Handwoven Cotton Textiles of Wunijing

Handwoven Cotton Textiles of Wunijing

The handwoven cotton textiles of Wunijing are a national intangible cultural heritage.

　　The heritage of Wunijing’s handwoven cotton textile techniques originates from the weaving skills that Huang Daopo brought back from Yazhou. In the late Song and early Yuan dynasties, Huang Daopo, a native of Wunijing in Songjiang Prefecture, spent over thirty years in Yazhou before returning to her hometown during the Yuanshun era to spread cotton cultivation and weaving techniques. She improved various crafts such as carding, batting, spinning, and weaving, and created dyeing and patterning methods, including “color matching” and “drawing flowers,” resulting in woven patterns like “branch flowers” and “circular phoenixes,” and developed numerous exquisite cotton textiles.

　　Huang Daopo’s cotton weaving techniques changed the traditional reliance on silk and hemp as primary clothing materials for over a thousand years, transformed the economic structure of the Jiangnan region, gave rise to a new cotton textile industry, and also influenced local customs and traditional marriage practices. It can be said that the handwoven cotton textile techniques of Wunijing are one of the core elements of China’s textile technology.

　　In history, the dyeing techniques of Wunijing in Songjiang were also renowned. Fabrics such as Koubu, Xibu, Biaobu, Dingniangzi Bu, Gaolibu, Xiewenbu, Doubu, Zihua Bu, Guacheng Bu, and Taguang Bu, along with dyed fabrics like Yunqing Bu, Maobao Lan, gray cloth, color-printed cloth, and blue-printed cloth (Yaoban Bu), shared equal fame. Currently, the inheritors who master the handwoven cotton textile and dyeing techniques are mostly in their seventies or eighties, and this ancient craft is at risk of being lost, making effective protection essential.