Essential Compendium of Sericulture

The height should be approximately five feet from the ground; the entire structure must be level, tight, and stable. Some practitioners nail short pieces of wood—about four or five inches long—onto the pillars to support the horizontal beams original: heng leng (橫楞); the primary cross-supports of the scaffolding. This method is significantly more convenient than using suspended ropes. Furthermore, take four stalks of bamboo and, according to the depth of the room, cut them into longitudinal beams original: zhi leng (直楞). These are laid evenly across the surface of the horizontal beams and tied tightly with rope. On top, cover the structure with reed mats original: lu lian (蘆簾)—using perhaps four or six mats—until the entire room is filled, ensuring there are no gaps. Both the beams and the ropes must be sturdy to avoid the risk of the structure collapsing or crushing the silkworms below.

Setting up the Broom-Frames

When silkworms ready themselves to form cocoons, they require a structure to lean against and support their weight. Therefore, one must set up straw "brooms" These "brooms" are bundles of straw or twigs that act as a forest of anchors for the silkworms' silk on the shelves. These may be stump brooms (dun zhou), folded brooms (zhe zhou), or others, depending on local custom; the primary objective is to create a dense cluster of stalks.

One method involves setting them up directly on the mats: as soon as one section of the mat is laid, one section of brooms is stood up, followed immediately by the placement of a batch of silkworms. At the edges where the mats meet the perimeter of the room, a bundle of straw is used to seal the gap tightly; this is known as edge-sealing grass original: sha bian cao (煞邊草). This "simultaneous setting and loading" method is commonly used in the various towns and villages northwest of the prefectural city.

In another method, the structure is placed about a foot away from the mat surface. Thin, long pieces of bamboo are lashed together horizontally and vertically to form a square grid. This is then tied with rope and suspended between the house rafters; this is called—