Editor’s Note: This article is produced in collaboration with the Chongqing Institute of Foreign Studies, as part of a series of ongoing reports exploring the city’s abundant resources in intangible cultural heritages.
“With wine made and meal prepared, it is time to have a hearty drink with guests. From the side of the hill came the weaving sound of a loom.”
In the southwest of China, especially in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, there grows a wild shrub — ramie, which has been universally recognized as the “king of fibers” and the “China grass”. Ramie really lives up to its name for it not only has edible leaves and medicinal roots, but also stems available for brewing and rinds for tailoring. On account of that, the whole plant is indeed a treasure.
Made of ramie, Rongchang Xia Cloth, the oldest cloth in China, is honored as “the living fossil of textile”. With natural anti-bacterial effects and being able to remove sweat and dissipate heat, Xia Cloth has been used to make ancient Chinese robes, court dresses, royal crowns, and hats and scarves since the Xia (approx. 21st-17th century BC), Shang (approx. 17th-11th century BC) and Zhou Dynasties (approx. 11th century BC-256 BC).
Due to its long history, Rongchang Xia Cloth has been known worldwide down the ages. There was a record of “Shu Cloth” in Han Dynasty (202 BC- 220AD), which showed that Rongchang Xia Cloth had been under production for more than 1000 years.
According to legend, during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), there was a famous satin shop in Suzhou, whose shopkeeper was Cui Dacheng. One day, he went to a bathhouse to take a bath while he found his white silk gown missing, with only a white ramie gown hanging on the shelf. Cui Dacheng had no choice but to put it on. On the way of leaving, Cui felt that the ramie gown was better than his silk gown as it not only looked sharp and elegant but felt cool and comfortable. He was overjoyed to find this. The next day, a man in white silk gown came to Cui Dacheng's shop, carrying a bundle of white ramie. After talking with each other, Cai Dacheng learned that the man wearing the wrong clothes was Wu Zhengguo, a seller of Xia Cloth, who later showed great interest in Cai’s idea of creating a cloth business, and made a deal with him.
Rongchang Xia Cloth became quite popular when it entered the market of Suzhou. Cui Dacheng was intrigued by the pattern on the cloth, so he sent his son Cui Chunlai, to Rongchang, the birthplace of the Xia Cloth, to find out how it was formed. Hardly had Cui Chunlai arrived in Rongchang when he was attracted by a woman bleaching Xia Cloth by the lake. Upon asking, he learned the woman was Li Huiyu, the niece of Wu Zhengguo. The two fell in love at first sight. After Cui Chunlai returned to Suzhou, he lost interest in everything. He didn’t tell the truth until he was asked repeatedly by his father. Being the only son of the family, Cui Chunlai was doted on by his father who hurriedly wrote a letter to Wu Zhengguo, entrusting him to be the matchmaker to propose to Li Huiyu. Naturally, Cui Chunlai and Li Huiyu tied the knot and lived happily ever after.
This is called: an accidental exchange of clothes helps strike a deal; the bleaching of Xia Cloth brings two people together.
Today, while other fabrics manufacture has achieved a high level of automation, most procedures of Xia Cloth require manual labor. With the improvement of people's living standard and the change of aesthetics, the awareness of advocating natural style and returning to simplicity is growing stronger. With its advantages of healthy and environmentally friendly nature, hand-made Xia Cloth has become a new favorite of today's Clothing. On the edge of Rongchang city, there is an intangible cultural heritage park of Xia Cloth, which exhibits the traditional Chinese Xia Cloth culture in a most real and comprehensive way. Following the distant sound of the loom, it demystifies ramie Xia Cloth to depict a vivid and real picture of common people's life.
(The original article comes with a Chinese version authored by Li Qiwei (advisor/Zhou Yuan)as well as an English version translated by Wu Liang (advisor/Lei Xinling), and was later narrated by Zhang Jingdan (advisor/Ren Yi), all of whom are students (and teachers) from Chongqing Institute of Foreign Studies.)