Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms: Utensils and Implements

The Silk-Twisting Spindle and the Winding Brush

The Silk-Twisting Spindle

The Silk-Twisting Spindle original: 撚綿軸 nianmianzhou; from nian (to twist), mian (silk wadding or soft cotton), and zhou (an axle or spindle). is a tool used to twist raw fibers—most commonly silk wadding—into a consistent thread. By rotating the spindle, the artisan imparts a twist to the fibers, which provides the strength and tension necessary for the thread to be used in weaving or sewing.

The Winding Brush

The Winding Brush original: 纏刷 chanshua; from chan (to wind or bind) and shua (a brush). is an implement used during the winding process. In traditional Chinese textile production, brushes like these were often used to smooth the fibers as they were wound onto a reel, or to apply a thin layer of starch or sizing to the yarn to prevent it from fraying or tangling during the high-tension environment of the loom.

The accompanying illustration shows these two tools as primary examples of the "small-scale" technology used in households during the Ming dynasty. While the "Turning Wheel" mentioned on the previous page was a larger machine, these tools represent the manual precision required in the early stages of fiber preparation.