A Historical Study of Textiles - With an Emphasis on Korean Cotton Fabrics -

직물(織物)의 역사적(歷史的) 고찰(考察) - 우리나라의 선직물(線織物)을 중심(中心)으로 -

I referred to documents to study the origin and the progressing process of textiles. Cotton seeds were first imported from China by Mun, Ik Jem at the end of the era of Koryeo, and cotton had several different names such as mok-myen, cho-myen, gil-pae, baek-chep-za, tap-po, ban-ki-wha, dong-yep-po and so on. Since the era of the Three Kingdoms, people had heard of cloth of superior quality but it was not certain whether it was imported from China or made in our country. It seems that cotton was not made during that period, white silk, hemp cloth, and ramie fabric were produced. At that time, linen was called cotton by mistake. After importing cotton seeds from China, all the people began to plant them and made their clothes from them. At the beginning of the Yi Dynasty, the weaving technique was dependent on China. However, the government persuaded farmers to plant them. At that time cotton was used as a means of purchasing instead of money. Silkworms raising started during the era of the Three Kingdoms and it was widely spread at the beginning of the Yi Dynasty. In order to encourage sericulture' spinning and weaving instruments were installed in the royal palace and the queen with sher court maids demonstrated how to spin and weave. The activity was named "chin-jam-ye." Linen was the representative of all textiles and it was also very popular. The technique of weaving had already been highly developed at the era of Silla. During the era of the Three Kingdoms people used "bang-chu-cha" as a weaving instrument. They discovered several new hand machines in the period of the Yi Dynasty: they were instrument of removing seeds, spinning wheel, hemp cloth loom and so on, and we find the remains of them these days.