What is it?
ranslates literally to "cloud brocade": a patterned silk woven with real gold thread by hand in Nanjing. In its finest pieces, it often incorporated thread from peacock feathers. The name comes from how the cloth looks, commonly described as 灿若云霞 (càn ruò yún xiá) meaning bright like clouds in a sunset glow, as it is very luxurious with an unmistakable sheen. They also call it the crown of brocades as part of China’s “Big Three” Brocades along with Shu Brocade and Song Brocade. Its status primarily comes from its exclusive use for the Royal family since the Yuan Dynasty, Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Yún jǐn was added to China's national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006, and UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009. Weavers still make it on a wooden loom, now selling it in high fashion, as souvenir scarves but mostly to revive ancient techniques, and restore relics for museums and researchers.
Where it comes from
Chinese sources put the history of Yún jǐn at nearly 1,600 years. From the Yuan dynasty through the Ming and Qing, it was an imperial craft, made for the Royal court and nobody else. The court also used it as a gift for foreign rulers and envoys, and to reward ministers and people who had done the state a service.
During the Ming and Qing, yún jǐn was at its peak. Nanjing was the centre of Chinese silk weaving (and Ming Dynasty Capital), and the government ran the 江宁织造府 (Jiāngníng Zhī Zào Fǔ), the Jiangning Imperial Weaving Office, to oversee production. Even during the Qing Dynasty, when Manchu took over, it did not lose its status and dragon robe designs were drawn in Peking (Beijing), sent down the Grand Canal to Nanjing, woven there, and shipped back north to the palace.
The loom
Yún jǐn is woven on a 大花楼 (dà huā lóu) loom, a wooden machine about 5.6 metres long and 4 metres high and requires two people to coordinate with each other consistently. One sits at the top and pulls the pattern threads up in order, following a spoken formula to control more than ten thousand threads. The other sits below and weaves, passing the weft through the threads that have been lifted.
The core technique is called 通经断纬 (tōng jīng duàn wěi) or "continuous warp, broken weft" as the weft is not thrown across the whole width of the cloth, it is woven only where a colour is needed in the pattern. The full process has five stages, from pattern design to loom setup to weaving, and more than a hundred steps in total.
The process of making yún jǐn is so tedious it takes two weavers working 8hrs to produce only 5 to 6 centimetres of cloth. This influenced an old saying: 寸锦寸金 (cùn jǐn cùn jīn) (an inch of brocade is worth an inch of gold) to describe how prized and expensive this brocade is.
What the patterns mean
Yún jǐn follows a strict rule that Chinese heritage sources state in one line: 图必有意，意必吉祥 (tú bì yǒu yì, yì bì jí xiáng): every pattern has a meaning, and every meaning is an auspicious one. Sample patterns and motifs include lotus vines representing growth of life, cranes and deer to symbolise spring (and eternal life) as well as gold carps leaping into pots of gold as a wish for wealth and fortune.
These motifs come from nature, myths and lucky symbols tied deeply with specifically Han Chinese culture and each one carries a blessing for whoever wears the robe.
How this relates to MadebyMin
MadebyMin is a limited-edition label, so it is made in small runs, and every motif on it has a reason to be there. The same rule that governs yún jǐn is the same rule I design by, just applied to design and cut instead of silk and not restricted to anyone. A common misconception is you have to be Chinese to wear the designs, which is untrue.
About Nanjing
I regard Nanjing as my second home. Having grown up with my grandparents who still reside in Nanjing, I have seen it change from an “Ancient Capital” in ruins (due to more recent and tragic events in 1938) restored to a bustling Tier 1 city full of art, culture and history. There is a dedicated museum in China that explains this craft in detail and you’ll see plenty of shops selling intricate yún jǐn as souvenirs. The level of detail in a lot of patterns and motifs is fascinating and as someone who loves embroidery as well as history, there is nothing more beautiful than seeing the wisdom and aesthetics of our ancestors continue to modern times.
Fun Fact: The famous Qing author 曹雪芹 (Cáo Xuěqín) who wrote 红楼梦( hóng lóu mèng) “Dream of the Red Chamber” (one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature) wrote exceptionally vividly about the wealth and luxury depicted in his novel. The imagery he carefully curated came directly from personal experience as his family had managed the Jiangning Imperial Weaving Office as the Commissioner for nearly 60 years. Therefore, Cáo had profound connection to Nanjing and yún jǐn, having grown up with images of yún jǐn imprinted into his memory as he was surrounded by nobility and wealth.