Shu Brocade: The oldest Chinese brocade
Flowers on both sides of the Maojin River,
The spring breeze is blowing the waves.
The girl cuts the Mandarin Duck Brocade,
The sunset will flow towards the middle.
This is a poem by the Tang Dynasty poet Liu Yuxi, who used a subtle and beautiful poetic language to vividly depict the moving mood of Mao Jin, a girl by the Maojin River. The original intention of the poet is only to write the scene in the fable, but from a specific angle and level, it reflects the appearance of Shujin production at that time and the prosperous scene of "the industry of female workers and the world of clothing" in Shudi.
Chengdu in the Qing Dynasty
Shu brocade mainly refers to the flower brocade woven in Chengdu, which has a long history of more than 2,000 years. According to the "Huayang Guozhi Shu Zhi", after the Qin unified Bashu, they built the Jinguan City in the south of Chengdu City, and set up jinguan to manage the production of brocade. This is enough to show that at the latest during the reign of King Huiwen of Qin, the Brocade Weaving in Shudi was already quite large, and it was on a par with Xiangyi in Henan.
In the two Han Dynasties and three kingdoms, the Central Plains was still in frequent wars and smoke, while the Western Shu was still "prosperous and happy", and the production of Shu brocade was becoming more and more prosperous. In the Tang Dynasty, the Sichuan silk weaving industry had a new development on the basis of the original, the silk fabric production area was almost all over Sichuan, the output was also booming, marketing was temporary, and it was very popular.
Han Dynasty double fish pattern brocade
Shan Qianzhi's "Danyang Chronicle" says that "there has not yet been a brocade in the past, and Chengdu is uniquely called wonderful". Therefore, As the production center of Shu Brocade, Chengdu has been known as "Jincheng" for generations. The "Yizhou Chronicle" says: "Jincheng is in the south of Yizhou, the east of The Bridge, the south bank of the Liujiang River, and the former Jinguan Office of the Shu Dynasty, the number Jinli, the city is still there." It can be seen from this that the name of Jincheng has existed since ancient times.
However, according to Zhao Bian's "Chengdu Ancient and Modern Records", "After Meng Shu, the Lord planted hibiscus all over the city of Chengdu, and every autumn, forty miles were like splendid embroidery, and the high and low were photographed, because of the name Jincheng." Zhang Tangying's "Shu Han Ji" also said, "Chang planted hibiscus in the city, bloomed in September, and looked at it like a splendid embroidery, and chang said: 'Since ancient times, Shu has been the jincheng city, and today it is viewed, and the true jincheng is also.'" This statement that the name of Chengdu, Jincheng, seems to have nothing to do with Shujin, but it is the true evidence of today's so-called "Furong City", and Chengdu is also known as "Rongcheng", which is derived from this.
Tang Dynasty sky blue peony brocade
However, the Lord of the Shu Dynasty, Meng Chang, was a man of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms after the Tang Dynasty, and he said that "since ancient times, Shu has been the jincheng city", and it has had the name of Jincheng since ancient times, so the word "from ancient times" seems to date back to the Qin and Han dynasties, and the Jincheng he admired was not just the ancient city that planted hibiscus all over the place. Yuan Renfei wrote "Shu Jin Genealogy": "Shu is known for its jin in the world, the old city is known as a Jin official, and the name of Jiang is Mao." Nishikikan Castle was a place where brocade workshops and brocade weavers were concentrated, hence the name "Nishiki-ri", while the bazaar that traded brocade at that time was called "Nishiki-shi". The Maojin River is the Liujiang River, which is today's Jinjiang River, in the south of Chengdu. The Fang Yu Ji Ji Vol. 67 says that "Zhang Yi and Zhang Ruoshou were in Chengdu, Zhou Hui Twelve Li, and even more in Yili Bridge (also known as Yiqiao) Nanli Jinguan." Kinkaku, The Pearl of Yuheura Official. The present-day southern part of the city is called Jinguan Castle, and there are military barracks on all four sides of the old city." Li Bing's "Yizhou Chronicle" also said, "Yizhou City, built by Zhang Yi." Jincheng in the south of the state, Shu Forbidden City, number Jinli". Du Gongbu also has a poem "Where to find the ancestral hall of the Prime Minister, outside the Jinguan City" poem left in the world, which shows that the name of Jinguan City has a long history. It was already a household name during the Qin and Han dynasties.
Yuan Dynasty red color striped brocade
Shu Jinxing flourished in the Han Dynasty and flourished in the Tang Dynasty, which has a long history of more than 2,000 years and occupies a very important position in the history of China's silk development. Yang Xiong's "Shu Du Fu" said: "If you swing the brocade cloth embroidery, look at the mangs without width." Er is a man of his own making. Endless generations. It can be seen that Chengdu has begun to take shape when weaving brocade, and its skills have reached a very high level. The Guangji of Shuzhong quotes Zhuge Jun's order: "The needs of the army are all through Jin." During the Three Kingdoms period, the three legs stood tall, the army was used for many years, and the military and political expenses of Sichuan and Shu were almost all maintained by the brocade trade, and at that time, the production of Shu brocade and the wide marketing of Shu brocade could be imagined.
Ming Dynasty falling flowers flowing water brocade
Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, Shu Jin has always enjoyed a high reputation at home and abroad, and has been unique in many aspects such as patterns, looms, drawing, dyeing, etc., and has always been a major product of Sichuan and Shu's foreign material exchanges. To this day, in Japan, a neighboring country with china, people still call Chengdu brocade "China's precious Shujiang brocade" and believe that Shu brocade can best represent the characteristics of Chinese brocade, giving it a high evaluation.