MasterOfCrafts | Weaving the golden legacy of Nanjing: A Yunjin inheritor's story

NANJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- In the exhibition hall of Nanjing Yunjin Brocade Museum, a giant wooden loom, which is 5.6 meters long, 1.4 meters wide, and 4 meters high, is extremely eye-catching. It needs the cooperation of two skilled craftsmen to operate the loom, with one sitting high on the top to lift the threads, while the other sitting below to weave the patterns. With rich and dazzling sheen, the fabric is as beautiful as rosy clouds. Mainly produced in Nanjing, it is called Nanjing Yunjin, which is one of the four famous brocades in China, along with Songjin, Shujin, and Zhuangjin.

Boasting a history of nearly 1,600 years, Nanjing Yunjin brocade has served as imperial tribute from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) to the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties (1644-1911). It represents the highest level of craftsmanship in Chinese brocade and stands as a microcosm of China's sericulture civilization.

Woven predominantly from silk threads, Nanjing Yunjin brocade also adopts genuine gold and peacock feather threads in treasured collections. The weaving process can be roughly divided into design, pattern-drafting, pattern-picking, pattern-knotting, material preparation, loom making and weaving, with the subdivided procedures numbering over one hundred. Two craftsmen working eight hours a day can only weave about five to six centimeters of Yunjin, so there is a saying that "an inch of Yunjin is worth an inch of gold."

Today, high-end Yunjin brocades are still made mainly by hand. In 2006, the wooden-loom Zhuanghua hand-weaving craft of Nanjing Yunjin brocade was among the first batch to be listed as China's national-level intangible cultural heritage. In 2009, it was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

Zhou Shuangxi, a Nanjing native, is a national-level representative inheritor of the craft. In 1973, 18-year-old Zhou joined the Nanjing Yunjin Brocade Research Institute as an apprentice. He has devoted himself to the craft for more than five decades.

In the 1980s, Zhou and his colleagues successfully reproduced a dragon robe fabric with twisted gold and peacock feather threads, reviving a weaving craft lost for more than three centuries. "I think that reproducing cultural relics is essential for Yunjin brocade making," said Zhou, "as the restoration process itself is a way to understand and revive the craft."

Nowadays, supported by the Nanjing Yunjin Brocade Museum, Zhou Shuangxi's team has cultivated many middle-aged and young talents in Yunjin brocade weaving skills. In addition, the team also offers Yunjin brocade weaving courses at Nanjing Mochou Secondary Vocational School, initiating a new model of industry-education integration training.

For Zhou, passing down the craft means preserving the core techniques while also embracing innovation. He believes that Nanjing Yunjin brocade can be applied in people's daily life, including clothes, home furniture, and even cars' interior decorations. Looking ahead, he also plans to explore new materials and technologies to broaden its use, aiming to draw more young people into the craft.

Nowadays, the Nanjing Yunjin Brocade Research Institute has introduced modern technologies such as CAD-assisted design in the early stages of Yunjin brocade making, which largely elevates the production efficiency and improves its quality. At the Nanjing Yunjin Brocade Museum, people can see various Yunjin brocade products ranging from fashionable apparel to home essentials and festive specials, which are popular especially among the youngsters.

Meanwhile, as a cultural hallmark during the "Nanjing Week," a global promotion event of Nanjing City by the local government, Yunjin brocade has made spectacular appearances in Milan and Paris in 2015 and 2024 respectively, showcasing the distinctive Eastern beauty of Chinese silk textiles and winning countless admirers. Nanjing Yunjin presented its luxurious "inch-of-gold" craftsmanship blended with modern tailoring, breathing new life into the traditional silk fabric during the Nanjing session of the 2026 China International Fashion Week in May this year.

From museums to catwalks, from daily life to global stages, Nanjing Yunjin brocade's fashionable reinvention continues to gain momentum. China's traditional sericulture heritage and ultimate pursuit of craftsmanship are now demonstrating their enduring and unique charm to the world.

■