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In ancient times, China was referred to by other cultures as the land of silk. Silk production was a closely guarded secret for centuries. The process was an elaborate one, in which filaments were obtained from the cocoons of silkworms, which feed exclusively on mulberry leaves. Some two thousand silkworms are needed to produce a single pound of silk thread. Silk was (and still is) admired as a light, smooth, yet strong fiber that can be dyed bright colors and used for a variety of purposes. It was used as currency from the Zhou through the Tang dynasties and was traded along the famous Silk Road connecting China to markets as far west as Rome.
This embroidered silk sleeve was recovered from a small tomb at Mashan, Jiangling, just south of the ancient Chu capital. The tomb contained the remains of a woman, about forty or forty-five years old. She was wearing several layers of garments and was wrapped in a number of other textiles that demonstrate the advanced state of weaving and embroidery during the Warring States period. The Chu custom of surrounding coffin chambers with special mixtures of lime mortar and cement for waterproofing prevented these fabrics from decaying.
The practice of wrapping the body in many layers of coverings and garments may have to do with the ritual practices written down during the Han in the Li ji (Book of Rites). These refer to a person's becoming ugly upon death and the need for concealment to avoid causing revulsion among the living. The Mashan lady was from a lower aristocratic class, yet she was buried in patterned silk garments that normally would have been restricted to the upper nobility. In addition to her clothing, her face was covered with cloth, and she held rolls of silk in each hand. Like Zenghou Yi (see More About Excavations at the Tomb of Marquis Yi), this woman was apparently intent, despite the rules governing dress, on displaying her taste and wealth through the objects she chose to be buried with.
The sleeve section was woven with a gauze technique that used additional weft threads to create a complex netlike structure. The patterns were embroidered in chain stitch. These complicated and fluid designs, which are more easily made with the flexible stitches of embroidery than by woven pattern, testify to the skill of the embroiderer. The elongated, arched bodies of dragons, tigers, and phoenixlike birds intersect like the tendrils of a creeping plant.
In addition to the textiles, the Mashan tomb contained bronzes and lacquers, as well as dressed wooden figurines. The finds allow us to compare decoration in different media from the same date -- and they suggest a new preference for bright colors, which was met with inlaid bronzes, painted lacquer, and sumptuous textiles.
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