Wunijing Traditional Cotton Textile Craft

Originating in the late Song and early Yuan dynasties, this craft was introduced and refined by Huang Daopo of Wunijing, Songjiang. She revolutionized cotton processing techniques (ginning, fluffing, spinning, and weaving) and pioneered color-matching and jacquard-weaving methods, creating intricate patterns like flowers and phoenixes on cotton fabrics.

Huang's innovations shifted clothing materials from silk/hemp to cotton, spurring the textile industry in Jiangnan and influencing local customs. The Wunijing craft is regarded as a cornerstone of China's textile heritage.

Historically, Wunijing was also famed for dyeing techniques like indigo batik (yaobanbu) and multicolor printing. Today, with surviving practitioners in their 70s-80s, the craft faces extinction and requires urgent preservation.