Xia, Shang and Zhou: Textiles are given a symbol of identity and status
During the Xia and Shang dynasties, the main textile materials were silk and hemp. During the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, textiles gradually began to be given social meanings such as identity and status, demonstrating a strict hierarchical system, and the establishment of a crown clothing system, which established the supremacy of silk fabrics in the history of Chinese textiles. Since the Xia Dynasty, textiles have become traded goods, and central cities and towns with developed textile production have emerged, forming professional clans with textile production as their industry. Bundles (wrapped silk) have become standardized circulation items. The silk trade has also reached a considerable level.
The variety of silk fabrics in the Shang Dynasty has increased, and there are unearthed records of silk, group, embroidered, Luo, printed and painted fabrics. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, a large number of jade silkworms and other objects were also unearthed in some large aristocratic tombs, which also confirmed that the silk weaving industry at that time began to be influenced by people's beliefs and primitive religions.
During the Western Zhou Dynasty, simple textile machinery with traditional properties, such as reeling wheels, spinning wheels, and looms, have appeared one after another. There has also been a loom that specializes in weaving warp warp fabrics. In addition, the dyeing technology in this period continued to improve, and the five main colors of "blue, yellow, red, white, and black" had appeared, and silk and silk clothing of different colors were used to distinguish the identity level.
Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties: beginning to take shape
Since the Warring States period, the Bashu area is dominated by Chengdu, and the silkworm weaving industry has begun to take shape. Mainly famous for brocade. The weaving of Shu brocade has a unique warping process, which forms a unique style, variety and color pattern in the long-term development process. During this period, three major silk industry centers gradually formed in the Yellow River Basin, the Bashu region and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Among them, the Yellow River Basin is the most important. The government set up a special organization for the production of brocade, embroidery, 纨, and other fabrics for the royal family on various occasions-Yufu Shangfang Weaving Room. The Qilu area in the lower reaches of the Yellow River has also become a major production center for silk weaving and embroidery.
Since the Qin Dynasty, the coarseness of linen began to be expressed in liters. The hemp weaving technology of the Zhou Dynasty is comparable to the silk weaving technology. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, hemp cloth and general ramie cloth have been common people's daily clothing materials.
From the Warring States to the Han Dynasty, silk fabrics were mainly distributed in the Chu and Hubei regions at that time. There were dozens of types of weaving and embroidery, reflecting that the weaving and embroidery technology during this period also reached a fairly high level. The development of silk weaving technology is mainly reflected in the evolution of silk fabric patterns, which is mainly manifested in several representative fabrics such as yarn, silk, Luo, Qi, brocade, among which brocade is the most gorgeous and prominent. The brocade patterns of the Warring States period are mainly geometric patterns such as rectangles and diamonds. The lines of dragons and phoenixes, unicorns, and characters run through them. The colors are mainly brown, gray-green, and vermilion. They are colorful and gorgeous, and vividly reflect the magical romance of Chu culture. Breath of life. The brocade pattern of the Han Dynasty is based on the theme of flowers, birds and beasts, with geometric patterns and water ripples.
Sui and Tang Dynasties: Rich variety and wide use
The Sui and Tang dynasties were the stage of development of sericulture production technology. In addition to many inventions and creations of individual technologies, a high-yield and stable production technology of sericulture with a complete set was formed. After the political and economic centers moved to the south, a set of mulberry cultivation techniques suitable for the natural conditions in the south was formed. At the same time, due to the improvement of jacquard machines and the appearance of large jacquard machines in the Tang Dynasty, free circulation of patterns and large-scale fabrics have been realized.
Official silk production in the Tang Dynasty reached its peak. In the city of Chang'an, weaving workshops for cloth, silk, yarn, and silk, as well as dyeing workshops for blue, cyan, yellow, white, soap, and purple have been established. The scale of weaving is unprecedentedly large, and it is the most complete system in the ancient government-run silk workshops. The Tang Dynasty was a dynasty with the richest variety of weaving, embroidery and dyeing. Among them, silk fabrics were the most prominent. Among them, brocade was the most gorgeous. In addition to Shu brocade, there were various kinds of names named after their uses, colors and fabric characteristics. Brocade, there are innovative varieties from time to time. Embroidery is also more widely used in daily life. Since the Tang Dynasty entered the heyday of the development of Buddhism, embroidery used in Buddhist offerings was more extensive and abundant than in previous generations. Hemp textile technology and tools are becoming more and more perfect, and the textile production capacity is enhanced. The production of Jiangnan ramie cloth increased sharply, and Pueraria lobata was gradually replaced by hemp due to slow growth and processing difficulties.
Song Dynasty: Textiles show the essence of luxury
Ming and Qing Dynasties: The Rise of the Cotton Textile Industry
The Song Dynasty was a period when the culture of my country's Han and ethnic minorities merged. Not only were the varieties of weaving and embroidery more abundant, there were also many innovations in weaving methods. Song brocade began to rise and became the mainstream textile at that time, because the place of production was in Suzhou, it was also called "Suzhou Song brocade". There are more than 40 varieties of Song brocade, among which heavy brocade is the most precious song brocade. It is mostly used for various furnishings in palaces and halls, as well as huge hanging scrolls. Moreover, Song brocade at that time was mainly used for court clothing and The need for painting and calligraphy binding. At this time, the silk was also widely used in official clothes, painting and calligraphy mounting, official honors, and duo. Embroidery in the Song Dynasty began to transition to art. At this time, embroidery guidelines were gradually formed, and embroidery that imitated calligraphy and painting appeared. , The government has also set up academies, convened embroidery workers, made figures of flowers and birds, landscapes and pavilions, etc., and a group of skilled craftsmen emerged. At the same time, the dyeing industry and the production of clothes, hats, shoes, etc., which were attached to the textile industry in the past, have also become independent specialized handicraft departments, and the specialized profession of tailoring has emerged.
During the period of Zhu Yuanzhang, cotton was planted throughout the north and south, gradually replacing silk and linen as a major textile material in China. The rise of cotton planting industry and cotton weaving has had a certain impact on the development of sericulture and silk weaving industry, and the development of silk weaving products. Song brocade gradually formed its own unique style and local characteristics, while Nanjing's cloud brocade weaving flourished during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Embroiders in the Ming Dynasty were able to embroider characters and stories on clothing, and successively produced four famous embroidery embroidery, Su embroidery, Yue embroidery, Hunan embroidery and Shu embroidery. In the Qing Dynasty, the interweaving technology appeared in the hemp weaving process. The interwoven fabric of hemp and silk was light and soft, and the interwoven fabric of hemp and cotton was strong and durable. In the 19th century, Zhang Zhidong introduced a complete set of textile equipment for degumming, spinning and weaving from Germany, and established the Wuchang Hemp Bureau in 1898. Since then, China's textile industry has entered the era of machine production.
