How did silk reeling come from?

Silk reeling, also called carved silk, is a kind of silk fabric in ancient China. Its characteristic is that the weft does not cross the whole width, but only interweaves with the warp where necessary, which is called "warping and weft breaking" The front and back of the finished product are the same, and the contours of different colors are not connected. Observing the pores visible in reverse light out of thin air is like carving with a knife. The weaving technology of "warping and weft breaking" was originally used for wool fabrics, called plucking, and was used for silk fabrics in the Tang Dynasty. Silk reeling in the Southern Song Dynasty can imitate calligraphy and painting, with delicate and soft style and artistic value. The center of silk reeling in Ming and Qing Dynasties was in Suzhou, which reached its peak in Qianlong period, and the fabrics produced were mostly used by the court. Nowadays, silk reeling production is mainly concentrated in Suzhou and Nantong, Jiangsu Province. Therefore, silk reeling presents two different styles: Suzhou silk reeling and Nantong silk reeling. In 2009, "Silk Reeling Weaving Skills", as a part of "China Sericulture Weaving Skills", was listed in the world intangible cultural heritage list.

Generally speaking, silk reeling works have three characteristics. First, most silk reeling works are collectively created, and future generations can only judge the value of such works by their own craft and artistic value; Secondly, the creation of silk reeling often requires a lot of effort and time, sometimes it takes months or even more than a year to complete a work, so the completion of a silk reeling work often puts a lot of effort into the author; Thirdly, the silk reeling works are very ornamental. Many silk reeling works not only have plane tapestries with colored blocks, but also have the structure and unity of composition and modeling. Generally speaking, the three-dimensional sense of silk reeling works is very strong, and the theme of silk reeling works is deeply loved by people, so its artistic and ornamental value can completely rival or even surpass that of famous painters and painters.