Research On The Origin And Development Of Hangzhou Leno Weaving Technique

Hangzhou (in short or Hang) Leno is a traditional ancient silk in China and alsothe leno still in production now. Hang Leno belongs to the fixed group warp leno withstripes effect from the weave structure. Its weave structure combines the plain weaveand leno weave. In Ming-Qing dynasty, Hang Leno was famous with its uniquestructure and good performance and brought to the royal. However, under the impactof modern technology, traditional Hang Leno weaving technology is facing withchallenge，even in danger of disappearing at one time. Accordingly, the research andprotection of Hang Leno weaving technology is becoming more and more important.In this dissertation, the origin and evolution of Hang Leno and its structure, thedevelopment of weaving tools and modern weaving technology are discussed base onthe archaeological findings and fabric structure characteristics. Meanwhile, the historypoints and evolution way are also investigated.The origin and evolution of Hang Leno and its structure show that: leno shoulddevelop from the wring-braiding fabric which could date back6,000years ago at least.As a branch of leno, Hang Leno should be famous in Ming dynasty, which developsfrom the Yue Leno in Tang dynasties. Because Hang Leno and Yue Leno have similarregion and structure, and they develop on time sequence, Hang Leno should originfrom the middle of Tang dynasty. In other words, Yue Leno is the female parent ofHang Leno. Because the fixed group warp leno in Tang-Song dynasty is simpler thanthe non-fixed group warp leno in Shang-Han dynasty, and it can achieve as long as thewarps’ both ends are fixed; while the structure with one fixed warp and one twistedwarp appeared during Shang-Han dynasty. So the fixed group warp leno is only the outcome of mechanical weaving and rapid production, and the appearance of lenostructure can be dated back to Shang-Zhou dynasty.The origin and development of weaving machine is an important indicator ofHang Leno weaving technology. The leno machine is developed base on thetraditional orthogonal loom by adding the twisting installation. The origin oftraditional orthogonal loom was the waist loom in Neolithic Age and the twistinginstallation appeared in Shang-Zhou dynasty. Therefore, the history of leno made bymachine can be traced back to Shang-Zhou dynasty, while the history of hand wovenwith some tools can be traced back to the Neolithic, and woven only by hands can betraced back to the late Paleolithic. After that, leno loom developed from the simple tothe complex, and evolved different kinds of leno loom.As the traditional leno is still in production, Hang Leno is the representative ofleno varieties. This study also researches the handicraft design, weaving process andthe principles based on the currently saved fabric and loom. And according todifferent characteristics, Hang Leno could be divided into vertical leno, horizontalleno, patterned leno and other varieties.After analyzing of Hang Leno structure and its weaving technology further, thispaper also imitated two representative lenos for a better and intuitive awareness, andprotecting the early weaving technology. The two lenos are the Hang Leno with fivewefts woven by plain weave and the leno with four twisted warps which are representthe fixed group warp leno and non-fixed group warp leno respectively. Starting fromthe fabric structure, this paper supposed and practiced the materials, tools andweaving methods of ancient leno, and completed two leno imitations.