Collected Notes on Oak Silk

A farmer from Guangdong says: The people of the Guizhou mountains were once so impoverished that they lacked even coarse grass-cloth for clothing. Lord Chen Refers to Chen Lin, a Ming dynasty official who famously taught the people of Guizhou how to cultivate wild silk to alleviate poverty. provided them with fine silk and patterned brocades, and today a temple stands in his honor. It is only fitting that he is honored with ritual offerings ritual offerings (俎豆): Literally "platters and bowls," referring to the formal vessels used in ancestral or state sacrifices..

The original label for this was "Oak Silk," which Master Zheng categorized in his records. The Book of Changes calls the tree "Chü" original: "樗" (Chu). Usually refers to the Ailanthus altissima or "Tree of Heaven," often used as a metaphor for something of little worth that nonetheless has its uses.; this distinction was made by learned teachers, yet it is not the term used in common speech.

When insects eat the leaves of a tree and spin silk to make their nests, the tree must be of good quality for the silk to be beautiful. Mulberry leaves are lush and supple, producing the highest grade of cocoons. The sap of the Silkworm Thorn original: "柘" (Zhe). Cudrania tricuspidata, a tree whose leaves are often used as a secondary food source for silkworms. is yellow; the local silks from Shangcheng in Henan, and Jingmen and Changxi in Hubei, are all colored by this sap.

In Xinfeng and Anyuan of Jiangxi, the Chinese Tallow tree original: "烏臼" (Wujiu). Triadica sebifera. is used to feed silkworms, but the resulting silk is dark. When the Wax tree original: "蠟樹" (Lashu). Ligustrum lucidum. is used to feed them, the silk is bright. In Chengxiang of Guangdong, there is a Cinnamon tree original: "桂樹" (Guishu). used for sericulture; the cocoons are named based on which specific leaf the worm consumes. In the Wenzhang district of Hainan, silkworms eat Mountain Chestnut original: "山栗" (Shanli).; the cloth made from this remains looking new no matter how long it is worn, and the same is true for the silk cocoons.

Silk from the Chinaberry tree original: "棟" (Dong). Melia azedarach. is used by the people of the Lake Tai region to weave inner headscarves. Silk from the Maple tree original: "楓" (Feng). is used by the people of Guangdong to make thread and the strings for the Se zither Se (瑟): An ancient Chinese plucked zither, traditionally having 25 strings.. Silk from the Camphor tree original: "樟" (Zhang). is used by the people of Hunan to make fishing lines. Xu Yuanhu The courtesy name of Xu Guangqi (1562–1633), the famous Ming dynasty scientist and author of the Complete Treatise on Agriculture. said: "Every tree can host silkworms." Could this truly be the case? Yet...