Tang Dynasty Silk: Beauty and Color
The Zijin Nunnery on Suzhou's East Hill is small and remote, but art connoisseurs have been attracted there to examine the 18 exquisite clay arhat statues, often carried away by the various facial expressions of the figures, to the neglect of their lifelike floating garments.
A silk expert once made some new discoveries here. He was amazed to find that the handkerchiefs in the arhats' hands, the garments draping over their bodies, and the canopy over the great merciful Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, together with the red-flower adornments, were all of pure silk!
During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Jiangnan Circuit (Suzhou being under its jurisdiction) presented more silk as tribute to the imperial court than other counties and prefectures, most of it being produced by Suzhou.
A silk expert once made some new discoveries here. He was amazed to find that the handkerchiefs in the arhats' hands, the garments draping over their bodies, and the canopy over the great merciful Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, together with the red-flower adornments, were all of pure silk!
During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Jiangnan Circuit (Suzhou being under its jurisdiction) presented more silk as tribute to the imperial court than other counties and prefectures, most of it being produced by Suzhou.
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