Shanghai Daily News

A new museum in Shanghai celebrates the miracle of the creation of silk -- a fabric that remains a symbol of Chinese civilization worldwide, writes Xu Wei.

Feeling the weightless smooth coolness of soft silk against the skin can stimulate one's imagination to a contemplation of the brilliance of Oriental civilization.

And the newly opened Shanghai Jiangnan (south of the Yangtze River) Silk Museum is as good a place as any to explore the long history of silk production in China. Silk-making can be traced back to the Neolithic Age some 8,000 years ago.

The natural conditions south of the Yangtze River were ideal for breeding silkworms whose cocoons provide the raw silk. Over the centuries the region became home to a flourishing silk industry. The exhibits in the museum include ancient silk products, reeling and weaving frames from the 18th century, mulberry tree models and silkworms in various phases of development. A highlight of the exhibition is the silk workshop, where several workers clad in traditional blue-printed cloth are busy reeling the silk thread from the cocoons.

``It is a vivid demonstration of this important age-old industry,'' says Jiao Dongsu, an official with the museum. ``Surrounded by such an authentic ambience, visitors can clearly understand how this beautiful fabric is made.'' According to Yao Guijuan, an experienced silk worker from Suzhou in neighboring Jiangsu Province, there are several steps in silk textile production -- sericulture (the raising of silkworms and harvesting of the cocoons), reeling (the unwinding of cocoons), twisting (the twisting of multiple silk filaments into thread), dying, warping (the preparing of warps for looms), and weaving (of cloth, braided trims and ``whip snaps''). ``Amazingly, each cocoon can produce over 1 kilometer of long silk filament,'' Yao says.

``Weightless and strong, it's even an ideal material with which to make parachutes.'' In ancient times, the natural elegance of silk cloth was also a symbol of the status and wealth of the imperial court and of the gentry. The many canals to the south of the Yangtze River were used to transport silk up to the capital in the north and the exports pushed silk production to new heights. Silk is one of China's major contributions to international cultural and economic exchanges. Before the discovery of the sea route to India, the ancient Silk Road starting from Chang'an (now Xi'an in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province) to the Mediterranean was the most important connection between the Orient and the West.

This trade route for silk, gold and other commodities had a continuous influence on the culture of China, Central Asia and the West from the 2nd century BC to the 15th century. ``It's a wonderful silk museum,'' grins Yoshihiro Maruyama, a Japanese visitor. ``Everything here is impressive and educative. It reminds me of the splendid silk spinning days in ancient China.'' Date: Daily, 9am-5:30pm Address: 289 Aomen Rd Admission: Free Tel: 6266-0378