Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c6.60

v1.c6.60

**v) Cotton Production and Textile Technology:** India was both the place of origin as well as the earliest place in the world for the cultivation and production of Asian cotton. The earliest cotton and cotton cloth were introduced from India into China. Archaeological excavations in China indicate that cotton cultivation began in areas such as Minfeng (Niya), Hetian (Khotan) and Tulufan (Turfan) in Xinjiang from the Han Dynasty onwards. The earliest record of cotton (African cotton) cultivation in Gaochang (present day Tulufan/ Turfan), Xinjiang, is found in *Liang shu xi bei zhu rong zhuan* (*Book of the Liang Dynasty: Records of Northwestern Barbarians*) that states, “There were many grass and trees, fruits looked like silkworms and contained fine threads. It was called ‘white stack’, and the people used it to weave cloth, which was soft and white, and was traded in the market.” Dunhuang documents refer to a large number of “cotton” items, that included both cotton flower and cloth, official cloth which was turned over to governmental authorities and clothes used by temples and common people that were made of one of the species of cotton cloth. Dunhuang transported a lot of cotton cloth from Xinjiang’s Tulufan (Turfan) area which was called Anxi cotton and Xizhou cloth. The cotton planting technique was propagated from Gansu Corridor into places like Dunhuang. During the Song Dynasty there was further massive increase in cotton cultivation with its entry into China through the maritime route. It extended to places like Yangtze River Valley and West Shaanxi in the Central Plains. Several Chinese books discuss the importance and significance of cotton. Shi Zhao’s *Tong jian shi wen* (*Explanation of Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government*) describes methods for planting and weaving cotton. Volume II of the official book *Yi sang ji yao* (*Brief Points of Agriculture and Silkworm*) of the Yuan Dynasty emphasises advantages of cotton planting. The Yuan Government established a Silk Cotton Promotion Office to manage cotton planting. During the Ming Dynasty, Xu Guangqi’s *Yi zheng chuan shu* (*Complete Work of Agricultural Administration*) quotes Wang Zhen’s *Yi sang tong shi* (*Comprehensive Exposition of Agriculture and Silkworm*), to describe specific methods for planting cotton. After the