Production of Export Hand-Painted Silk in Guangzhou During the Qing Dynasty

Acclimation of Art Between China and the West in the 18th--19th Centuries

Written and Edited by Guangdong Museum

Lingnan Fine Arts Publishing House

November 2022

598.00 （CNY）

In the 22nd year of the Qianlong Period during the Qing Dynasty （1757）， European and American merchants were only allowed to trade at Guangzhou Port. From then on， Guangzhou monopolized the sea trade between China and the West for nearly a century and became the hub of the world trade system at the peak of the Qing Dynasty. Guangzhou was not only the distribution center of China’s traditional export commodities， such as silk， porcelain， and tea， but also a key origin of the world’s luxury and fashion goods. Forbes wrote in Guangzhou Stores from 1825 to 1830， “In 1822， there were more than 5，000 stores specializing in exporting goods near the Thirteen Factories. About 250，000 men， women and children participated in the production of export goods. Artists in Guangzhou were famous for their exquisite techniques in carved products made of ivories， hawksbills， tridacna， sandalwood， etc.， as well as bamboo and wood furniture， lacquerwares， gold and silver wares， embroideries， and rattan products.” （H.A. Crosby Forbes， Shopping in China： The Artisan Community at Canton， 1825--1830， published by Pridemark press in 1979）

Stimulated by the demand of the overseas market， the silk industry in the Jiangnan area was highly developed into a traditional silk production hub and the emerging Pearl River Delta. Guangzhou Greenish Willows best depicts the prospering silk trade of the Thirteen Factories in the Qing Dynasty： “Official merchants compete out of foreign ships. The Cross Gate opens to the ocean. Famous silk goods are exchanged in Guangzhou. Thirteen Factories are filled with silver coins.” In the Ming and Qing dynasties， workshops stood like trees in Guangzhou and Foshan in the Pearl River Delta， and there were numerous workers in the silk industry. The production of the silk industry was featured with high commercialization and specialization. For example， Jinlun Guildhall in Guangzhou was a silk industry guildhall founded in the first year of the Yongzheng Period during the Qing Dynasty （1723）. The guildhall was divided into some small branches. “After mid-Ming Dynasty， Foshan’s silk industry developed into eighteen factories： the silk satin factory， the colored satin factory， the black satin factory， the floral satin factory， the ramie satin factory， the cowboy yarn factory， the silk twill factory， the hat twill factory， the floral twill factory， the golden color factory， the gold and silver yarn factory， the handrail factory， the spun yarn factory， the bucket yarn factory， and the foreign silk twill factory.” During this period， there were a large number of exported silk products. And their patterns were still dominated by traditional Chinese patterns. This is because the looms needed to be reassembled and reproduced for the western patterns customized by western markets. That would take a lot of time and labor， which significantly increased the cost. To minimize the cost and better meet the aesthetic demand of the western market， Guangzhou artisans decorated locally produced raw silk with popular western patterns through manual painting or embroidery.

Concerning the drawing method of hand-painted silk in Guangzhou， according to the existing export of hand-painted silks in Guangzhou， their common characteristic is that the outline was sketched with ink lines， and colors were filled in the pattern. Sketching and filling is a coloring method of traditional Chinese painting. “Sketching and filling means sketching the outline with ink lines and then filling in the colors along the inner edge of the ink lines. The strong colors filled， such as white powder， cinnabar， azurite and mineral green， may not infringe the original ink lines or leave a gap between them. The colors are not necessarily painted evenly， but should show the thickness， darkness， gradation and shade of the design.” This white silk color-painted flower-and-bird wallpaper （Fig. 1） from the 19th Century， collected by Guangdong Museum， was painted with the sketching and filling method in the traditional flower-and-bird collaborate-style painting. The colors are all strictly limited in the outlines sketched by ink lines. Thus， the gradation and darkness are depicted with skillful and realistic coloring. However， the colors of most exported hand-painted silks in Guangzhou are not strictly limited in the outlines. The mineral pigments and plant dyes are usually painted casually and often go beyond the outlines.

Three methods of sketching the outline are painted with ink lines：

1. A skilled painter outlines the patterns directly on the raw silk; 2. The outline uses powder as paint. “The draft is sketched with ink lines on a thin piece of paper. The outline is stabbed with a needle; graphite powder or talcum powder are patted onto the paper， so that the powder leaks through the pinholes; thus， the pattern outline is transferred from the draft paper onto the silk.”

3. Paper with good water absorption is chosen. The outline is painted in ink on the draft. Then， the ink left on the paper is transferred to the silk. The colors within the outline should be fixed with alum to prevent the colors from moving and mixing when colors are repainted.

In addition， alum water should be brushed on the silk to prevent the colors from leaking and blooming. The yellow silk with a color-painted floral pattern （Fig. 2） from the late 18th Century， kept in Guangdong Museum， has visible traces of alum water brushing.

Guangdong Museum

Guangdong Museum is the only provincial-level comprehensive museum in Guangdong Province. The total number of cultural relics in the collection has exceeded 170，000， including cultural relics， ancient books， and natural specimens. Since the opening of the museum， an average of 8 or 9 exhibitions have been held every year， receiving millions of visitors.