CIETA—Bulletin 76，1999 SAMITE：A BRIDGE FROM SAMITE TO SATIN ZHAO Feng (English text edited by Hero Granger Taylor)

In this paper, for the sake of brevity, two simplified new terms．“Liao samite”and“satin samite” will be used．These will denote two structures as follows．“Liao samite”is here used for the variety of compound which is in weft—faced 1/2 twill on both sides (samite is normally in weft— faced 1/2 twill on the front, or obverse, and in warp-faced 2/1 twill on the back．or reverse-for terminology see CIETA 1964)．Until now，a longer term，“compound twill，weft-faced on both sides”，has usually been used for this variety．I prefer to use“Liao samite”for convenience：a great deal of this weave has been found in tombs of the Liao or Khitan dynasty (AD 907 一 ll25), although examples have also been found dating from the Tang dynasty (AD 6l8—907)，as well as in contexts geographically outside the Liao empire．(The Liao empire was based on the area now easten Inner Mongolia and western Liaoning province-for the history of the period see Wittfogel and Feng l946 and Twitchett l993，also Riboud I997，P.29)．

The second term, "satin samite", is proposed for the compound weave which is in weft-faced satin on both sides．This has the same structure as Liao samite except that the binding is in satin rather than in l/2 twill．(The longer term for this weave would be“compound satin．Weft-faced on both sides．Editor’s note：neither Liao samite or satin samite are，strictly speaking，“two-faced”; despite the similarity in the disposition of the binding warp on the two faces, on the reverse of the cloth all the weft colours not required on the front are bound together-see Figures 5, 6, and 7, where the reverse is shown uppermost，as during )．

I．SATlN SAMITE AND lTS VARlATl0NS

The first “satin samite” to have been published is one of the preserved in Cave 17 at Dunhuang(Mogao Grottoes)：this single piece，EO.1193/L，was described by Gabriel Vial in 1970 who at that time did not know of other examples (Riboud ＆Vial 1970, PP．58-60 and diagrams)．

The first piece of satin samite I encountered was found in a tomb located at Dayingzi．in eastern Inner Mongolia. The person buried there, Xiao Qulie, was the son-in-law of the first Liao emperor,YelüAbaoji；he had been given the title“king of Wei State”．This tomb can be dated to AD 959 on the basis of its epitaph. It was excavated in l954 but textile samples, including a small piece of satin samite，reached me only in 1992．In the brief report on silks from this tomb, I used the term“weft-faced compound satin”to describe this piece (Zhao＆Xue 1992，Riboud l 997 no5)

The earliest pieces of satin samite found so far were discovered in the tomb of YelüYuzhi, located at Liefeng Hill，Arukerqin，in eastern Inner Mongolia. YelüYuzhi, born in 890 AD，was a direct relative of the Liao emperors and was Prime Minister of the Eastern Khitan from AD 926 to early in the Huitong period (AD 937-946-Huitong is the“reign period”of the second Liao emperor, Taizong or YelüDeguang, under whom the Liao expanded into northern China)．YelüYuzhi died in 94l AD and was buried a year later. It is conceivable that most of the costumes buried with him were woven in central China (Zhao 1996，Zhao&Qi 1996，Riboud 1997 no1)．

Ten pieces of satin samite, including some variations of this weave, were found in this tomb. The most important piece is a robe with a design of confronted wild geese holding a knotted ribbon (Fig. 1 ). This was in several pieces and in bad condition. But the pattern was still visible, and the shape of the garment can be reconstructed. Other satin samite pieces have designs of paired eagles and confronted birds on, geometrical grounds.

Further significant finds come from another early Liao tomb, at Daiqintala, in eastern Inner Mongolia. Many of the silks from this tomb are in the same weave and have the same designs as those from YelüYuzhi's tomb, and also include a robe made of satin samite with a design of wild geese (Fig. 1 ). It seems likely that this burial can be also be dated to the 940s. Fortunately the robe from this tomb is in better condition and I have been able to make a detailed analysis of it and have subsequently made a replica using a drawloom. (These will be published shortly by the author.)

In the late Tang dynasty, a robe with a design of paired confronted geese was a recognised emblem of office. It is recorded in the Xin Tangshu (New History of the Tang Dynasty) that the Dezong emperor (AD 780-805) in 787 granted to his higher ranking officials robes with a design of wild geese holding a knotted ribbon. He did this because wild geese, when flying, maintain an appropriate or graded formation or order, an example the emperor wished the officials to follow. In AD 827, the Wenzong emperor promulgated a new law relating to the emblematic designs used on the costumes of officials of the 3rd rank and above. This refers to the design of wild geese holding a knotted ribbon, as well as to one of falcons holding grass and to one of paired peacocks. Since the design of paired geese goes back to the Tang period it may be that the association of this design with the satin samite weave can also be dated from this time.

(Author's postscript. This opinion is supported by my recent trip to Xi'an, previously Ch'ang-an, the capital of the Tang dynasty. Here I was able to study some examples from the large quantity of Tang period textiles excavated in 1987 from the chamber under the Famen Pagoda. According to the inscription inside the chamber, all the objects were donated to the Buddha early in 873 AD. Among the textiles I found a small fragment in compound satin with weft-faced 1/4 satin on the front but warp-faced 4/1 satin on the back. I would like for the meantime to call this weave "Tang satin samite". I think it is likely that satin samite which is weft-faced on both sides will be found among the Famen textiles during further research).

The tradition of emblematic designs was adopted by some of the dynasties that followed the Tang, including the Later Tang and the Later Jin. The Liao inherited a great deal from these other dynasties and absorbed much of the culture of the Han people, especially after 938 (the first year of the Huitong reign) when they had gained control of the sixteen prefectures in the northern part of China itself. The Liao Shi (the History of the Liao dynasty) records Taizong, or YelüDeguang, in his turn granted robes with this design to his higher officials. So it seems likely that the use of this type of silk was among traditions that the emperor YelüDeguang had inherited from the Later Jin dynasty. There are by now a number of examples of satin samite weave held in western collections. Published pieces include a pair of boots at the Cleveland Museum of Art (inv. no 1992.349 & 350) which, on the leg, have a design of wild geese holding a flower (Watt and Wardwell 1997, no10) and a textile in the Alan Kennedy collection with the same design and weave (Kennedy 1997).

Satin samite has a series of variations. It can be divided most conveniently into three categories: 1. "common satin samite", 2. "satin samite with weft floats", and 3. "brocaded satin samite". I will give examples from the Liao tombs in Inner Mongolia for each group.

1.1. Common satin samite

Common satin samite (Figs. 2-3) is woven with two warps, one inner warp, called the main warp; and one outer warp, called the binding warp. The weft consists of passes each made up of two to seven complementary colours or lats. The of both warps is usually without apparent twist (and in this detail these Liao-period textiles contrast with samites of the early Tang period which, as a rule, have warps of strongly twisted ). The threads of the binding warp are always single but the threads of the main warp are usually in pairs and sometimes in threes. The weft yarns are floss silk, i.e. are without twist, and occur in five to seven rich colours.

With the exception of the binding, the weave of "satin samite" is very similar to that of "Liao samite". Within every unit of five binding warp threads, each thread of the binding warp is visible once on the obverse and once on the reverse of the fabric, i.e. where its job is to bind the appropriate weft. Where not required, that is, in the case of satin samite, for three passes out of five within every binding unit, each thread of the binding warp remains hidden between the two faces of the cloth, where it lies along side threads of the main warp. Because the threads of the binding warp are at times visible neither on the front or on the back of the cloth, the resulting weave can be described as being weft-faced on both the obverse and reverse. This weave could be called "double weft-faced compound satin" or, more precisely, as "compound weave with 1/4 satin binding on both sides". The satin binding itself usually has an "interruption" of one or two (Figs. 2-3).

The silk with the design of confronted wild geese holding a knotted ribbon found at Daiqintala is used here used to illustrate this weave. This example has a main or inner warp of paired threads and an outer or binding warp of single threads. The weft passes consist of two to seven lats, the colours being green, blue yellow, white, brown, cream and light brown. The number of lats in each pass depends on the requirements of the area of the design that is being woven; for the breasts of the geese, lats of two different colours appear on the face together and mix visually to make an additional colour. The warp has 22 binding warp ends and 22 paired inner warp ends per cm, and the weft has 20 passes per cm.

The size of the paired geese motif is 43 cm in the warp direction and 66 cm in the weft. There is usually a space of 4 to 6 cm between each repeat of the motif. On the shoulder of the robe, the direction of the repeat must have reversed so that the geese were shown upright on both the front and the back of the garment.

The selvedges of this fabric are missing ; it is assumed that, as in the samites of the Tang dynasty, the warp threads in the selvedge were thick and rough and therefore the selvedges were cut off when the fabric was made up into a piece of clothing. The original width of the cloth is estimated at 70 to 80 cm.

1.2. Satin samite with weft floats

The variety of satin samite with floats has the same basic weave as satin samite but the design on the front of the textile is partly made up by weft floats (Fig. 4). The weft floats are achieved by releasing one or more selected weft picks from the binding warp. This procedure, while creating floats on the front or obverse of the fabric, does not at the same time affect the back, or reverse, where the other colours of the pass are bound in the normal way.

Only one example of this weave is known. It is the silk with birds and deer in lozenges, excavated in the tomb of YelüYuzhi (Fig. 4). Three fragments survive, but are very discoloured, so that is difficult to distinguish the different constituent yarns from one another. With care, though, at least four different weft lats can be identified. On the obverse, two of the four lats are required by the design to float, while the other two lats are bound as normal. On the reverse, there are no weft floats. The main and binding warp are not regularly paired and single. Their yarn is without apparent twist.

The design of this textile was very popular during the period from the Tang to Song dynasties. We can find the main motifs, deer and birds, and the secondary motif, flowers, in manuscript illustrations and on a range of applied arts of the period, including woven textiles and (Kennedy 1997). In this example the design repeats after 19 cm in the warp and 17 cm in the weft.

1.3. Brocaded satin samite

The term brocaded satin samite is here used for a satin samite that is brocaded with a discontinuous supplementary weft of one or more colours (Figs. 5-6). Up to the present, only one textile with such a weave has been discovered. This is the robe from Yelu Yuzhi's tomb with a floral roundel design enclosing a pair of confronted phoenixes. This is brocaded with gold and silver threads.

The robe is complete but in bad condition. In the ground of the textile the threads of the main warp and binding warp are paired and single respectively. The main weft is of floss silk in five colours and, bound in satin as in common satin samite, this is used to create the floral border of the roundels. For the phoenixes themselves, however, additional threads of gold and silver have been brocaded. These brocaded threads are bound in satin on the obverse or front like the main weft, but on the reverse, where not needed within the limits of the phoenix motif, they float.

The metal threads have a silk core that is Z-twisted and 2 S-plied. The metal foil itself appears at first to have been wrapped directly around the core, i.e. there is no substrate visible, a phenomenon that it is difficult to explain. (Almost certainly there had been a substrate but this has not survived - the metal itself seems too thin to have been applied directly to the core. This missing substrate could have been of protein material, for instance membrane, or of cellulose, more precisely paper, but has not survived due to the environmental conditions in the burial). The gold foil itself is still bright ; the silver foil has become reddish black.

The design of this textile is arranged with the roundels in staggered rows, the colour of the phoenixes changing from silver to gold row by row. The diameter of the roundels themselves is not large, only about 11 cm, but because of the staggered arrangement, the total repeat in the warp direction is 40 cm. The repeat in the weft is 14 cm.

II. THE WEAVING TECHNIQUE USED FOR SATIN SAMITE AND ITS VARIATIONS

The technique used for "satin samite" is very similar to that used for "Liao samite" and it is easy to work from one structure to the other and so establish a draft. In fact, as mentioned, I have gone further and, using the drawloom belonging to the China National Silk Museum, Hangzhou, have managed to make a replica of the satin samite from Daiqintala with a design of confronted wild geese.

For the reproduction, the loom was equipped with five lifting shafts and five depression shafts and a tower from which the figure harness was controlled. For each unit of three warp ends, the single binding warp end was entered through one lifting shaft and one depression shaft, the paired threads of the main or inner warp meanwhile being left independent of the shafts. After this, all three threads were entered together through one eye or mail of the figure harness (Fig. 7). During weaving, for each pass, the weaver held down two treadles, one connected to a lifting shaft and one connected to a depression shaft. The weaver then picked the different coloured lats as the drawboy pulled up the tail cords appropriate for the sequence of lats. The weaver changed the treadles only when each pass was completed. Using this method, and weaving with the face of the textile downwards, a replica satin samite was successfully woven.

Working from the method established for common or regular satin samite, the techniques required for satin samite with floats and for brocaded satin samite were easily discovered : for satin samite with weft floats, the depression shaft has to be released for the passage of the lat which is to form the floats (Fig. 8) ; for brocaded satin samite, the lifting shaft must be released while a metal thread is being introduced (Fig. 9). It can be seen that in this manner the variations of satin samite can be woven on the same loom and with the same harnesses as for common satin samite.

I want to emphasise that the real complexity of these textiles lies in the pattern programme. For the textile with the design of wild geese, where each lengthways pattern repeat is 43 cm and where there are about 20 passes to each centimetre, with up to seven lats, about 5,600 weft threads have to be separately picked for the completion of each lengthways repeat.

Working with a loom width of 70 cm, there are about 700 units of three warp ends across the cloth. Because the découpure in the warp is only one, this means that 700 leashes are needed. In theory, because the design reverses along the vertical axis, the number of simple or pulley cords required would be half the number of leashes. But the weaver working on the replica found from experience that it is more difficult to control the complete design using a figure harness divided into two chemins or comber units. In the end therefore we adapted the original tie-up, dispensing with the in-built reverse repeat, and tied the leashes individually to tail cords. We thus worked with 700 leashes and 700 tail cords.

A pattern, programme requiring 700 tail cords and 5,600 lashes or selections is a major undertaking, requiring a drawloom with a tower. The lashes had to be arranged parallel to the weft so that the drawboy could both see the weaver and pull the lashes easily. Undoubtedly, this kind of drawloom had come into being during the later Tang dynasty.

III. FROM SAMITE TO SATIN Satin samite marks a middle stage in the evolution of silk weaves that was taking place from the 7th to 14th centuries, and provides a bridge between true samite and fully-developed satin weave. In my doctoral thesis, A Study of Traditional Looms and Weaving Techniques in China. I gave an outline of this evolution (Zhao 1997). Here, I hope to explain the process in detail.

III.1. From true samite to Liao samite

A number of scholars have already drawn attention to "compound twill, weft-faced on both sides", the weave I here call "Liao samite". Published references include Shinzaburo Sasaki's study of ancient Japanese weaving techniques (Sasaki 1951), Gabriel Vial's analysis of the silks from Dunhuang (Riboud & Vial 1970), Mihoko Domyo's article on the silks fiom the Toji temple (Domyo 1992), Wu Min's study of the silks found at Aragou in Xinjiang (Wu 1992) and James Watt and Anne Wardwell's exhibition catalogue, When Silk was Gold (Watt and Wardwell 1997). So it is not necessary here to spend more time on its structure or technique. Rather, my aim is to discuss connections between the development of Liao samite and other similar weaves.

It is obvious when we take into account similarities of appearance, style and structure that Liao samite was influenced by true samite, that is, the weave that can be defined as "weft-faced compound twill, 1/2 on the obverse and 2/1 on the reverse". The chronological and geographic distribution of these two types of samite confirms that they were connected. However, we cannot conclude that Liao samite developed directly out of true samite (or satin samite out of Tang satin samite) because of the fundamental technical difference that exists between the variants of the basic weave.

In true samite (and Tang satin samite), the threads of the main warp always lie hidden between the upper weft lat and the other lats while the threads of the binding warp are constantly visible either on the front or the back of the fabric. This structure derives from a weaving technique that was relatively simple ; the loom had to be equipped only with three shafts and an independent figure harness (Fig. 10). The fundamental difference between Liao samite and true samite (or between satin samite and Tang satin samite) lies in the binding warp. For Liao samite, the binding warp is subject to a much more complex series of commands : its threads are controlled by three depression shafts as well as by three lifting shafts, and in addition the binding warp threads pass through the mails of the same leashes as the neighbouring main warp threads (Fig. I1). During weaving, the weaver picks one weft thread when three commands simultaneously form the shed : one lifting shaft raises one out of three binding warp ends, one depression shaft lowers one out of three binding warp ends and the figure harness raises those main warp ends, along with their neighbouring binding warp ends, that are required by the design (the fabric is woven face down).

Having compared the weaving techniques for Liao samite and true samite, we can see that the technical gap between the two weaves is considerable. The question we must now ask is, why did the weavers of the time use a different technique to weave Liao samite, when the finished appearance of the two structures was so similar ? The answer must be that the weavers of Liao samite were influenced by a separate weaving tradition. This was the tradition for weaving silk with a 5/1 twill pattern on a 1/2 twill ground.

This type of twill weave is known to have to have appeared at least as early as the mid-Tang period. Its most important feature, from the point of view of technique, is that it required the application of depression shafts. To weave a figured 5/1:1/2 damask of the commonly-found type a loom was needed that was equipped with six lifting shafts and three depression shafts, along with a figure harness. The draft of this weave (Fig. 12) shows that each warp end had to be entered through both a lifting and a depression shaft, as well as through a mail of the figure harness (when weaving, the main problem to be avoided is the contradictory lifting and depressing of the same warp end). When producing this type of damask, the weaver, with or without the assistance of a draw-boy, would have had to have executed three functions together: treadling a lifting shaft for the ground weave, treadling a depression shaft for the binding weave and pulling on one lash of the figure harness for the pattern.

It should now be clear that there was a close relationship between the weaving techniques required for Liao samite and for 5/1:1/2 twill damask. In fact, these two structures could have been woven on the same loom, only adjusting the number of lifting shafts. It is logical and reasonable to assume that Liao samite drew its technical influence from 5/1:1/2 twill damask, rather than from true samite. The fragment in Liao samite weave with a large medallion in the Tang style and probably dating from the 8th or 9th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Watt & Wardwell 1997, no6), suggests that this evolutionary process had taken place as early as the Tang period. (The Famen textiles confirm that this development had already happened by the second half of the 9th century. Among them, the majority of textiles in the samite category are in "Liao samite").

III.2. From Liao samite to satin samite

It is obvious that satin samite in turn developed from Liao samite (though knowledge of Tang satin samite would also have been a factor). But the question to ask in relation this weave is : why did a satin binding system take the place of twill ? It is very difficult to give a satisfactory answer, but there is some evidence which helps to explain the change.

One simple answer is that the satin binding made possible a longer weft float, a change that was desirable from the point of view of colour. As well as differing in their ground weave, examples of satin samite differ from examples of Liao samite in employing more colours. On the robe in satin samite with the design of wild geese there are as many as seven colours employed at a time, with a further colour created by using two differently-coloured lats together. On the robe in brocaded satin samite with a design of phoenixes there are only five colours in the ground, but, as explained, two additional weft threads are introduced as brocading. It would have been very difficult to have woven with this number of colours in a 1/2 twill binding : this is because the very frequent interlacing of the threads would have tended to cause puckering of the fabric (as a general rule, more colours require longer weft floats). To put this in a historical context, we know that in the late Tang period more colourful and larger designs were desired for the costumes of rulers and higher officials. The change from shorter to longer weft floats allowed such designs to be woven.

The change to a satin binding also helped the visual clarity of the woven designs. This is because the regular diagonal of the twill binding, which tended visually to override the drawing of the design by colour, was replaced by the less-dominant staggered binding points typical of satin.

It has been suggested that a silk fragment found at Dunhuang, BN. 2849, illustrates an early step in the development of satin binding (Riboud & Vial 1970, pp. 409-411 & diagrams, Wu 1992). This fragment is self-patterned with a tabby weave ground and a design made up of weft floats usually over 5 ends. As required by the design, the weaver used the "2-2" technique (the technique I have called the "G-G method" in my research, Zhao 1994) to make a diamond shape built up of overlapping blocks of floats. It is these small blocks, rather than the binding proper, which represent a satin binding arrangement. To weave this silk adjacent warp ends were paired and threaded through the mails of the figure harness in a staggered order (Fig. 13). Looking at the draft, it can be seen that the staggered threading of the harness corresponds to a five-end satin - if the threads in the mails had been single and if there had been no shafts, the threading would have produced a satin binding.

Another influence on the development of satin binding may have been a move in the board game called weiqi (better known in the West by the Japanese name, go). In Chinese textile terminology, we have a special term for the "interruption" in satin weaves. This is fei, literally "flying number". We do not know when this term was first used in silk production. But it is interesting to note that the same word, fei, has been a term used in weiqi where it has had almost the same meaning (a "great flying" in weiqi means two interruptions and a "small flying" means one interruption - Fig. 14). This game was very popular in the Tang dynasty, and it is shown in many Chinese paintings. I cannot be sure that these two terms have the same origin, but we know at least that the same concept was applied at the same period both to the game and to weaving.

III.3. From satin samite to satin damask

The question as to when, where and how satin damask originated is also a very interesting one. This question has already been discussed for many years and a number of works on it have been published (see in particular Bao 1982). Now it appears that we can conclude that is origins lay in satin samite.

It is believed that the term dan, which first appears satin and satin damask. In the Song dynasty (AD 960-1279), it is thought that another term was used, zhusi ; references to zhusi in documents of this period are relatively frequent. However the archaeological evidence suggests that satin damask was first used later than this. The earliest piece of satin damask excavated so far is the example from the tomb of Qianyu, at Wuxi in Jiangsu, dated to AD 1320. After this date, satin damask occurs relatively commonly in archaeological contexts, for example, in the tomb of Liyuan, at Zhou County in Shandong (AD 1350), and in the Empress's tomb at Suzhou in Jaingsu (Gao 1986).

It is probable that satin damask first appeared during the period between the Song to Yuan dynasties (AD 1279-1368). But satin samite must have prepared the way for satin damask. By comparing the drafts of the two weaves, figures 5 and 15, is easy for us to see how weavers could have progressed from,one structure to the other. Looking at the draft of satin samite, we can see that, if the main or inner warp was omitted and only the binding warp was used, and if, instead of complementary wefts, a single series of weft threads was employed, a satin damask structure would have resulted. The comparison shows that satin damask is, in effect, a simplification of satin samite. Non-patterned or plain satin, woven without a figure harness, probably only came into being sometime after the development of satin samite and satin damask.

A brief conclusion

Now we are in a position to propose a family tree for the main silk weaves, from samite to satin, over the period from the 7th to 14th centuries: Acknowledgements : I should like to thank Mr. Gabriel Vial, Ms. Nobuko Kajitani and Ms. Marie-Helene Guelton for their help with this paper and its diagrams.

REFERENCES Bao 1982 : Bao Mingxin, Duanlei zhiwu de qiyuan he fazhan (The origin and development of satin weave), thesis, East Chinese Textile Engineering Institute, Shanghai. CIETA 1964 : Centre International d'Etude des Textiles Anciens, Vocabulary of Technical Terms, Lyon Domyo 1992 : Mihoko Domyo, "Evolution of Samit ; silks from Toji temple", CIETA Bulletin 70, pp. 30-36. Gao 1986 : Gao Hanyu, Zhongguo lidai ranzhixiu tuluo (A catalogue of woven, embroidered and printed textiles through the history of China), Hong Kong (Commercial Press). Kennedy 1997 :Alan Kennedy, "A time of renewal : Liao luxury silks", Hali 95, pp. 74-77 Riboud 1997 : Krishna Riboud, "A brief account of textiles excavated in dated Liao dynasty tombs (907-1125 AD) in China", CIETA Bulletin 74, pp. 28-47. Riboud & Vial 1970 : Krishna Riboud and Gabriel Vial, Tissus de Touen-Houang, Mission Paul Pelliot Xlll. Paris Sasaki 1951 : Shinzaburo Sasaki, Nihhon jodai shokugi no kenkyu (An anaysis of ancient Japanese-weaving techniques), Kawashima Textile Institute, Kyoto. Twitchett 1993 : D. Twitchett ed. The Cambridge History of China 6. Alien Regimes and Border States, 710-1368, Cambridge. Watt & Wardwell 1997: James C.Y. Watt and Anne E. Wardwell, When Silk Was Gold; Central Asian and Chinese Textiles. Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition catalogue, New York Wittfogel & Feng 1946 : Karl August Wittfogel and Feng Chia-Sheng, History of Chinese Society : Liao, 907-1125, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 36, Philadelphia. Wu 1992 : Wu Min, Zhixiu (Weaving and embroidery), Youshi Cultural Co., Taiwan. Zhao 1994 : Zhao Feng, "G-G Patterning Method of Silk Weaving in Earlier China", journal of China Textile University (English edition) I l/ii, pp. 1-10. Zhao 1995 : Zhao Feng, "Dunhuang tanbao lu" (The treasures remaining at Dunhnang), Sichou (Silk Monthly). Zhao 1996 : Zhao Feng, Liao Yelü Yuzhi mu chutu, sichou jianding baogao (The technical analysis of the silks excavated in the tomb of Yelu Yuzhi), China National Silk Museum, Reports I I, Hangzhou. Zhao 1997 : Zhao Feng, Zhongguo chuantong zhiji ji zhizao jishu yanjiu (A study of traditional looms and weaving techniques in China), doctoral thesis, China Textile University, Shanghai. Zhao & Qi 1996 : Zhao Feng and Qi Xiaoguang, "Yelü Yuzhi mu chutu sichou zhongde tuanhua tuan'" (The medallion designs of the silks from the tomb of Yelü Yuzhi) Wenwu 1996/1, pp. 33-35. Zhao'& Xue 1992 : Zhao Feng and Xue Yan, Liao fuma zheng Weiguowang mu chutu sizhipin jianding baogao (The technical analysis of the silks excavated from the tomb of the son-in-law of the Liao emperor), China National Silk Museum, Reports 3, Hangzhou.

APPENDIX to Figure 12 by Gabriel VIAL Theoretical draft of 5/1:1/2 twill damask showing both the Chinese and European methods of organising the tail cords and lashes. Commentary.

We are extremely grateful fo AEDTA for having made possible an exchange of research between western specialists and a Chinese textile expert, Dr. Zhao. It is now particularly interesting to see Dr. Zhao's technical analyses published here.

As an aid to the understanding of the technical problems involved, we have prepared a draft which uses both the Lyonnaise and Chinese methods of notation as well as showing both the European and Chinese types of figure harness.

The draft itself is drawn twice : the lower version allows the warp and weft decoupures to be compared with the accompanying point paper plan ; the upper version shows the tie-up of the lifting and depression harnesses (shafts) and of the two varieties of figure harness (leashes, tail cords/pulley cords and lashes).

Résumé

Le samit satin: un pont entre le samit et le satin. La variété de samit que l'on trouve en Chine - un samit 1/2 aspect trame sur les deux faces - est bien connue. Ce type de samit est particulièrement fréquent parmi les tissus de soie trouvés en Mongolie Intérieure dans Ies tombes de la Dynastie Liao (907-1125 après J.C.) ; l'auteur du présent article propose le terme de "samit Liao".

Mais le principal thème de I'article est l'étude d'une modification du samit Liao où le liage, au lieu d'être un sergé aspect trame est un satin aspect trame. L'auteur définit cette armure comme un samit satin et décrit trios variantes : samit satin simple, samit satin liseré, et samit satin broché. II conclut que ces samits furent tissés sur des métiers équipés de cinq lisses de levée, cinq lisses de rabat et un corps de dessin attaché à une tour (Fig. 5). Ce métier était, selon l'auteur, en principe le même métier qui était utilisé pour tisser le samit Liao ainsi que le 5/1:1/2 damas sergé (il suggère que la technique de tissage pour le samit Liao a son origine dans le damas sergéplutǒt que dans une influence directe du "vrai'" samit).

Les robes de soie avec décor de grande échelle, courantes dans les tombes Liao après le commencement de la Période Huitong, étaient probablement un type hérité de la dynastie Tang. L'auteur suggère que I'abandon d'une armure sergé en faveur d'une armure satin dans les samits est la conséquence du phus grand nombre de couleurs et des dessins plus complexes que demandait ce type de robe.

Les tissus de soie en samit satin représentent la première application connue de I'armure satin ; à I'époque le satin n'était pas utilisé pour produire un tissu face chaine. Le damas satin eu probablement son origine dans le samit satin mais les premiers exemples survivant de damas satin datent seulement de 1320 ap. J.C. Les satins unis apparaissent plus tard encore. Summary

Satin Samite : a bridge from samite to satin.

The variety of weft-faced compound twill round in China which is in weft-faced I/2 twill on both sides is already well-known. It is particularly prevalent among finds of silk textiles from tombs in Inner Mongolia of the Liao dynasty (AD 907-1125) and the author here proposes the term "Liao samite". The main subject of his paper, however, is a development of Liao samite where the binding, instead of being weft-faced twill, is weft-faced I/4 satin. This weave he defines as "satin samite" and describes three variations : common satin samite, satin samite with weft floats, and brocaded satin samite. He concludes that these satin samite textiles were woven on a loom equipped with five lifting shafts, five depression shafts and a figure harness attached to a tower (Fig. 5). This loom, he believes, was in principle the same loom as was used to weave Liao samite as well as 5/1:1/2 twill damask (he suggests that the weaving technique for Liao samite grew out of twill damask rather than having been directly influenced by "true" samite).

Silk robes with large scale designs, prevalent in Liao tombs after the beginning of the Huitong period, were probably a type inherited from the Tang dynasty. The author suggests that the move away from a twill binding to a satin binding in the samite weaves was made in response to the larger number of colours and the more complex designs this type of robe demanded.

Silk textiles in satin samite represent the earliest known application of satin weave : at this stage satin was not used to make a warp-faced fabric. Satin damask probably grew out of satin samite but the earliest extant examples of satin damask date only from AD 1320. Non-patterned satin probably appeared later still.

图注： Fig.1. The design of the satin samite decorated with paired wild geese holding a knotted ribbon. Fig.2-3. Satin samite weave, detail of the robe with paired wild geese from the tomb of YelüYuzhi. Fig.4. Satin samite with weft floats, detail of the silk with birds and deer from the tomb of YelüYuzhi. Fig.5-6. Brocaded satin samite, detail s of the robe with phoenixes from the tomb of YelüYuzhi. Fig.7. A draft for satin samite. Fig.8. A draft for satin samite with weft floats. Fig.9. A draft for brocaded satin samite. Fig.10. A draft for true samite (n.b. true samites were probably usually woven ‘face down’). Fig.11. A draft for Liao samite. Fig.12. A draft for 5/1/:1/2 twill damask. Fig.13. A draft for the fragment of self-patterned silk, Dunhuang BN.2849. Fig.14.The flying moves in the board game of ‘weiqi’. Fig.15. A draft for satin damask. Fig.16.