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12 November Brocade Culture According to an ancient text "Explanations of Names", the character Shu, abbreviation of Sichuan province, literally depicts silkworms in mulberry trees, which shows the interior connection between silk weaving and ancient Sichuan, a land of abundance. The excavations of silk fabrics in this area identified that as early as 4,000 years ago ancient Shu people had already mastered advanced weaving techniques. Romances about Matouniang (Horse Head Lady) and Leizu, a legendary emperor Huangdi's wife, spread far and abroad. However, the appearance of brocade in Chengdu should date back to Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The symmetrical geometric patterns are easy to make and consequently took the majority of the designs. Simple geometric motifs of nested squares, spirals, dots and crosses are inserted in grids of straight lines. These small patterns gradually evolved into large geometric patterns, which became typical of Warring States textiles. Qin's unification of chaotic China turned the vast territory into a feudal empire. After the short governing, Qin was superseded by Han which brought China to its first peak in terms of economy and military forces. This period saw the establishment of three weaving centres: Chang'an, then capital of China, with east and west workshops; Chengdu, the brocade city; Shandong province. A great many relics suggested the popularity of clouds and animals on the fabrics, which was designed to cater for the rulers’ enthusiastic about Taoism, a influential traditional religion in China. Textile with 1:4 structure allows for five colors, white, black, green, red and yellow. The feature is related to the contemporary theories of Yingyang and Wuxing, the five elements. The item with inscription of ‘Wu Xing Chu Dong Fang Li Zhongguo’ fully embodies designer’s obedience of the theory with exception of the replacement of black with blue for aesthetic need. Textiles with cloud and animal patterns occupy an important position in the artistic history of Chinese textiles, the influence of which could even be seen on wool textile of the west.
Qin & Han Period
Wei & Jin Periods
Silk, pottery, tea and so forth were constantly transported to the west along the Silkroad which was opened up with exploration of Zhangqian, an envoy sent by Han emperor. These commercial troupes also brought back many exotic novelties, lion, camel, elephant, winged horse, peacock as well as glass and Soon, these images appeared on fabrics. The transformation of weave structure from warp-faced to weft-faced made patterns even more magnificent and complicated. Composition with grid systems prevailed, including rectilinear grids of lozenges or squares, overlapping circles, hexagonal grids resembling a tortoise shell pattern. Paired creatures are often standing these grids, aligned in the weft direction, in contrast to the warp alignment of animals in Han dynasty cloud pattern textiles.
Tang Dynasty
Statements records that the prosperous Tang dynasty kept trading and cultural communication with hundreds of countries and regions around the world in its peak. Envoys were sent to Chang’an to study construction, language, weaving and so on, and Kyoto, a Japanese city, was constructed after Chang’an. Meanwhile, many talented people tried their best to innovate traditional patterns, whom Doushilun, governor of Yizhou, or Chengdu designed his patterns, the “Duke Lingyang style”, of greatest influence, which are described by the Tang dynasty scholar Zhang Yanyuan in his Li Dai Ming Hua Ji (Records of Famous Paintings). These pattern remained popular for the next few hundred years. The patterns feature confronted animals in roundels with scrolling vines filling the space.
Song & Yuan Dynasties
Southern Song dynasty moved not only its capital to Kaifeng, Henan province but silk production base to the south. However, Shu Jin Pu (Records of Shu Brocade) stated there were already over 10 places producing Shu brocade with 50 patterns before government added another brocade institute called Cha Ma Si in Chengdu. When it came to Liao and Jin periods, brocade became flashing with gold threads being its material for the love of the northern nomads. Yuan dynasty saw it prevailing.
Ming & Qing Periods
Art and culture of Ming and Qing dynasties became increasingly secular. Nearly every object in daily life is incorporated, and they were used to express the general wish for good life, such as a hundred boys, lantern. Fangfang, moonlight and drizzle patterns won fame at home and abroad.
11 November 芙蓉锦鲤
《芙蓉锦鲤》突破了有史以来蜀锦鲜有织鱼的难关，把传统古蜀锦织造工艺的特点表现得活灵活现。尤其是锦鲤从鱼肚到鱼脊的色彩过渡惟妙惟肖，其他织锦难以比拟。古蜀锦的织造工艺跃上了一个新台阶。
The brocade painting with the title of “ancy carps chasing each other in the shade of flowers” has vividly described a cozy, harmonious and natural scene: In a midsummer day, the hibiscus tree is in leafy profusion and its flowers are in full bloom. In the shade of the flowers, a shoal of alacritous fancy carps are chasing and dallying with each other. The brocade painting is in vivid color and rich gradation. Sharp contrast is presented by the still of the shade and the motion of the carps, and one would often believe that those carps are fresh and alive in the nature.
The Shu Brocade titled Hibiscus and Fancy Carps has solved the difficulty that very few brocade products could have fish woven on them since the birth of Shu Brocade, and has vividly displayed the features of traditional weaving technique used to produce the ancient Shu Brocade. Among other features, one worth mentioning is the absolutely lifelike color transition from the belly to the spine of the fancy carps, which can hardly be rivaled by other brocades and symbolizes that the weaving technique of the ancient Shu Brocade has jumped onto a new stage.
Shu brocade
Sichuan brocade was first produced in Chengdu, Sichuan province, during the Han Dynasty. It became the primary kind of traditional silk brocade. After Sichuan became linked to middle China, its brocade-making skills were spread throughout China. Sichuan brocade flourished during the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, with more designs, patterns, and colors being used. Especially during the Tang Dynasty, Sichuan produced a large quantity of very high quality silken goods. The magnum opus of this period included patterns of bundles of flowers, red lions, and the Chinese phoenix. |
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