Chinese ornamental gold silk is a type of

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not th ...

which employs gold as ornamentation; Chinese ornamental gold silk originated in China and have a long history in China.

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

and silk were precious goods; the combination of both in textiles created one of the most valuable commodities. Several gold-ornamental techniques can be summarized as:

gold foil Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kara ...

(gold leaf), gold powder, and gold thread technique.

History

Silk originated in China approximately 2000 years ago, prior to the use of gold. The use of gold is found in the

Lower Xiajiadian culture The Lower Xiajiadian culture (; 2200–1600 BC) is an archaeological culture in Northeast China, found mainly in southeastern Inner Mongolia, northern Hebei, and western Liaoning, China. Subsistence was based on millet farming supplemented wi ...

and the

Siba Culture The Siba culture (), also called Huoshaogou culture (), was a Bronze Age archaeological culture that flourished circa 1900 to 1500 BC in the Hexi Corridor, in Gansu Province of Northwest China. It was discovered in 1984 at Sibatan in Shandan Co ...

, which can be dated to about 3600 years ago. However, the combination of gold and silk appeared relatively late, and depended on the craft-making development of gold, especially that of gold wire. Prior to the

Western Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...

, only the Emperor and the aristocracy were permitted to wear the highest grade silk textiles.

Gold foil technique

Due its physical properties, gold can be turned into very thin foil, also known as gold leaf or leaf gold, and twisted into wires. Techniques for applying adhesive and gold leaf to the surface of a silk foundation fabric existed before the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

. A 2016 study suggested that the use of gold foil and thread in silk weaving appeared as early as the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...

after gold foil of 0.010 mm on the

micrometer Micrometer can mean: * Micrometer (device), used for accurate measurements by means of a calibrated screw * American spelling of micrometre The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; ...

scale was unearthed in the Yin Ruins in Anyang. Items showing the addition of gold foil to a silk foundation were found in a Eastern Han dynasty tomb, which dates the technique to the Eastern Han dynasty. Gold foil ornaments on silk clothing are found in unearthed artifacts of the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

; for example, the tomb of Huang Sheng, of the Southern Song dynasty, has silk blouses decorated with gold foil patterns. The foil-on-silk technique continued to be used in the Mongol period and in the Yuan dynasty. The making of gold foil is recorded in ''Heavenly Creations《天工开物》'' written by

Song Yingxing Song Yingxing (Traditional Chinese: 宋應星; Simplified Chinese: 宋应星; Wade Giles: Sung Ying-Hsing; 1587-1666 AD) was a Chinese scientist and encyclopedist who lived during the late Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). He was the author of ''Tian ...

of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

. Gold foil is attached to silk by using an adhesive, usually lacquer. The gold foil is then applied onto the silk with

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

pliers. File:Fragment (China), 19th century (CH 18130947).jpg, Textile; silk, paper with applied gold foil, 19th century. File:Textile (China), 19th century (CH 18420263).jpg, Textile; silk, paper with applied gold foil, 19th century

Gold powder technique

Gold powder was also used in the printing of silk in ancient China. Gold powder originated first, and was used later than gold foil. After manufacture, gold powder is mixed with a suitable binder before being applied to the surface of silk yarns or fabrics. Gold powder was used as early as the 2nd century AD. The alchemist Hu Gangzi, of the Eastern Han dynasty, is claimed to have invented the technique, as recorded in ''Chu jin Kuang Tu Lu''. Silk fabric metallized with gold powder was unearthed from Tomb 1 at the Mawangdui site. Gold metallization of silk was also used in the

. A pattern was applied to silk using an adhesive, the pattern then metallized with gold powder. Clothing decorated with gold-powder-printed patterns (also known as ''painting with gold'' techniques) was also found in the Southern dynasty tomb of Huang Sheng. Silver powder adornment of textiles used the same technique.

Gold thread technique

Gold thread was developed later and can be found in different forms: gold wire (made only of gold), gold-wrapped thread (typically a core yarn of silk wrapped with a strip of high-content gold foil), and yarn which is coated with gold powder. The making of gold threads through the gilding of animal or vegetate substrates appears to have originated in China.

Gold wire

There is also a gold wire technique called 'flat gold' (), which involved immersing bamboo paper in water, putting gold foil on the paper after brushing a layer of

fish gelatin Isinglass () is a substance obtained from the dried swim bladders of fish. It is a form of collagen used mainly for the clarification or fining of some beer and wine. It can also be cooked into a paste for specialised gluing purposes. ...

on it, calendaring the gold paper foils on a board with cobbles to improve the gloss, and, finally, cutting the gold foil into long ribbons.

Gold-wrapped thread

The use of gold-wrapped thread has been found as early as the Wei and Jin periods on tomb murals. There is also evidence of gold threads in the Sui and Tang dynasties, including gilded and gold-leafed threads. Gold- and silver-gilded threads continued to be used in luxurious silk textiles in the

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

, Liao, Jin dynasty and during the Mongol period. In the Song dynasty, the weaving of textiles (jin 錦) brocaded with gold thread was widespread. Gilded threads using a paper substrate were typically associated with that dynasty, while those using animal substrate were associated with artisans of Northern China, and the Liao and Jin territories. Nianjin (撚金 lit. "twisted gold") refers to a type of gold thread in which flat strips of gilding are wound around a core of silk yarn whereas in pijin (皮金 lit. "leather gold"), an animal substrate is used. File:Northern China, Liao dynasty - Boot - 1993.158.1 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, Imperial Boots Outer fabric: tapestry (kesi); silk and gold threads, Liao dynasty File:金綠地獵鵝紋織金絹-Textile with Swan Hunt MET DT6221.jpg, Plain-weave silk brocaded with gold-leaf-wrapped leather strips, Jin dynasty. File:MET DP14440.jpg, Satin damask and satin brocaded in silk and gold-wrapped silk, early 18th century File:Daoist priest's robe, China, Honolulu Museum of Art 1678.1.JPG, Daoist priest's robe made of silk, gold-paper-wrapped thread, plain and satin weave, 20th century.

Development of Nasij

In Tang silks, silk thread typically was wrapped with thin strips of gilded paper; these gilded threads were flat, taking the form of the paper, but could not be integrated fully with the non-gold silk threads of brocades. The flat Chinese gold threads differed from the non-flat, thus flexible, golden silk threads developed by the Persians and artisans in the

Transoxiana Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...

region. Called '' nasij'' (also known as nashiri 納失失/ 納石失, a

lampas Lampas is a type of luxury fabric with a background weft (a "ground weave") typically in taffeta with supplementary wefts (the "pattern wefts") laid on top and forming a design, sometimes also with a " brocading weft". Lampas is typically woven i ...

woven with gold threads). Nasij had a continuous pattern in gold, often popularly called cloth-of-gold, or plain fabric with a motif in gold. By the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...

, Mongols'

jisün Jisün (Mongolian term), also known as zhisunfu () or Zhisun (, also written as or ), zhixun (), jixun (), zhama () or Jisun (), was a very important male Mongol garment during the Yuan dynasty. They were also known as Mongol "robes of honour" ( ...

robes were often woven with gold thread (nasij). File:Clevelandart 1996.297.jpg, Lampas, silk and gold thread; textile used in the making of

, 1240.

Usage

Hanfu ''Hanfu'' () is the traditional styles of clothing worn by the Han Chinese. There are several representative styles of ''hanfu'', such as the (an upper-body garment with a long outer skirt), the (an upper-body garment with a long underskirt ...

and

Qizhuang (), also known as () and commonly referred as Manchu clothing in English, is the traditional clothing of the Manchu people. in the broad sense refers to the clothing system of the Manchu people, which includes their whole system of attire us ...

Dragon robe A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

, python robe,

Feiyufu Feiyufu (), also called feiyu mangyi (), is a type of Hanfu, traditional Han Chinese clothing which first appeared in the Ming dynasty. It is also specific name which generally refers to a robe (generally Terlig, tieli) decorated with the pattern ...

Mamianqun Mamianqun (), also known as (), sometimes simply referred as 'apron' (), a generic term in English to refer to any Chinese-style skirt, or 'paired apron' in English although they are not aprons as defined in the dictionary, is a type of (), ...

Jisün Jisün (Mongolian term), also known as zhisunfu () or Zhisun (, also written as or ), zhixun (), jixun (), zhama () or Jisun (), was a very important male Mongol garment during the Yuan dynasty. They were also known as Mongol "robes of honour" ( ...

Influences and derivatives

Middle East and Europe

According to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

records dating to the late 19th century, gold foil was the ordinary form of precious metal which was used in embroidery; according to the records, gold foil was a Chinese invention wherein Chinese people invented the process of laying a thin gold leaf on paper before rolling it around a silk thread. Due to the close trading relation between China and the Arabs, the

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

learned the Chinese

Gold thread Goldwork is the art of embroidery using metal threads. It is particularly prized for the way light plays on it. The term "goldwork" is used even when the threads are imitation gold, silver, or copper. The metal wires used to make the threads have ...

process who then regularly employing in their textile from the 10th to 14th century; Chinese gold thread technology were also adopted by Italian weavers according to British records dating in 1886.

Southeast Asia

Gold leaf glue-work patterns used in ceremonial costumes of the courts and principalities were imported from China throughout the 19th and early 20th century. Chinese communities in Southeast Asian countries used gold leaf to embellish their batik wedding skirts.

Similar items

Geumbak ''Geumbak'' is a Korean traditional craft for applying extremely thin gold leaf on hanbok The (; term used in South Korea), also called () n North Korea and China, is an umbrella term which is used to refer to traditional ethnic Korean cl ...

- a Korean traditional craft for applying extremely thin gold leaf. * Surihaku - a Japanese embroidery technique, which uses metal (gold or silver) leaf applied to a foundation fabric.

Notes

References

{{Reflist Chinese traditional clothing

Folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tr ...