Collected Illustrations of the Three Powers: Tools for Sericulture and Weaving (1609) - Page 12

...the roller or axle that holds the warp threads in place.

The Cloth Loom

The Cloth Loom original: 布機 buji
Weaving original: 織造 zhizao; the overarching process of textile production.

[Illustration: A weaver works at a traditional Chinese horizontal loom, coordinating hand and foot movements to interlace the warp and weft threads.]

This woodcut illustration captures the complex mechanical nature of pre-industrial textile manufacturing. As described in the classic technical treatise The Exploitation of the Works of Nature original: 天工開物 Tiangong Kaiwu, the horizontal loom was the standard for producing cotton and silk fabrics. The artisan is shown seated at the frame, meticulously managing the tension of the threads.