Traditional Chinese fabric refers to the fabric that is specifically made in China. It is often wide and rectangular in shape, and it is typically decorated with intricate designs. Chinese traditional fabric is used for a variety of purposes, including clothing, bedding, and other items. In addition, it is often given as a gift or used for special occasions. Because of its beauty and usefulness, Chinese traditional fabric is an important part of Chinese culture.
These Chinese textiles are usually made from silk textiles, cotton textiles, or linen textiles.
In the remote Zhou Dynasty, mulberry planting, silkworm breeding and silk reeling had reached a high level, and the silk bundle (winding into large twisted silk) became a standardized circulation item.
In the Shang Dynasty, in addition to the plain brocade, but also appeared woven with geometric patterns and the use of strong silk thread silk fabrics; to the Zhou Dynasty jacquard pattern appeared; Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, silk weaving has been greatly developed, the types of silk fabrics also developed to the yarn, spinning, gauze, onyx, dude, Luo, silk, brocade and more than a dozen, some also added embroidery patterns.
From the Western Han Dynasty, the opening of the Western region “Silk Road”, to flourish in the Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty “Maritime Silk Road”, China has become the most famous home of textiles. But the history of hemp weaving in China is much older than silk.
What traditional Chinese fabrics do you know? Chinese silks?
The following is a brief introduction to several ancient Chinese textiles in ancient China:
Xiabu
The composition of Xiabu is Ramie. It is woven in plain weave, ribbed weave, and dyed, and is characterized by clear sweat, breathable heat dissipation, and antibacterial properties.
Ramie is a traditional fabric made from ramie, and is known as a living fossil of textiles. Ramie is a natural textile fiber that is carefully woven by hand through more than twenty processes, including degumming, bleaching, warping, sizing, weaving, and weaving, to create Ramie fabric.
Ramie has the function of clearing sweat from the body, breathable and antibacterial, so in ancient times, summer cloth was mostly used for clothing and bedding in summertime. Since the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, it has been used to make mourning clothes, deep clothes, court dresses, crowns, and scarves and hats.
Since ramie fiber, the main component of Xiabu, cannot be processed by modern textile machinery, it can only be produced by traditional hand skills, and the productivity is low. Therefore, the level of fineness of Xiabu production up to today is only at the level of general fine cloth.
Clothes made of Xiabu are popular in summer, as the fabric helps keep the body cool. In addition to its utility, Xiabu has a long history and is associated with many cultural traditions. For example, in China, it is customary to gift someone a Xiabu cloth when they get married or have a baby. Whether for its usefulness or its cultural significance, Xiabu remains an important part of many people’s lives.
Yun Brocade
Yun brocade is a type of silk fabric that originated in China. It is characterized by its distinctive cloud-like patterns, which are created using a special weaving technique. Yun brocade was traditionally used for garments and accessories fit for royalty, and it remains an expensive and sought-after material to this day.
The main components of cloud brocade are silk, gold, silver and peacock feathers. It is crafted with jacquard and is characterized by magnificence, uniqueness, beauty and opulence.
People started to weave brocade no later than the Zhou Dynasty. Nanjing’s cloud brocade is a collection of the great art of weaving silk, listed as the first of China’s four famous brocade, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties are the royal tribute, mainly used to make the emperor’s dragon robe, such as the Wanli emperor’s peacock feathers woven gold makeup flower persimmon flowers over the shoulder dragon straight sleeve knee bar four together as the cloud pattern gown.
Because of its rich culture and connotation, it is called by experts as the last milestone in the history of ancient Chinese brocade weaving, and is recognized as “the treasure of the East” and “the best of China”, as well as a precious historical and cultural heritage of the Chinese nation and the world.
While Yun brocade is often associated with traditional Chinese clothing, it has also been used in more modern designs, such as Western-style wedding dresses. It is a luxury fabric within Chinese characters. Thanks to its beauty and luxurious feel, Yun brocade continues to be popular among fashion designers and their clients alike.
Zhuang Brocade
Zhuang brocade is a type of traditional Chinese fabric that is characterized by its colorful patterns and intricate designs. The fabric is typically made from silk or cotton, and it is often used to make clothing, bags, and other items. Zhuang brocade is named after the Zhuang people, who are the largest ethnic group in Guangxi province in southern China. The fabric is traditionally associated with the Zhuang culture, and it is considered to be an important part of the region’s heritage.
The composition of Zhuang brocade is silk and cotton yarn, and the process is jacquard, characterized by vivid brocade patterns, strict structure and colorful. Zhuang brocade is a kind of exquisite handicraft woven with multiple geometric patterns, hemp yarn as ground warp and ground weft plain weave, and it is also one of the four famous brocades in China, mainly produced in Jingxi, Xincheng and Bingyang counties of Guangxi.
It means page of heavenly pattern in Zhuang language. It is mostly made of geometric patterns, with strict structure and colorful, full of warm and cheerful national tone, reflecting the Zhuang people’s worship of heaven and earth and their pursuit and aspiration for a better life.
There are more than 20 kinds of traditional patterns, such as “two dragons playing pearl”, “back”, “water”, “clouds”, “flowers” and “animals”, and more than 80 kinds of new patterns, such as “Guilin landscape” and “national unity”, which are rich in national style.
In recent years, Zhuang brocade has become increasingly popular outside of China, and it is now considered to be a global fashion trend. Thanks to its vibrant colors and eye-catching designs, Zhuang brocade is sure to add a touch of beauty to any outfit.
Shu Brocade
Shu brocade is a type of Chinese silk that is characterized by its softness and richness. The fabric is made using a special weaving technique that results in a light, airy fabric with a densely-packed weave. Shu brocade is typically used for clothing such as dresses and robes, as well as for home décor items such as curtains and upholstery. The fabric is prized for its beauty and luxurious feel, and it is often used for special occasions such as weddings and banquets.
The composition of Shu brocade is silk, and the process is pattern making, silk twisting and dyeing, and jacquard. It has the characteristics of delicate and strict, bright color, strong contrast and unique. Shu brocade is produced in Chengdu and Nanchong, Sichuan Province, and is a kind of jacquard silk fabric, which started in the Warring States period and has a history of more than 2,000 years.
Most of the silk brocades are made with colorful warp threads, colorful strips, warp and weft, colorful strips first and then brocade groups, square, strip, geometric skeleton, symmetrical patterns, four-sided continuous, bright hues, strong contrast, which is a kind of colorful brocade with Han characteristics and local style. Its patterns include landscape figures, flowers, birds, insects and fish, mythological stories, local customs and auspicious patterns, with tight and tough texture, bright hues and distinctive national characteristics.
In the Western Han Dynasty, Shu brocade was already sold in the Central Plains, and in the Three Kingdoms, it became a source of financial income for the Shu regime. Subsequent dynasties have exported Shu brocade to overseas through various channels and means. Yes, Chinese do international trade by those beautiful brocades in ancient China.
In modern times, Shu brocade is made into clothing and decorative items, such as square brocade, moon brocade, rain silk brocade, coon flower brocade, brocade on the ground, scattered flower brocade, pair of flower brocade and national satin, etc.
Fragrant Cloud Yarn (Gambiered Guangdong Gauze)
The composition of fragrant cloud yarn (gambiered Guangdong gauze) is silk, and the process is suitable for whole dyeing. It is soft, breathable, cool, easy to wash, easy to dry and non-iron. Fragrant cloud yarn, also known as “scopolamine yarn”, is an ancient hand-woven and hand-dyed plant-dyed fabric in Lingnan area, which has a history of more than 100 years due to the processing and coating on the silk surface with scopolamine liquid glue.
Fragrant cloud yarn has a unique production process, rare quantity, long production time and exquisite skill requirements. It is smooth, cool, antibacterial, insect repellent, and has a health effect on the skin, and used to be called “soft gold” because the coating slowly peels off after wearing, revealing a brownish-yellow base color.
Blue printed cloth
Blue printed cloth is also called indigo flower cloth, commonly known as medicine spot cloth, pouring flower cloth and so on. It is a traditional Han Chinese craft printing and dyeing product, openwork version of white pulp anti-dyeing printing, with a history of 1,300 years ago.
Initially, it was printed and dyed with blue grass as the dye. Blue printed cloth with lime, soybean flour synthetic gray paste baked blue, using all cotton, all hand weaving, engraved plate, scraping pulp and other multi-step printing and dyeing process made. It is characterized by simplicity, originality, simplicity and naturalness in ancient China.
The fabric is made by block printing a design onto a piece of cloth using a blue dye. The resulting fabric is typically very colorful and vibrant, with a distinctive pattern. Chinese blue printed fabric was historically used for clothing, but it has also been used for other purposes such as decoration and accessorizing. Today, the fabric is still produced in China and is popular among travelers and collectors. It is also sometimes used in fashion, particularly in the designs of contemporary Chinese designers.
With the improvement of weaving techniques, there are many new fabrics. Chinese exports both new fabrics and traditional fabrics to other countries in the world.
Traditional Chinese fabrics is no longer as commonly used as it once was, it remains an important part of the country’s cultural heritage.
