Chinese Environmental Humanities by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030186340
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

7.5 Concluding Notes: Rethinking Silk Road Culture and Civilization

Sung Ying-hsing, a Chinese scientist and public official of the Ming Dynasty, published the classic work Chinese Technology in the Seventeenth Century (also known as Tiangong kaiwu) in 1637, which documents the history of traditional Chinese technology ranging from agriculture, textiles, and mining to the manufacturing of weapons. Sung dedicated an extensive section of his publication on depicting the processes of producing clothing materials. As he suggests, “Nature has provided the materials for clothing” (Sung, 35). In this section, Sung documents in great detail how, in order to produce high-quality silk, the process begins with carefully raising silkworms. From bathing the silk-moth eggs, identifying the varieties of silkworms, and hatching and raising them, to preventing them from getting diseases, the book stresses the tremendous effort and time required for growing healthy silkworms (Figs. 7.6 and 7.7).

Fig. 7.6Bathing silkworm eggs 浴蚕. Chinese Technology in the Seventeenth Century

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