Chinese Xiabu Ramie Cloth

Chinese ramie cloth has a history stretching back more than a thousand years and bears witness to the enduring legacy of Chinese culture. Hailed as a living fossil of textile history, it has nevertheless received little attention or study from scholars, especially compared with other hemp fabrics, and systematic research and photographic records have been lacking. Based on extensive fieldwork across the country’s major ramie-producing regions and detailed photographic documentation, this book traces and clarifies the origins and historical development of ramie cloth, corrects mistaken conclusions about its origins found in traditional textbooks, and records its traditional weaving techniques and the decline of the craft. It provides important foundational work to protect and pass on ramie cloth as an intangible cultural heritage.