Collected Illustrations of the Three Powers: Tools for Sericulture and Weaving

Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms — Utensils, Volume 11

Page 11

The Silkworm Matoriginal: 蠶箔 (cánbó). A large tray used for rearing silkworms., also known as the qubu, is the primary apparatus used to hold and support silkworms. In the Book of Rites an ancient collection of texts describing social forms, administration, and ceremonial rites of the Zhou dynasty, they are referred to as quzhi; the qu is exactly the same as the mat described here.

History tells us that Zhou Bo a prominent general and official who helped found the Han Dynasty originally made his living by weaving these very mats. The scholar Yan Shigu a Tang dynasty specialist in history and linguistics noted in his commentaries that mats woven from reeds are specifically called qu.

In the North, many families who raise silkworms plant reedsoriginal: 萑葦 (huánwěi). Specifically, varieties of marsh grass or reeds like Phragmites. in the courtyards behind their houses or within their gardens to serve as raw material for these mats. The character 萑 is pronounced "huan." After the autumn harvest, the reeds are cut down, and the farmers weave them into mats themselves. These mats can reach a size of approximately forty feet. They are reinforced with two wooden rafters and suspended upon supports. When it is time to thin out the silkworm population or move them to different trays, these mats can be easily rolled up or spread out as needed.

In the South, reeds are even more abundant, making them particularly suitable for farming families to use in expanding their silk production. The poet Mei Shengyu Mei Yaochen (1002–1060), a famous poet of the Song Dynasty known for his depictions of the lives of common people wrote in a poem:

By the river, women weave the reeds into covers,
And join together to craft mats for the silkworms.
How different these are from fine bamboo baskets,
Yet how many of these sturdy tools are put to use!
The profit from selling them may be small,
But the hope is to provide silk for the whole world,
So that no one must lament their poverty while wearing clothes of rough grass.