Xiangyunsha silk
{{Short description|Type of Chinese silk}}
Xiangyunsha silk ({{zh|first=t|t=香雲紗|s=香云纱|p=Xiāng-yún-shā}}) or Gambiered Guangdong silk is a type of silk originating in the 5th century{{cite journal |last1=Lin |first1=ShuHwa |title=Analysis of Two Chinese Canton Silks: Jiāo-chou and Xiang-yun-shā |journal=Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings |date=1 January 2008 |url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tsaconf/111/?utm_source=digitalcommons.unl.edu%2Ftsaconf%2F111&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages}} from Guangdong province (also known as Canton) in China{{cite journal |last1=Pan |first1=Yuanyuan |last2=Xunan |first2=Yang |last3=Chen |first3=Xingjuan |last4=Xu |first4=Meiying |last5=Sun |first5=Guoping |title=The right mud: Studies in the mud-coating technique of Gambiered Guangdong silk |journal=Applied Clay Science |date=January 2017 |volume=135 |pages=516–520 |doi=10.1016/j.clay.2016.09.024|bibcode=2017ApCS..135..516P }} that is created by dyeing silk with gambier juice and covering it in soil{{cite book |last1=Chan |first1=Henry Hing Lee |title=Transformation Of Shunde City: Pioneer Of China's Greater Bay Area |date=4 December 2019 |publisher=World Scientific Publishing Company |isbn=978-9811213076 |page=23}} from the Pearl River, resulting in a copper color on one side and a black color on the other.{{cite journal |last1=Lin |first1=Shu Hwa |last2=Mammel |first2=Kelly |title=Dye for Two Tones: The Story of Sustainable Mud-coated Silk |journal=Fashion Practice |date=May 2012 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=95–112 |doi=10.2752/175693812X13239580431388 |hdl=10125/23248 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.2752/175693812X13239580431388 |language=en |issn=1756-9370|hdl-access=free }}
History
The name "Xiangyunsha" silk has at least nine sets of characters to name and mean the silk, with seven meanings referring to the materials and/or process to make the silk, and two meanings that refer to the sensory experience of wearing the silk: "singing
silk cloth" and "fragrant cloud silk cloth". Specifically from Shunde district,{{cite web |title=今后香云纱只能顺德产 |url=http://www.citygf.com/FSNews/FS_002008/201107/t20110716_1897770.html |website=citygf |publisher=广佛都市网-佛山日报 时间 |access-date=2024-04-02 |archive-date=2011-07-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720054546/http://www.citygf.com/FSNews/FS_002008/201107/t20110716_1897770.html |url-status=dead }} Xiangyunsha silk has historically been expensive since as early as the Yongle period{{cite web |title=香云纱传承人之争引发两地暗战 |url=http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2009-06-23/072115834569s.shtml |website=www.sina.com.cn |publisher=南方日报 |access-date=2024-04-02 |archive-date=2021-07-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712030345/http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2009-06-23/072115834569s.shtml |url-status=bot: unknown }} of the Ming Dynasty, and has been shipped to Southeast Asia, Taiwan,{{cite journal |last1=Lillethun |first1=Abby |title=Black Silk, Brown Silk: China and Beyond—Traditional Practice Meets Fashion |journal=Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings |date=1 January 2008 |url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tsaconf/268/}} and as far as Honolulu, where some examples of xiangyunsha silk have been kept at the Honolulu Academy of Arts in their Xinagyunsha silk collection. It was listed in the second batch of the 2008 National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China by the Ministry of Culture, and has its roots in Lingnan culture.{{cite web |title=Intangible Cultural Heritage China Second National List國家級非物質文化遺產名錄第二批 |url=https://www.culturalheritagechina.org/national-list-second-batch |website=china-ich |publisher=Chinese Cultural Studies Center |language=en}} The fabric has appeared in books and old movies,{{cite web |title=香云纱可能成顺德绝唱(图) |url=http://www.efu.com.cn/data/2006/2006-12-20/178403.shtml |website=www.efu.com |publisher=中国服装网版权所有 |access-date=2024-04-02 |archive-date=2010-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413101844/http://www.efu.com.cn/data/2006/2006-12-20/178403.shtml |url-status=dead }} and it is today being incorporated into modern luxury textiles. It is considered to be comfortable, durable, and resistant to sunlight and moisture, making it good to wear in the summer.{{cite web |title=干洗技巧 |url=http://www.bbbaijie.com/jq/813.html |website=www.bbbaijie.com |publisher=百洁洗衣连锁上海总部 |access-date=2024-04-02 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074648/http://www.bbbaijie.com/jq/813.html |url-status=bot: unknown }} Xiangyunsha silk has recently appeared in mainstream fashion shows, including China Fashion Week,{{cite web |title=Xiangyun silk glimmers in fashion show |url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/fashion/2016-11/02/content_27253166.htm |website=www.chinadaily.com.cn |publisher=China Daily}} Paris Fashion Week,{{cite web |last1=Li Jianhua |first1=Jianhua |last2=Parkinson |first2=Gary |title=Bridge Builders China-France: Liang Zi |url=https://stories.cgtneurope.tv/hubs/bridge-builders/china-france/liang-zi/index.html |website=stories.cgtneurope.tv |publisher=CGTN EUROPE |language=en}}{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Gemma A. |title=Meet the young Chinese talents making a splash in Paris |url=https://www.voguebusiness.com/story/fashion/meet-the-young-chinese-talents-making-a-splash-in-paris |website=Vogue Business |date=6 March 2024}} and Guangdong Fashion Week.{{cite web |title=蘭悦东方禧媚莲依植物染丨香云纱的新中式时尚 |url=https://www.gntpe.com/9012/20240224/75236.html |website=www.gntpe.com |publisher=焦作市地平线信息科技有限公司}}
Production
Xiangyunsha silk is created with the use of the leno weave, which can be used to create visual motifs in the fabric. After dyeing the fabric in gambier juice, it is covered with mud and soil from the river, dried in the shade, and then rinsed of the mud to then be dried again in the grass in 18.5 and 20 meter long strips of fabric.{{cite news |title=Mingpao Weekly - Article on Gambiered Silk |url=https://slowfiberstudios.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/SFS-SHOP-DOCUMENTS-Ming-Pao-Translation.pdf |agency=Ming Pao |publisher=Media Chinese International}} There are as many as fourteen procedures done over fifteen or sixteen days, and production is also limited by weather. The sun is too strong and the temperature is too hot from July to August, and monsoon movement after November are notable time frames where silk production is stopped, and production is then limited to happening between March and November.{{cite web |last1=刘 |first1=莉芳 |title=梁子：重现500年前的香云纱 |url=http://luxury.qq.com/a/20080829/000025.htm |website=luxury.qq.com |publisher=外滩画报 |access-date=2024-04-02 |archive-date=2008-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926234738/http://luxury.qq.com/a/20080829/000025.htm |url-status=dead }} The silk's properties are influenced by the use of iron, lignin, and tannin-rich mud in the production.{{cite journal |last1=Ma |first1=Ying |last2=Lu |first2=Qinfu |last3=Lv |first3=Shanshan |title=Dyeing of Silk through Iron Ion-Induced Formation of Hydrophobic Lignin Coatings |journal=Journal of Natural Fibers |date=28 November 2022 |volume=19 |issue=16 |pages=13624–13639 |doi=10.1080/15440478.2022.2101580}} The production is considered environmentally friendly, as it doesn't generate wastewater or produce waste.
Gallery
File:香云纱晒纱地 20230225.jpg|Photo of workers drying strips of xiangyunsha silk.
References
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{{Improve categories|date=April 2024}}
Category:Cultural heritage of China