Basic Introduction to Nanchong Silk
Nanchong silk is one of the traditional Han Chinese silk crafts, named after its production in Nanchong City, Sichuan Province. Nanchong is located in the northeast of the Sichuan Basin and the middle reaches of the Jialing River. Its terrain is mainly hilly, with a temperate climate and abundant rainfall, making it suitable for mulberry cultivation and sericulture. It has a history of silkworm breeding and mulberry planting that spans over 3,000 years and is renowned as “a place of outstanding people and a famous silk city during the Qin and Han dynasties.” In April 2005, it was awarded the title of “China's Silk Capital” by the China National Silk Association. On March 13, 2012, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine approved geographical indication product protection for Nanchong silk.
Product Characteristics
(1) Colored Silk: Few slubs, good consistency in luster; the surface of the fabric is clean with minimal scattering, the color is even, the hand is soft, and elasticity is good. Plain weave fabrics do not wrinkle easily.
① Twilled: Plain weave, warp and weft are un-twisted or weakly twisted, using raw silk or half-colored weaving techniques. The weave is tight, the silk surface is flat and firm, the luster is uniform, and the hand is smooth.
② Silks: Plain weave or plain weave variations, warp and weft interlacing points are closely packed, the silk surface is smooth, and the color is even.
③ Damasks: Satin weave, clear pattern, gentle luster, smooth and shiny surface.
④ Crepes: Plain weave or plain weave variations, the warp and weft are twisted separately or simultaneously, highly elastic, the silk surface shows a distinct and stable crepe effect.
Historical and Folk Customs
Nanchong is located in the northeast of the Sichuan Basin and the middle reaches of the Jialing River. It is the center of the silk industry in Sichuan Province and ranks among the top four sericulture production bases and 20 key cities in the silk industry in China.
According to “The Chronicles of Huayang,” the oldest extant local gazetteer in China, by the early Zhou dynasty, silk products produced in today's Nanchong, Xichong, Nanbu, and Langzhong areas had become tributes to the Zhou dynasty.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, county magistrates everywhere encouraged agriculture and sericulture, and the silk industry became one of the mainstays of Nanchong's social economy. From the time of Emperor Zhang of Han onwards, counties such as Guang'an implemented taxes in the form of cloth and silk, marking the beginning of the use of silk as a land tax. “A place of outstanding people in Ba and Shu and a famous silk city during the Qin and Han dynasties” truly reflected the social reality of Nanchong at that time.
In the Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty, Nanchong counties implemented the equal-field system. In addition to granting men 80 mu and women 20 mu of cultivated land, each person was given another 20 mu of permanent land for mulberry trees. During the month of silk production, women were all engaged in sericulture. At that time, the imperial court paid officials' salaries in silk, with higher-ranking officials receiving more silk.
Over the 650 years of the Tang and Song dynasties, Nanchong was “where patterns from heaven are woven on earth, and the sound of looms can be heard throughout the city.” More than ten products, including silk brocade, were designated as regular tributes to the imperial court. During this period, Guozhou flower red silk brocade was exported from Chang'an to Japan, gaining international renown.
During the Yuan dynasty, Kublai Khan's policy of “agriculture and sericulture being the foundation of the country” played an active role in the development of Nanchong silk, but due to frequent wars, the silk industry stagnated and declined.
In the Ming dynasty, rulers stipulated that for every five mu of farmland, one mu must be planted with mulberry trees. Violators were required to pay one bolt of silk. This stimulated sericulture. The water silk produced in places like Langzhong and Cangxi was fine and glossy, selling well in Wu, Yue, and Min regions. This indicated that the level of silk production in Nanchong had recovered to a considerable extent at this time.
After the Qing dynasty took control of central China, the government also focused on the development of the silk industry. Counties like Langzhong and Pengzhou encouraged agriculture and sericulture, while counties like Xichong explicitly ordered that no official business be conducted in the countryside after the Grain Rain season, stopping tax collection and legal proceedings to avoid interfering with sericulture. “Clear water fills the fields, and new mulberry branches lean gently along the paths; farmers wield whips and urge their oxen, while village girls climb branches to pick mulberry leaves.” Everywhere in the vast expanse of Nanchong, there was a bustling scene of mulberry cultivation and sericulture.
In the early years of the Republic of China, Fu Junshan, a native of Zhan Shan Township, Xichong County, invested ten thousand taels of silver to establish the Prosperous Silk Factory in Doujing, Nanchong. Later, it was renamed Liuhe Silk Factory. In 1915, the lion-awakening brand of reeled silk produced by Nanchong's Jiqing Silk Factory won first prize at the Panama International Exposition. This award brought the already world-renowned Nanchong silk even greater international acclaim. The luxurious garments and dance stockings made from this reeled silk caused a sensation in Paris and sold well in Europe and America. Ten years later, the Golden Deer Crane brand of raw silk from Liuhe Silk Factory won the gold medal at the Panama International Exposition, once again elevating Nanchong silk to the pinnacle of the global silk industry.
In 1931, Japanese raw silk entered the international market and was sold cheaply in Shanghai, leading to a significant backlog of domestic raw silk and heavy losses. To overcome difficulties, Liuhe and Tongde factories merged into Tongliu Silk Factory, united to resist Japan. At that time, Tongliu Silk Factory was the largest silk reeling factory in the world, with over a thousand silk reeling machines and more than 1,600 workers. It is the predecessor of Nanchong Liuhe (Group) Co., Ltd., currently ranked 17th among the top 40 enterprises in China's silk industry. To protect the traditional national industry, in 1938, Chiang Kai-shek personally instructed the Sichuan provincial government to prohibit the private sale and reeling of improved silkworm cocoons.
Manufacturing Methods
1. Dyeing: The process flow is: color card sampling → pre-treatment of raw silk → selection and preparation of dyes → determination of process parameters → dyeing → washing → fixing → washing → squeezing → drying.
2. Printing: The process flow is: color design → black and white draft → photosensitive plate making → color matching → preparation of printing paste → printing → finishing.