The emperor's fairy concubine in brocade of lantern patterns
Sichuan is one of the cradles of the Chinese silk industry as the history of Chinese sericulture is traced back to Sichuan more than 4,000 years ago.
In the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), Shu Brocade became a major trade item. With its thriving silk industry, Chengdu's silk products including the Shu Brocade were exported across Asia through the Southern Silk Road.
With Chengdu as its beginning, the road passed Yunnan Province in Southwest China, before entering Myanmar, India, Pakistan and Central Asia.
The trade was so important that in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24), a Brocade Officer (Jin Guan) was appointed by the central government. Hence Chengdu was also called "Brocade City" (Jin Cheng) or "Brocade Officer's City" (Jin Guan Cheng).
The Brocade Officer's role was to supervise the highly lucrative local industry which during its heyday in the Western Han Dynasty operated more than 20,000 looms.
The city moat is still known as the Brocade River. In 1998, it won the Habitat Scroll of Honor Award from the United Nations Center for Human Settlements.
The river runs through the heart of Chengdu. In bygone days, finished brocades were soaked in the river to prevent them from losing colors and prevent different colors from getting mixed.
For about 1,000 years from the Western Han Dynasty to the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the Shu Brocade was the champion of China's silk industry. Later the Song and Yun brocades debuted, borrowing techniques from the Shu Brocade.
A household tale among old Shu Brocade weavers tells how popular the Shu Brocade was among the royal family of the Northern Song Dynasty.
During the reign of Emperor Renzong (reigned 1041-48), Wen Yanbo, an official in Chengdu, presented a dress made of Shu Brocade with the patterns of palace lanterns symbolizing an abundant harvest to a favorite imperial concubine of the emperor.
When the concubine surnamed Zhang wore the dress to serve the emperor in a banquet during the Lantern Festival, the emperor was so impressed he compared the concubine to a fairy.
China Daily
(China Daily 09/11/2007 page19)
