Silkworm Baskets

In ancient times, the vessels used to carry silk fabrics and currency were called fei 篚; a shallow, often rectangular or circular basket. Containers for storing silkworms were also called by this name. The people of Huzhou a region in Zhejiang Province famous for its silk production calculate the scale of their silkworm rearing by the basket. Generally, for silkworms in the "black stage" newly hatched larvae, which are dark and hairy, one qian approx. 3.75 grams of larvae constitutes one basket. At the "leaving the fire" stage after the first molt when supplemental heating is reduced, twenty-four or twenty liang taels constitute one basket. By the "Great Sleep" the fourth larval molt, six or five baskets original: 𠀘, a specialized unit for a basket-load are required. There are also those who do not calculate by the ten-basket unit but discuss quantities in terms of fractions. The "leaving the fire" stage is the primary benchmark. One basket's worth of silkworms from the "leaving the fire" stage is the standard, though the containers themselves are not always named "baskets." They are also called sieves, trays, or mats. The Prefectural Records cite the Records of Huzhou: When silkworms are first born, they are placed in a sieve (shai). Once the "black stage" larvae fill the space, they are moved to a tray (peng). After the second sleep, they use...

Old original note: Fei pronounced with a rising tone. The term is used interchangeably with peng 篷; a large tray or covering and lian 簾; a mat or screen. These two characters for "tray" and "basket" original: 篷篚 do not appear in standard dictionaries, and it is unknown what source they are based upon. Furthermore, the Records of Huzhou is now lost, so there is no way to correct the orthography. Currently, the colloquial name for a container with high sides and a coarse mesh bottom sounds like fei. There is a sound but no standard character, so we temporarily follow the Prefectural Records. Bamboo harvested in the twelfth lunar month is used for weaving, as it will not be eaten by insects. Large fei baskets have a diameter of three chi and seven or eight cun approx. 115 centimeters, with a rim height of one and a half cun. Small ones are two chi and six or seven cun wide, with a rim height of one cun. Large trays (peng) have a diameter of three and a half chi approx. 108 centimeters and a rim height of four cun. Small trays range from one and a half to two and a half chi in diameter, with a rim height of three cun. Large sieves have a diameter of two and a half chi, while small ones are two chi, both with a rim height of one cun. The mesh at the bottom of both sieves and trays is coarse; therefore, they must be lined with paper.