Former Site of Dafu Silkworm Hatchery (Changjing Textile Museum)

Former Site of Dafu Silkworm Hatchery (Changjing Textile Museum)

The Dafu Silkworm Hatchery is located at the easternmost end of the old street in Changjing Town, Jiangyin. It was founded in the 17th year of the Republic of China by two local ethnic Chinese capitalists, brothers Song Chuying and Song Chucail. In that same year, Song Chucail, along with friends Yuan Ruifu, Hua Mengying, and others, raised 38,500 yuan in old Chinese currency, with each share valued at 1,000 yuan, totaling 38.5 shares. They established the “Dafu Silkworm Hatchery and Breeding Farm” on the wild grave mound at the eastern end of South Street in Changjing. The facility included two silkworm rearing buildings, three cocoon drying rooms, one cold storage unit, and ten auxiliary structures for seed production, totaling 104 rooms with a combined floor area of 3,559 square meters. They hired Professor Jiang Baiming from the Sericulture Vocational School in Hushu Pass, Suzhou, as the chief technician, recruited 181 employees, and produced over 50,000 high-quality hybrid silkworm eggs annually. These were branded under the registered trademark “Sailboat,” and the products were sold across Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and even as far as Xinjiang.

In the 23rd year of the Republic of China (1934), the original seed production department was expanded. By then, the Dafu Silkworm Hatchery had become a leading enterprise in the silkworm seed industry across Jiangsu and Zhejiang. In the 25th year of the Republic of China, Song Chucail invested further to establish the “Dafu Second Yard” on the east side of Hebei North Street near the main hatchery. Two standardized silkworm rearing buildings were constructed, both featuring an underground level and two-and-a-half floors above ground, plus two auxiliary buildings consisting of 124 rooms in total, covering a construction area of 5,346 square meters. All the buildings were interconnected by covered walkways, forming winding paths with scattered small courtyards that exuded the deep, elegant architectural style and period characteristics of traditional Jiangnan water town residences. During the war against Japan, more than 100 rooms were destroyed in bombings by Japanese aircraft; the second yard was once occupied by Japanese puppet troops. Silkworm production fell into decline, and the Dafu Silkworm Hatchery was nearly driven out of business.

After the liberation, the Dafu Silkworm Hatchery embarked on the path to restoring production. While repairing the damaged buildings, additional silkworm rearing rooms, cocoon drying spaces, underground mulberry leaf storage, refrigerated cold storage, and over 100 auxiliary rooms were built. Heating equipment was also added, enabling the hatchery to carry out seed incubation and breeding. In 1956, the public-private partnership initiative began, and the Yunting Shuangli Silkworm Hatchery merged with Dafu, which was then renamed the “Public-Private Joint Operation Dafu Silkworm Hatchery and Breeding Farm.” It was later renamed the “State-Owned Jiangyin City Silkworm Hatchery.” By then, the hatchery’s building area had reached 12,000 square meters. By the 1980s, it was producing an average of over 57,000 silkworm egg cases per year. In 1995, annual production peaked at 168,000 cases, making an indelible contribution to the development and prosperity of China’s silk industry.