Pinghu Dujing cloth production skills Pinghu has a long history of cotton production. The "Yue cloth" produced in the Eastern Han Dynasty was favored by Emperor Guangwu and became a tribute. Pinghu Dujing cloth ("Du" is a Wuyue dialect, meaning handmade and homemade. "Dujing cloth" is a local cloth) is influenced by the textile technology of Songjiang Huang Daopo, and its production skills are unique. The 1993 edition of "Pinghu County Chronicles" states: "It was originally a local cloth industry. As early as the Ming Dynasty, most farmers took weaving as a sideline, and the small cloth produced was a major specialty of Pinghu." During the Republic of China period, sales were centered in Shanghai and then transferred to Fujian and other places. By the 1960s, Dujing cloth had always been the main raw material for Pinghu people's clothing, forming five major series of clothing materials, accessories materials, shoes and hats materials, bedding materials, and door curtain materials with hundreds of patterns and varieties. In terms of the process flow, the spun yarn is generally dyed according to the amount of yarn used in weaving. After the yarn is dyed into colorful yarns, the colors are matched and woven. The woven cloth is called color-dyed cloth. It is the mainstream of Pinghu Dujing cloth. Since color-dyed cloth is dominant in Pinghu Dujing cloth, the process flow is relatively complicated and there are many special tools. As for the entire process flow, from cotton picking, it generally goes through eleven processes, including drying and picking flowers, ginning, rubbing, shaking (spinning), tying yarn, dyeing yarn, sizing, beating yarn, warping, putting on the machine, and weaving. After Pinghu Dujing cloth is woven, the cloth falls off the shaft head, the head cloth is cut off to make kitchen rags, and the tail cloth is cut off to keep as the head cloth for the next weaving. Then the whole cloth is taken to the sun to dry, and two strong men are invited to pull the cloth, and the cloth can be rolled into a piece for storage. Pinghu Dujing cloth is produced by eleven unique processes of "dyeing before weaving, matching colored yarns, and weaving into flowered cloth". Compared with surrounding areas, its production techniques are more complex and therefore of higher quality. It is known for its delicate patterns, various patterns, bright colors, and endless changes. Pinghu Dujing cloth is a 100% cotton product that is breathable, sweat-absorbent, and handmade. It is exquisitely designed, earthy but not vulgar, gorgeous but not flattering. It has ethnic, folk, and regional cultural characteristics, and conforms to the environmental protection concept advocated today. It has high aesthetic value and economic value for foreign trade. The representative inheritor of Pinghu Dujing cloth is Yao Aiying, a folk artist from Huanggu Town. At present, the inheritance of Pinghu Dujing cloth production technology is lacking, and it has reached the point where it must be rescued and protected. Pinghu Dujing cloth production technology has been listed in the third batch of Zhejiang Province's intangible cultural heritage list. Information source: Jiaxing Library Information source: Jiaxing Library