Nanjing Yunjin culture is rich in scientific and technological connotation, and is praised by experts as "the treasure of the East" and "the best in China". It is one of the most precious historical and cultural heritages in China and even the world. Nanjing Yunjin, together with Chengdu Jin Shu, Suzhou Jin Song and Guangxi Zhuang Brocade, is called "Four Famous Brocade in China". It is also called "two famous brocade" with Suzhou silk reeling.
Nanjing brocade evolved from colorful brocade in Song Dynasty. In the Yuan Dynasty, Mongolians decorated official uniforms with real gold. In addition, with the expansion of national strength and the increase of gold mining, brocade, which is characterized by silver weaving gold, stands out and later becomes the most precious silk weaving variety with the highest technological level. Nanjing Yunjin was a royal tribute from the Yuan Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Sometimes it is used as a gift from the imperial court to foreign monarchs and envoys as well as ministers and heroes.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Nanjing brocade technology became more and more mature, forming the local characteristics of silk jacquard brocade. In its heyday, it had more than 30,000 looms and nearly 300,000 people engaged in brocade, which was the largest handicraft industry in Nanjing at that time.
Cao Yin, the grandfather of Cao Xueqin, the author of A Dream of Red Mansions, worked as a weaver in Jiangning for 20 years. There are many kinds of brocade in Qing dynasty, with solemn patterns and bright colors, which represents the highest achievement of Nanjing brocade technology in history.
In the long development process, Yunjin has formed many varieties. Judging from the existing data, it can be roughly divided into four categories: satin, brocade, brocade and makeup. Each category is divided into several varieties, such as library satin, ground flower two-color library satin, makeup library satin, gold and silver point library satin and makeup library satin.
The names of Ku Satin, Zhijin and Ku Jin are all obtained from the satin library. Satin warehouse is a warehouse for storing silks and satins, silks and fabrics in family department stores in Qing Dynasty. The patterns on the woven gold fabric are all made of gold thread, and some patterns are all made of silver thread, hence the name woven gold; Because it is also hidden in the satin library, it is named "Kuyin". Bitter gold and bitter silver belong to the same species and are collectively called "weaving gold" in classification.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the woven gold and silver thread produced by Jiangning State-owned Weaving Bureau were all real gold and silver. At the end of each piece of cloth, the nameplate reads "xx ××× year × month × day × month × day × month × day × month × day × month × day × month × day × month × day × day × day × month × day × month × day × month × day × month × day × month × day × month × day × month × month × day × month × month × month × day × month × month × month ×
The main feature of Yunjin manufacturing is "picking flowers and finishing books". It uses the ancient method of rope recording to change the color of pattern into programming language and then weave it on the machine. In fact, it is a creative design process of storing pattern programs with lines as material.
This process requires high technology. It is necessary not only to calculate the pattern according to the specific specifications of the fabric, but also to show the delicate changes of the pattern on each line. According to the rules of the pattern, the complex colors are fused to the maximum extent, and woven into a program language flower book that can be woven on the machine and understood by the weavers.
The person sitting on the plane is called "flower puller", as long as you pull it in the order of crossing the line.
The person sitting under the machine is called a weaver. He used the technology of "warping and weft breaking" to dig out the flower disc, weave it, and paint gold and color on his makeup. This craft has never been replaced by machines, and it is known as a "living fossil" in China's traditional cultural heritage.
The weaving technique of Yunjin is superb and fine. In addition to the above-mentioned picking flowers, warping and following weft, weaving silver with gold is also a major feature of Yunjin. The fabric is elegant and gorgeous, which meets the needs of royal supplies.
In the old jacquard weaving Nanjing brocade, each loom needs the cooperation of jacquard weavers and weavers. The former is on the top, the latter is on the bottom, and the top and bottom cooperate. After a day's work, they can only weave a brocade five centimeters long.
Brocade is mostly made of gold thread, silver thread, filament and spun silk, as well as various birds and animals feathers. For example, the green color on the royal brocade embroidery is made of peacock feathers, and each brocade pattern has its own specific meaning. If you want to weave a 78 cm wide brocade, there are1.4000 silk threads on its weaving surface, and all flower patterns will shuttle on these silk threads. From determining the latitude and longitude of silk thread to the final weaving, the whole process is complex and arduous.
Nanjing brocade is one of the treasures of national traditional crafts. It is exquisite in materials, fine in weaving, elegant and rich in patterns, as magnificent as colorful clouds in the sky. It inherits the royal weaving tradition of our country and represents the highest level of brocade technology in our country.
Satin is developed from twill weave, which is a smooth and delicate silk fabric with satin weave or satin change weave. Satin has a long history of development in China. It originated in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, satin cloth has become an important product of folk consumption of silk products.