Touched by Indigo - Royal Ontario Museum

1
INTRODUCTION
As early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties Chinese people had
already developed a good understanding of colour. Red, yellow, blue,
black, and white were identified as primary colours. Hues resulting
from mixing any of these together were classified as secondary
colours. For a long time, primary colours were regarded as symbolic
of nobleness, and secondary colours were perceived to represent
humbleness. As a result, primary colours were reserved for the use of
the privileged classes, while secondary colours were relegated to the
use of the common people.1 The symbolic value of colour, however,
changed every so often over the centuries. In the end, almost by
general consensus, warm and radiant colours, such as red and yellow,
became associated with regality, opulence, and celebration typical of
the luxurious lifestyles of the aristocrats. Subdued and cold colours,
such as blue, green, and white, became associated with poverty,
simplicity, and sadness which usually characterized the frugal lives
of the masses.
In the same vein, textiles enjoyed by the upper classes were
fabricated for comfort and visual delight. Sensuous silks and brocades
were always replete with colourful and intricate designs. Those used
by the ordinary people were plain or simply patterned hemp, ramie,
and cotton, materials cheap and durable. Early on, many ways of
embellishing textiles destined both for the rich and the poor had
been already created. They included painting, dyeing, patternweaving,
stamping, printing, and embroidery. This exhibition
guide describes various methods of textile patterning
for consumers at large, namely weaving, dyeing, painting,
applique, and embroidery. The textiles involved are cotton,
hemp, linen, and silk. The majority of the examples
selected here are contemporary, but they reflect what
the common people, whether Han Chinese or
ethnic nationals, used in their daily lives during
the last few hundred years.
The blue in these textiles comes from
indigo, a hardy annual that grows in many parts of China. Indigo
was used for dyeing at least as early as the Zhou dynasty. One of its
advantages is the fastness of the colour pigment on cloths dyed with
it. This is evidenced by several pieces of silk dyed in different shades
of blue unearthed in 1972 from a Western Han tomb at Mawangdui
in the city of Changsha in Hunan province. The blue colour, which
testing revealed to have been obtained from indigo, is reported to
have still retained its freshness after more than two thousand years.2
Another advantage is the wide range of shades (from pale blue to
blue-black) that can be obtained simply by controlling the number
of dippings of the dyed material in the bath. Indigo, too, can be used
in conjunction with other vegetable dyes to obtain a different colour,
for example, indigo and carthamus (red) produce purple, while indigo
and cape jasmine (yellow) produce green. To the peasants and working
classes, however, indigo is perhaps more welcome than other
dye pigments for their clothing for two practical reasons: the dark
blue colour does not show dirt easily; it has medicinal properties
beneficial to health.
Prior to the Song dynasty hemp was the most commonly available
plant for producing an inexpensive but durable fabric. The use
of cotton became more widespread in the Song dynasty. Eventually
it overshadowed hemp not only because it was a plant
relatively easy to grow, but also because the cloth
made from it was softer yet still stood up to wear
and tear. Cotton tabby, a simple-weave fabric
frequently dyed with indigo, is creamy
or off-white when woven. It becomes
white only after bleaching.
Cotton fabric has been used in the
production of both clothing and household
furnishings. Various methods have
been employed to make this plain cloth
attractive. A type of cloth called liangbu