Abstract

Renowned of being one of the important categories of arts and crafts in the Ming dynasty, silk is a prestigious type of fabric. It represented social status, and also acted as a media to communicate civilization. The silk industry affiliated closely to agriculture, handicraft industry, commerce, transportation etc., and reflected the changes of the society in Ming dynasty. Based on existing object materials, and with the aid of historical documents and relevant images, this book strives to present the style and evolution of silk in the Ming dynasty from the perspective of production, varieties, decoration, usage and so forth, and to makes reasonable explanations of the causes.

The distribution of silk manufacturing in the Ming dynasty presented a situation that“It is scarce in the North and West and common in the South and East”. Production concentrated in Suzhou, Sungkiang, Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou regions. Top-graded silk products used by emperors were mainly from Suzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing. As economic development moved south, and colder climates emerged, there was an unbalanced distribution of silk weaving industry. Regulations for qualified craftsman became less stringent from mid Ming, which encouraged the development of folk handicraft industry, official workshop production were replaced by the loom owners, the situation was uniquely described as“weaker officially owned and stronger private”workshops.

The government had a lot of rules prohibiting ordinary folks to use silk, whereas cotton was already a very popular fabric in the Ming dynasty. This forced the silk industry to develop high-graded and refined fabrics aiming at the high-end market. Therefore production in satin, voile, leno and other high-graded varieties increased, quality requirements also rose. Brocade with gold threads and supplementary wefts were popular decorations. Gaiji and silk velvet were new varieties emerged in the Ming dynasty；they were relatively thick, which reflected the trend of silk varieties. With the gradual maturity of folk silk weaving technology, the local varieties represented by Luchou appeared constantly and even supplied to the royal palace.

As far as silk in the Ming dynasty is concerned, traditional Chinese styles were maintained in both official products and folk products, and external influences were insignificant. This is closely related to the“resistance to the minority culture”movement in early Ming, and ban on Maritime Trade in mid Ming. Even though floral theme is the mainstream for silk patterns, with the establishment of the clothes badge institution, animal patterns with a level of significance attracted more attention. The auspicious patterns were extensively used in the Ming dynasty, which is a manifestation of the secularization of silk decoration. Gu Embroidery of Luxiang Garden is a representative of Boudoir Embroidery in the late Ming dynasty, and its style is delicate and pretty, and it is the revelation of literati's aesthetic interest in silk.

A lot of overseas culture exchanges were conducted in early Ming, and after the abolition of ban on Maritime Trade in late Ming, foreign trade increased. Silk, as the most important export commodities, carried China's textile technology, aesthetic taste and customs to foreign countries. Suzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing continued to be silk weaving centers in the Qing dynasty, and inherited until today.