Millennium Lu Silk: Weaving Prosperity Over The Years

Luo shirts, women's gowns, cheongsam, shawls, silk scarves, wedding quilts... entered Shanxi Gaoping Lu Silk Museum, full of beautiful, beautiful exhibits, telling the story of Lu Silk's millennium "silk language".

Lu silk, produced in the ancient Luzhou area, was a representative of Shanxi's silk industry in its heyday. In history, it was as famous as Hangzhou satin and Shu brocade, and ranked among the three famous silk fabrics in China. In the Tang Dynasty, Lu silk became an important commodity exported from Shanxi; In the Ming Dynasty, King Shen, the 21st son of Zhu Yuanzhang, established a weaving and dyeing bureau in Lu'an Mansion, and Lu silk became a royal tribute.

Lu Silk exhibits in Shanxi Gaoping Lu Silk Museum. Photographed by Gao Ruifeng

"Luzhou became the largest weaving center in northern China when Luxian silk reached its peak in the Ming Dynasty," said Li Shibo, a staff member of Luxian Silk Museum. According to the Records of Lu'an Prefecture, in the early years of Hongwu, there were more than 80000 mulberry trees in six counties of Luzhou, more than 9000 looms, silk shops and shops all over the streets, and the sound of looms could be heard everywhere.

Lu silk "weaves" the prosperity of "Nansong River, North Lu'an, the world of clothes" in the long river of years. There is a libretto in the drama "Li Sulan's Charming Moon and Jade Pot Spring" at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty: "If you are willing to marry the girl to me, I will make 30 carts of cashmere Lu Silk with my grandma as a gift." At that time, Lu Silk was "used by the government and invested in the life of the people", and was very popular.

By the end of the Qing Dynasty, influenced by the current situation and other factors, Lu silk was no longer prosperous. In 1958, Gaoping set up a silk weaving factory, which became the largest state-owned silk enterprise in North China at that time. In the 1990s, with the decline of state-owned silk weaving enterprises in the tide of reform, Lu silk craft was facing the dilemma of loss.

A corner of Shanxi Gaoping Lu Silk Museum. Picture provided by Shanxi Lu'an Fulu Silk Group

After bankruptcy, restructuring and restructuring, Gaoping Silk Weaving Factory was restructured in 2008; Since then, Lu silk manual weaving techniques have been included in the national intangible cultural heritage list. Today, Shanxi Lu'an Luxian Silk Group is striving for the silk market, inheriting the hand weaving skills of Luxian Silk, and continuing the success of thousands of years of Luxian Silk.

"Lu silk is extremely fine, with more than 10 kinds of designs and colors, such as azure, stone blue, sand blue, and moon white. It retains the unique skills of manual craftsmanship, layered dyeing, and so on." Li Shibo introduced. Taking a Lu silk quilt as an example, it takes 298 processes to make it.

At present, Gaoping is focusing on Luxian silk industry, extending silk industries such as silk raw materials, silk accessories and silk home textiles, expanding diversified industries such as household goods and cultural tourism, and building a characteristic industrial system of "Luxian Town". At the same time, Luxian Silk Experience Hall has been set up in Beijing and other places to connect with overseas resources and continue to expand Luxian Silk's popularity at home and abroad.

Lu silk wedding quilts in Shanxi Gaoping Lu Silk Museum. Photographed by Su Hang

"With the development of the times, people's aesthetic and living habits are changing. While inheriting skills, we should combine modern elements to innovate, adjust and innovate the product design and production of Lu Silk with the times." Song Ruyan, manager of the service department of Lu Silk Group in Lu'an, Shanxi, introduced.

In the Lu Silk Museum, pictures, equipment, and silk pieces tell of the long history and exquisite craftsmanship of Lu Silk, and visitors are often surprised. The ancient "Silk Road" is still here today. With the opportunity of jointly building the "Belt and Road" initiative, the millennium Luxian silk has become prosperous again.

(Source: China News Network)