Chinese Silk: A Cultural History

By Shelagh J. Vainker

Book Overview

Silk is one of China's major contributions to world civilization, the secrets of its cultivation closely guarded for generations. The famous network of trade routes between West and East is still known as the Silk Road. The organization and techniques of Chinese silk production, the uses of the silk produced--both bolts and made-up pieces--and the types and styles of its ornament are celebrated in this richly illustrated and accessible book, the first general survey to be published in English. Shelagh Vainker traces the cultural history of silk in China from its Neolithic origins to the twentieth century and considers its relationship to the other decorative arts. She traces the role of silk in Chinese history, trade, religion, and literature. Drawing on the most recent archaeological evidence from other, less perishable media such as jades and bronzes as well as paintings, poems, and other texts, Chinese Silk brings together material available until now only in Chinese, supplemented with recent acquisitions by public and private collections in the United States and Europe. The result is a book that illuminates the luxury of silk throughout the ages.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813534461
• ISBN13: 9780813534466
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 3.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.5" x 1.0" x 10.5"

Customer Reviews

An impressive and seminal work of outstanding scholarship

Chinese Silk: A Cultural History by Shelagh Vainker (Assistant Keeper of Eastern Art, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England) is a detailed history of silk in China ranging from its Neolithic origins down to the twentieth century. Relating the use of Chinese silk to other decorative arts, and drawing extensively from archaeology, paintings, poems, and other texts, Vainker traces the role of silk in Chinese history, trade, religion, and literature. Chinese Silk is an impressive and seminal work of outstanding scholarship, would make a superb choice as a community library Memorial Fund acquisition, as well as an essential, core addition to academic library Cultural History collections.