Textile

纺织

Textile here refers to a folk handicraft of making fabrics² by means of hand-spinning flax，silk, cotton and other fibres into yarn³ with a spinning wheel and then weaving it into cloth with a traditional weaving machine. An agricultural country from the ancient times，China has the tradition of men working in the fields while women sit at the loom⁴ as a division of labor between men and women in a family in ancient China. Folk spinning and weaving have undergone three important historical phases in their long history of development. Namely，flax fabric¹ period，silk fabric period and cotton fabric period sequentially. China's textile industry had an important impact on world culture. Ancient Greece and Rome referred to China as ”Seres" meaning“silk country"，and its pronouciation is similar to Chinese si(silk).English word ”silk" was derived⁵ from the word “Seres" .From an etymological⁶ perspective，silk as a representive of China's textile has exerted an enormous influence on world culture

所谓纺织，是指用纺车、织机等传统纺织工具，将麻、丝、棉等纤维手工纺制成纱线、织成布帛等纺织品的民间工艺。中国自古以农立国，男耕女织是我们传统的劳作方式。民间纺织在我国具有悠久的历史，先后经历了麻(葛)织品、丝织品和棉织品3个重要的历史时期，并对世界文化产生了重要影响。古希腊、罗马称中国为Seres，意思是“丝国”，与中文的“丝”是同一发音;英语中的silk则是从Seres演化而来。可见作为中国纺织品代表的“丝”对世界文化的影响之大。

In today's reforming and opening China，while many mass production enterprises are the principal force in textile industry，traditional folk textile still has its share in the market. Along with the rise of people's living standard，folk textile as a practical and aesthetic⁷ handiwork has nevertheless won people's favor. Traditional spinning and weaving techniques and ancient looms⁸ are still playing their role in vast areas in the country. For example，the rural women in the southwest part of Shandong Province are still hand-making a cotton fabric that enjoys o good reputation as“Luxinan brocade"，while the rural women in Mount Yimeng area's handmade printed cotton fabrics are also well loved in the world market. Traditional folk textiles as such enter into the lives of various nationalities carrying with them the strong cultural flavor and also bearing evidence of Chinese women's diligence and intelligence.

在改革开放的今天，许多规模化经营的纺织企业成为纺织品市场上的主力军，但传统的民间纺织并没有因此而销声匿迹。随着人们生活水平的提高，民间纺织品作为一种实用兼欣赏的工艺品反而备受人们青睐。经历了2000多年风风雨雨的传统纺织术和古老的织机，至今仍然轧轧鸣响在广阔农村的许多角落。山东鲁西南的农村妇女，用古老的织机手工纺织的土织棉，被誉为“鲁西南织锦”(简称“鲁锦”);而沂蒙山区的妇女们织造的印花布，也同样在国际上享有盛誉。传统的民间纺织品满载着浓厚的文化气息，走进了世界各民族的生活，向世界人民证明着中国妇女的勤劳朴实与聪明智慧。