woven in segments, greatly enriching the patterns and colors.

③ Cross flowers. In the Han Dynasty, the "weaving" of flower patterns using colorful patterns of flowers, birds, and animals was developed based on the ground longitude and latitude. This is a colorful weaving method of adding embroidery patterns through warp and weft. In the Tang Dynasty, a new weaving method called "Kesi" developed, which only used colored patterns on the ground warp to form patterns without the ground warp. It allowed complex paintings to be reproduced on fabrics and could reveal their brushwork and charm.

④ Weaving velvet. The use of small coils or vertical plush on the surface of a fabric to form a pattern is called floral velvet. In the Han Dynasty, there was a weaving method of weaving "fake woven weft" first, then pulling it out to form a coil of warp threads. The Yuan Dynasty further used a knife to scrape off the coil before pulling out the fake woven weft. After pulling out the fake woven weft, it showed an upright and furry pattern, known as cutting down. This is the predecessor of modern velvet.

⑤ Printed and dyed flowers. During the Han Dynasty, there were three sets of color printing plates. By the Tang Dynasty, multi-color overprinting and various anti dyeing printing techniques had been developed. Clamping the silk on both sides with a hollowed out version, and coating the hollowed out area with color paste to form a flower, is called clipping. Dip a pen in wax and hand draw patterns on the fabric. After dyeing, remove the wax with boiling water to create a pure white flower, which is called wax wax.