Essentials of Sericulture

The mulberry stool original: 桑凳 (sangdeng) is used as a platform for climbing to pick mulberry leaves. It stands five chi approximately 1.5 meters high, and the dimensions of its seat vary, being either square or rectangular. The legs of the stool are fitted with three or four levels of cross-struts on both the left and right sides to serve as ladder rungs. For mulberry trees that are not particularly tall, one climbs this stool to harvest the leaves.

Mulberry Ladder

For branches that extend high and far, one relies on a ladder to ascend. There is no fixed rule for the height of the ladder, though nine chi approximately 2.7 meters is generally considered ideal. This design uses two ladders joined together; two iron rings are nailed to the sides of the top of each, and a thin piece of wood is passed through them to connect the two. When moved, the bottom halves spread apart; when folded, they join together. In the mulberry groves, using this to reach high and distant branches is far superior to relying on a single ladder leaned against a tree.

Leaf Basket

The character ji original: 籍 is listed in the Collected Rhymes original: 集韻 (Jiyun), a dictionary published in 1037 AD under the phonetic guide "ban-mu" original: 伴姥切, and is pronounced like bu original: 簿. It refers to a bamboo vessel. Today, it is commonly called a "leaf cage" original: 葉籠 (yelong), also pronounced like bu. Regarding the use of the character ji: Note that the character shai original: 簁 is defined in the Collected Rhymes as a "window," which does not fit the meaning of "basket," hence this character was borrowed instead.
The leaf basket original: 葉籍 (yeji) is a container used to hold gathered leaves. It is woven from bamboo splints. The designs vary across different regions: to the west of the prefectural capital, baskets with a loose-eye weave loose-eye weave A coarse, open hexagonal or rectangular weave that allows for ventilation while holding large mulberry leaves. are used. These have a diameter of one and a half chi approx. 45 cm and a height of over two chi. A horizontal bar is set across the top to facilitate carrying the basket on a shoulder pole. In the southeast, each...