sericulture is the management and breeding of silkworms for the production of silk.
what is the management and breeding of silkworms for the production of silk?
sericulture
song yingxing opened his chapter on clothing with the aspects of sericulture in producing silk. he gave an accurate description of the raising of silkworms, along with their instinctual mating tradition. those raising the silkworms had their eggs deposited on sheets of paper or cloth, and stored for use in the following year. he wrote that in some regions a bathing process was used on these sheets, employing rain water, lime water, or brine, and gave specifications on the timing for this during winter, in the 12th month of the year. the reason for this, he said, was so that the inferior eggs would die in the process, hence less mulberry leaves would be consumed needlessly. he also provided specifications on how to avoid damaging the eggs in the long process of preparation before the bathing process in the 12th month. he noted the differences between two general forms of silkworms, late and early, while providing information on a wide variety in different silkworm breeds and cocoons, and even silkworm diseases. after their eventful hatching, he described the proper living conditions and environment that the silkworms should be immersed in, as well as the care that should be given in feeding them. he warned of different sources of foul odors and smoke that had the capability of killing the silkworms if they came into contact. he described the spinning of cocoons, gathering of cocoons, sorting of cocoons, and the different pests such as birds and mosquitoes that should be avoided, he also described the proper planting of mulberry trees and how to harvest them. for the process of making silk, he noted that raw silk could not be reeled into normal silk until a formal wadding process was done. he described the reeling of silk fabric with a reeling machine, the spooling of silk fibers, the spinning of silk fibers into weft yarns, the silken threads drawn into a warp frame for weaving, and the "ingenious" works of figure designing. he also described the proper dimensions of different draw looms,
tiangong kaiwu
ju hua can (, "jú huā cán"), literally "chrysanthemum silkworms" (referring to intestinal worms, where the term "chrysanthemums" (júhuā) is vulgar slang which refers to the anus). this referred to chrysanthemum terrace, a song by jay chou, where the lyrics "" (chrysanthemums scattered, ground filled with wounds/the wounded) are re-rendered with homophones and similar sounds as "" ("chrysanthemum(anus)" worms, buttocks covered with wounds). ju hua can can also be interpreted as a pun on another homophone, , meaning "broken chrysanthemum", which would be slang for a "broken anus", referring to (possibly painful) anal sex, as is a homophone meaning "broken". such a phrase implies hopelessness, as once a person is given a "broken anus", they would find difficulty in sitting down, and so "broken chrysanthemum" is a common (vulgar) chinese idiom. these silkworms are said to feed on chrysanthemum flowers rather than mulberry leaves (from the article). the article also states that the usage of chrysanthemum silkworms dates back to 3000 years ago in ancient china, and that they were the first cultivation method of silk obtained by early scientists. the silk produced by silkworms that feed on chrysanthemums rather than mulberry are able to be produced at a much faster rate, are higher in mass, are fireproof, protective against ionizing radiation, bulletproof, and lightweight. however, these silkworms are very difficult to maintain, and easily die. they are vulnerable to cold, heat, and are susceptible to changes in humidity, and thus are very costly to nurture. noblewomen from ancient times are said to pay large sums of money for such types of silk.
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