Nanjing Yunjin is a Masterpiece of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Ranked first among China’s Four Famous Brocades, it was once the exclusive silk fabric used by the imperial courts of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and is renowned for the saying ‘an inch of this brocade is worth an inch of gold’. In 2009, it was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Its origins date back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty, when the imperial court established the Douchang Brocade Bureau in 417 AD; it has a history spanning more than 1,600 years, It reached its zenith during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, when it was administered by the Jiangning Weaving Bureau; the Cao Xueqin family, in particular, held the post of Director of the Jiangning Weaving Bureau for three generations. The sumptuous silk fabrics described in Dream of the Red Chamber were modelled on Nanjing Cloud Brocade; the name ‘Cloud Brocade’ derives from the interweaving of gold and colour in the fabric, whose patterns are as resplendent as the clouds and hues on the horizon. Yunjin is woven on the ‘Dahualou’ wooden loom, which comprises nearly two thousand parts. The loom is massive in scale and requires the coordinated efforts of two artisans: the ‘pulling-thread’ worker on the upper level is responsible for raising the warp threads, whilst the weaver on the lower level performs the ‘carving-pattern’ weaving. Even working throughout the day, they can only produce five to six centimetres of fabric. The core techniques involve ‘continuous warp, broken weft’ and ‘carving-pattern’ colour application, with the colours of individual floral elements able to be varied. This hand-embroidered effect is extremely difficult to replicate using modern machinery. The fabric is based on silk; high-end Yunjin also incorporates real gold thread and peacock feather thread, which shimmer with a lively lustre when exposed to light and remain dazzlingly beautiful even after many years. Yunjin is primarily divided into three categories: embroidered brocade (Zhuanghua), gold-thread brocade (Kujin), Ku-satin. Among these, Zhuanghua represents the pinnacle of Yunjin craftsmanship; produced through hand-carved floral patterns, it cannot be mass-produced by machine. Ku-jin, also known as ‘woven gold’, features patterns predominantly woven with gold and silver threads, presenting a resplendent, golden appearance. Ku-satin, meanwhile, features embossed patterns on a satin surface and is frequently used for ceremonial robes.
