Xihan Jacquard Loom Hangzhou exhibits a gap in the history of world textile technology

Xinhuanet Hangzhou, October 12 (Reporter Feng Yuan) At the "Silk Silk" cultural relics exhibition held at the West Lake Museum in Hangzhou, a new wooden weaving machine can attract the attention of many Chinese and foreign textile history and scientific and technological history experts and scholars. . It is the result of the Chinese cultural relics workers' in-depth study of the unearthed loom model of the old Guanshan tomb in Chengdu. It shows the structure and jacquard weaving technology of the Han Dynasty jacquard weaving machine for the first time, filling the history of world textile and science and technology. blank.

From July 2012 to August 2013, Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and Jingzhou Cultural Relics Protection Center carried out rescue excavations on the Western Han cemetery in Laoguan Mountain, Tianhui Town, Chengdu City, and cleaned up four tombs. They belonged to the period from Hanjing Emperor to Han Wudi, from 157 BC to 88 BC. Among them, No. 2 tomb unearthed four wooden jacquard loom models, warping, winding, weft and other related textile tool models, as well as 15 painted rafts engaged in weaving production. The Laoguanshan Han Tomb later became one of the top ten archaeological discoveries in 2013.

“These four loom models are the earliest models of jacquard machines found in the world, filling the gaps in the history of textiles and science and technology in China and the world.” Zhao Feng, director of the China Silk Museum, said that jacquard technology is a milestone in the history of textiles. The core technology is to compile the jacquard program and store it in the heddle of the loom or the heald connected to the eye to repeat the control of the jacquard. It can be said to be the first sound of modern technology such as telegraph and computer.

"Our scholars who are engaged in the study of ancient Chinese mechanical history, the most annoying thing is that they can't see the 'true Buddha', because all or most of the parts of ancient machinery are made of wood, which is extremely perishable." Institute of Natural History, Chinese Academy of Sciences Chang Zhang Chunchun said that the previous research methods either consulted the literature or analyzed ancient textiles, and the four loom models are precious first-hand physical materials.

The four models are complex in structure and fine in detail. There are still colored silk threads on the warp beam, but it can also be said to be the rest of the life. Wang Yi, dean of the Chengdu Museum, said that the tomb No. 2 had been stolen, and there were almost no funerary objects in the raft. They were found in the north bottom box. Three bamboo rafts were also unearthed in the No. 2 tomb, but they were not routinely used to store fabrics or shackles, but were filled with bones of animals such as chickens, cows, and pigs. “The tomb of the tomb is called Wan Hao, she should be a textile entrepreneur who loves food.”

In 2014, the China Silk Museum led the Chengdu Museum, the Institute of Natural History of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Jiang College of Zhejiang University of Technology to jointly study and demonstrate the restoration of jacquard technology in the Han Dynasty: a case of the loom unearthed from the Tomb of the Hanguan Mountain in Chengdu. Declared as a special topic of the "Compass Plan" of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. The researchers carried out a comprehensive systematic analysis and mapping of the four models and related cultural relics unearthed, and comprehensively studied and restored the structure and jacquard production technology of the Han jacquard loom.

According to the research results, the loom represented by the four models was officially named as “Jacquard Jacquard Machine”. The principle is to use two pieces of ground and multiple pieces of jacquard for jacquard, and according to different transmission methods, they are It is divided into a large sliding frame type jacquard jacquard model and three smaller connecting rod jacquard models. Zhang Baichun said that the crank connecting rod in the hook-and-hook jacquard machine is also worthy of attention. “The ancient Greeks and Romans recorded and mapped this, but the real thing appeared here for the first time.”

The loom exhibited in Hangzhou was restored by a model in a ratio of 6-1. The researchers also produced a 3D demonstration system. Zhao Feng said that the pattern it weaved is consistent with the brocade pattern unearthed from the Tomb of Fenghuang Mountain in Jiangling and the Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha. Even the brocades of the Chinese Warring States period, which were unearthed in the Russian cemetery of Bazerek, can find the same pattern. . He speculates that the jacquards used in this model are around 10-20 pieces, and according to the other brocade patterns unearthed at the same time, some jacquard weaving opportunities at that time used more jacquards. Moreover, in the Western Han Dynasty, China already had more mature jacquard technology and jacquard weaving machines, which means that the source of jacquard technology can be traced back to a longer time.

The results of this research also attracted the interest of many foreign scholars who participated in the International Academic Conference on Silk Silk. Dominique Calden, a researcher at the National Academy of Sciences in France, said that from the glass paintings of the church, similar machines appeared in Europe in the 8th century. Mary Luis Nosh, director of the Danish National Fund's Textile Research Center, said that organic materials such as weaving machines and silk in the 2nd century BC were preserved and discovered, which is unique in the history of Central Europe and the world. “They represent the peak of Chinese textile technology in the Han Dynasty. Those workers must be highly skilled, well-trained, and have many skills to operate multi-type looms.”

“Dr. Joseph Joseph was convinced that the loom was invented in China during his lifetime, but he failed to complete the monograph on Chinese textile history.” Mei Jianjun, director of the University of Cambridge’s Joseph Needham Institute, said that Chinese scholars will find more new discoveries in the future. To confirm this point of Joseph Needham.