The special exhibition the Silks from the Silk Road: Origin, Transmission and Exchange was organized bythe State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Zhejiang ProvincialPeople's Government, and hosted by China National Silk Museum, with more than140 pieces/sets of objects on loan from 26 archaeological institutes and museumsfrom nine provinces and autonomous regions including Zhejiang, Henan, Hennan,Hubei,Hunan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang. Since the opening ceremonywas held in the West Lake Museum on September 15, 2015, it has attracted a lotof attention and welcome from the professional academic circle of the Silk Roadstudies and local people. After collective explanation by the curatorial teamin the National holiday in October and before its end on October 15, theexhibition ushers in another new climax. On October 11, two more importantexhibits is added in the exhibition, i.e. two pattern loom models of the HanDynasty unearthed from Laoguanshan in Chengdu for five days. At the sametime,China National Silk Museum and Chengdu Museum jointly publish the researchresults on the reconstruction of the pattern loom of the Han Dynasty.
On October 12, the Silks from theSilk Road:Origin, Transmission and Exchange international symposium isheld in the auditorium of the West Lake Museum, while 20 institutions along theSilk Road and institutions researching the Silk Road from all over the worldannounce the establishment of "IASSRT (International Association forStudyof Silk Road Textiles)".
Ｉ. Studies of reconstruction of thepattern loom made in the Han dynasty excavated from Laoguanshan of Chengdu
From July 2012 to August 2013, ChengduInstitute of Archaeology and Jingzhou Cultural Heritage Conservation Centerestablished a joint team to make rescueexcavations for the tombs of the WesternHan Dynasty located in Laoguanshan,Tianhui Town, Chengdu. They sorted out total4 tombs with earth pits and wooden coffins of the period from Emperor Jingdi(157 -141BC) to Emperor Wudi (141-88BC) in the early Han Dynasty. Among themthe owner of the tomb 2 was named WanDinu. Four models of wooden pattern loomand some textile-related tools were unearthed from this tomb, which can becalled a shocking discovery, so it was included in 2013 Top Ten ArchaeologicalDiscoveries in China.
The four pattern looms all were unearthedfrom the bottom cabinet in the north of tomb 2, made of bamboo and wood withthe complicated structure and assembled exquisitely and accurately. On theirwarp beams there are remaining colored silk threads. Meanwhile, some relevantmodels of textile tools, such as warping, rewinding, weft winding tools, and 15painted wooden figurines engaging in the textile production were alsodiscovered together with the pattern looms. It could be deduced that thoselooms, tools and figurines reproduced the scene of production of the Shu Silk(Chengdu silk) in the Han Dynasty. Among the four looms, one is relativelybigger while the other three smaller. Technically, all the four ones are calledthe hook-shaft pattern loom (or the pattern loom with one hook and multi-shafts),weaving patterns with two foundation shafts and many pattern shafts. Thefoundation shafts are linked and driven by a pair of upper pulleys and a pairof lower treadles. The pattern shafts are fixed in a frame with grids,positioned by a beam with the ratchet on the top of the loom and select theshafts with a pair of pendent wooden hooks. The looms weave patterns throughraising the pattern shafts by means of the treadles via the sliding frame orconnecting rod. According to this set ofmodel, the number of pattern shaftsshould be about 10 to 20 pieces and the patterns woven by the loom are as sameas the ones of the Warring States Period to the Han Dynasty, having short warpsand long wefts. However, based on the unearthed silk patterns of the Warring StatesPeriod to the Han Dynasty, the quantity of pattern shafts should be larger thanthat in the looms. Such hook-shaft pattern looms could be classified into twocategories based on their different transmission methods. The larger one shouldbe called the sliding frame-type hook-shaft pattern loom and the other threesmaller ones called the connecting rod-type hook-shaft pattern loom.
The basic operating principle of thepattern loom focuses on the repeated control of patterns weaving based on the patternweaving rule stored in the shaft ofthe loom or in the shaft connected with theshaft hole, which is one of important issues in the Chinese and internationaltextile and scientific and technological histories. Joseph Needham attributedthe invention of the pattern loom to China and stated, the Chinese character “机” originated from the shape of the weaving loom and became thegeneric term for machinery and the antonomasia of wisdom, indicating theweaving loom takes an important place in the Chinese scientific andtechnological history. The core technology of a pattern loomlies in theprogramming of patterns, which didn’t only exert great influenceson the silkproduction in China and Europe but also had direct influences onthe inventionof many modern technologies of the world, such as telegrams and computers.Themodel of pattern loom unearthed from the Laoguanshan Tombs of the Han Dynastyfilled the void in the Chinese and even world scientific and technologicalhistories, having the undoubtedly high academic value. Furthermore, such loomswere once used to produce the Sichuan brocade in the Han and Tang dynasties andthe Sichuan brocade was the important representative of Chinese silk productsat that time. Thus, the weaving technology should have been spread togetherwith the promotion of silk so it has great significance for the outbound spreadof Chinese culture along the Silk Road. Apparently,such looms have made greatcontributions to the world textile culture and the human civilization.
Based on such historic significance, in2014, China National Silk Museum joined hands with Chengdu Museum, theInstitute for the History of Natural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences andZhijiang College of Zhejiang University of Technology to jointly declare thespecific research topic “Reconstruction, Research and Presentation of thePattern Weaving Technology in the Han Dynasty – Taking the Looms Unearthed fromthe Laoguanshan Tombs of the Han Dynasty in Chengdu as an Example” under the“Compass Plan” of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. This topic wastargeted at studies of the model of the pattern loomand relevant culturalrelics unearthed from the Laoguanshan Tombs of the Han Dynasty, fully andsystemically sorted out and surveyed them, thoroughly studied and restored thestructure of the pattern loom of the Han Dynasty and the pattern weavingtechnology then, and solved the academic arguments on the technology of thepattern loom of the Han Dynasty. Furthermore, based on research results, athree-dimensional presentation system was developed and a full-size operableprototype of the former larger pattern loom was reproduced too.
II. Silksfrom the Silk Road: Origin, Transmission and Exchange InternationalSymposium
In the morning of October 12, 2015, Silksfrom the Silk Road: Origin, Transmission and Exchange InternationalSymposium is held in the lecture hall of the West Lake Museum. It was hosted byChina National Silk Museum, co-organized by Institute for the History of NaturalSciences of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute for the Ancient ChineseHistory of Peking University, Collaborative Innovation Center for theCooperation and Development of the “Belt and Road” of the ZhejiangUniversity,Needham Research Institute (NRI), UK, the Danish National ResearchFoundation’s Center for Textile Research, International Dunhuang Project, UK,and Korea National University of Culture Heritage, etc., and supported andassisted bythe Silk Road Holdings Group Co., Ltd.
The three-day conference is held tocoordinate with Silks from the Silk Road: Origin, Transmission andExchangeCultural Relics Exhibition in the West Lake Museum from September15 to October 15, 2015. It makes in-depth discussion on the silk’s origin andtransmission in China, and the communication between the Eastern and Westerntextile culture along the Silk Road, so as to further promote the research andprotection of the silks from the Silk Road.
Tong Mingkang, the deputy director of theState Administration of Cultural Heritage and more than 120 Chinese and foreignrepresentatives from 20 countries attended the opening ceremony. Kishore Rao,the director of World Heritage Centre of UNESCO, and Gustavo Araoz, thepresident of ICOMOS also sent congratulations for it. Tong Mingkang, the deputydirector of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, delivered a speechat the conference.
At the conference, nearly 40 experts onarchaeology, linguistics, anthropology, ethnography, art history, naturehistory and other related fields from 20 countries and regions all over theworld published and shared their latest research results in seven themes --Silk Road and Cultural Communication, Archaeological Findings of Silk in China,Archaeological Findings of Silk: from the East to the North, Silks from theSilk Road: from Central Asia to West Asia, Silks in Linguistics on the SilkRoad, the Maritime Silk Road and Foreign Trade of Silk,Ethnographic Silks onthe Maritime Silk Road and Silks from the Silk Road after the GreatNavigations.
After the conference, the delegates visitsLinghu Silk Production Base of Huzhou Silk Road Group, Digang FAO Mulberry FishPond Protection Base, Tzeli Silk Museum and Silk Guild Nan-Xing in Nanxunancient town, and some other places to examine the original place ofsericulture silk and the "silk town" in the construction planning.
III. International Association for theStudy of Silk Road Textiles
Another important part of the openingceremony is the signing ceremony of founding the International Association forthe Study of Silk Road Textiles (herein after referred to as"IASSRT"). The Association is an international association foundedfor the purpose to connect the research institutions along the Silk Road andother related institutions (including universities, museums,libraries,archaeological institutions, research institutions, and research groups, etc.)for the cooperation in collaborative researches and sharing resources. The 24agencies as the founders for the first time include below:
International Dunhuang Project (IDP)(British Library)
Needham Research Institute (NRI), UK
Max Planck Institute for the History ofScience (MPIWG), Gernany
University of Padova, Italy
The Danish National Research Foundation’sCenter for Textile Research (CTR)
Israel Antiquities Authority
Nasledie,Ministry of Culture of StavropolRegion, Russia
Institute of Ancient History andArchaeology of the Northern Caucasus, Stavropol, Russia
Institute of Archeology of Academy ofsciences of Republic of Uzbekistan
ASEANT traditional Textile Art CommunityIndonesia (ASEANTTAC)
Queen Silikit Textile Museum, Thailand
Korea National University of CultureHeritage
China National Silk Museum
Institute for the Ancient Chinese Historyof Peking University
Institute for the History of NaturalSciences of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Collaborative Innovation Center for theCooperation and Development of the Belt and Road of the Zhejiang University
Fashion• Art Design Institute of DonghuaUniversity, China
Community of Chinese Museums along the SilkRoad
Institute of Archaeology of Xinjiang, China
ICOMOS Xi'an International ConservationCentre, etc.
16 representatives attended the signingceremony, including Susan Whitfield, the director of International DunhuangProject (IDP) of British Library, Mei Jianjun, the director of Needham ResearchInstitute (NRI), UK, Dagmar Schaefer,the director of Dep Ⅲ Artefacts, Knowledge and Action, Max Planck Institute for theHistory of Science (MPIWG),Germany, Marie-Louise Nosch, the director of theDanish National Research Foundation’s Center for Textile Research (CTR), ShenYeonok, a professor at Korea National University of Culture Heritage, OritShamir, the director of the museum and exhibition department of Israel AntiquitiesAuthority, Zhang Baichun,the director of Institute for the History of NaturalSciences of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Rong Xinjiang, the director ofInstitute for the Ancient Chinese History of Peking University, Cao Jinyan,representative of Collaborative Innovation Center for the Cooperation andDevelopment of the Belt and Road of the Zhejiang University, Li Jun, thepresident of Fashion • Art Design Institute of Donghua University, and ZhaoFeng, the director of China National Silk Museum, etc.
The Association will be committed to theinvestigation into cultural heritage resources and database construction, theresearches on key technologies for identification and protection, exchange ofhuman resources and the establishment of cooperative laboratories, cooperativeexhibitions related to Silk Roads textiles, and inheritance and innovation oftraditional textile techniques, in order to promote the researches on the silksfrom the Silk Road in an all-round way. In the next five years, it is proposedto carry out a cooperative resource investigation along the Silk Road, andestablish MSRS (Mapping Silk Road with Silk), GTT (Glossary of TextileTerminology on the Silk Road) and other specialized research projects topromote communication and cooperation among the association members and lookforward to the participation of more research institutions and individuals.
