TW in China

[SNSpies]

... from "History of Textile Technology of Ancient China", Cheng Weiji, chief compiler (New York: Science Press, 1992), pages 36-38 ...

(2) Card looms
The high level attained in hand twining and the integration of this skill with the operation of the back-strap loom led to the emergence in the Neolithic Age of a new type of loom with cards, as evidenced by unearthed fabrics of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. [my note: Shang Dynasty 1766-1050 B.C.E, Zhou Dynasty 1027-777 B.C.E.]

In the spring of 1972 at an early Shang site at Fengxia, Beipiao, Liaoning, a scrap of fabric was discovered which is in all probability made of silk fibres, for it is yellowish in colour and the yarns are even and untwisted.  According to a study conducted by the Beijing Institute of Textile Science, this piece of fabric is a typical example of fabrics made on looms with board heddles (Fig. I-5-11 A picture of a scrap of fabric excavated at an early Shang site at Fengxia) [my note: Although there does seem to be some sort of paired-thread system going on, it is for me impossible to tell the weave.]

At Tomb No. 1 of the Eastern Zhou at Langjiazhuang, Linzi, Shandong, two pieces of fabric which are of the same type as the above example were unearthed in 1976.

The two examples cited above are both products of a somewhat late date.  However, this does not necessarily mean that looms with cards were invented this late.  In fact, their close association with the hand-twining technique strongly suggests the possibility of their introduction at a far earlier time.  What is particularly noteworthy about this type of loom is it ingenious use of the cards to form sheds.  The cards are made up of varying numbers of leather boards which are either square or hexagonal in shape (Fig. I-5-12).  The square board measures 7-9 cm on each side and 2-3 cm in thickness. [my note:  These are very large cards!  And I am thinking that they meant "2-3 mm" instead of cm in thickness.]  The number of boards used is contingent on the width of the fabric to be woven.  On each board there are holes, 2 mm in diameter, through which one or many weft threads [my note: That should be warp threads.] are threaded, depending on the type of woven work to be done.  With the square and hexagonal leather boards, single or double cloth can be made.

This type of loom is worked in conjunction with a battener, a prin and a rod; the rod is secured to the weaver's waist as a cloth roller.

The earliest silk cross-woven fabrics [my note: The author probably meant "card-woven".] have been found at Fengxia and Langjiazhuang (Tomb No. 1).  An examination of their structure reveals that they were made on looms with square cards, with warp yarns arranged two in a group, one above and one below.  These alternated in position as rows of filler yarn were intertwined into them.  [my note: cards threaded with only two warp threads each?]

The weaving process is in fact very simple.  First, warp yarns are threaded successively through the cards.  The warp is tied to a wooden column at one end and fastened to a weaver's waist at the other.  The weaver then takes the cards in one hand and turns them half a circle [my note: Does the author mean two turns rather than the "normal" quarter-turn?], clockwise or counter-clockwise, to form a shed.  After filling in the weft yarn and firming the fabric, he takes up the cards again, and gives them another half-circle turn to form a new shed (Fig. I-5-13, A drawing showing how weaving was done with the cards).  This is again followed by the filling in and beating up of the weft yarn.  The same process is thus repeated again and again until the whole fabric is woven.  However, the number of turnings of the cards made in one direction is restricted.  When the limit is reached, the same number of turnings must be made in a reverse direction in order to prevent entanglement of warp yarns.

This type of loom is still seen in use in Xizang where it is employed extensively for making belts (Fig. I-5-14, A primitive loom still in use in Xizang [just showing some warped cards]).  It has its foreign counterparts as well.  In Egypt, for instance, twenty five cards (board heddles) were discovered in four caves dating from the period of the early Egyptian Christians, the Copts (400 A.D. to 600 A.D.).  In Scandinavia, too, similar looms were found at a historical site that dates from the Iron Age (400 A.D.)

Well !
Thoughts, anyone?
Did TW erupt in two different places, sort of like the pyramid idea?
Did TW originate in China and migrate to Europe? 
Hmmmm ...

Nancy


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Nancy Spies        Ingvild Josefsdatter, OL
Arelate Studio      Barony of Bright Hills, Atlantia
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