Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c5.s2.t8.1

v1.c5.s2.t8.1

Cotton is a fibre plant which belongs to the genus gossypium in the mallow family Malvaceae, originally produced in the subtropical zone. There are different categories including African cotton, Asian cotton, upland cotton, island cotton, etc. Asian cotton originated from India. Its Sanskrit name was Karpāsa and it was translated as “吉贝” (jibei) and “劫贝” (jiebei) in Chinese. Fa Yun pointed out in *juan* 7 of *A Collection of Terms in Translation* that “劫波育” (jieboyu) or “劫贝” (jiebei) is silk cotton. It is “迦波罗” officially. The tree is named after its flower and can be woven into cloth. It is named “氎” (die) in Gaochang. It is as big as a tree south of Kophen while its size is small in the north and its shape is like the local mallow. It has a shell which can be cut for a catkin-like flower. It can be woven into cloth.” White cotton meant cotton cloth woven with wild African cotton carried along the Silk Road in Central Asia, and sometimes it also was called Pahat in ancient Turkish. In India, cotton used for cloth was called Tūla, which was translated as 'douluo' in Chinese. Hui Lin described “douluo’ cotton in *juan* 11 of *Sound and Meaning of All Sutras* saying that “douluo cotton was very soft, just like willow catkin or grass catkin”. In *juan* 7 of *A Collection of Terms in Translation*, it was explained: “Douluo cotton can also be called duluo which is the name of a tree. The cotton is from the tree, and it is named so. It is like willow catkin, or translated as willow flower. It is called douluo flower and also known by the name maomao.”